M'nong women dare to think and dare to do

Changing economic thinking

As an ethnic minority, born and raised in Dong Nai commune ( Binh Phuoc province) - now Tho Son commune (Dong Nai province), Ms. Thi Khui (41 years old, M'nong ethnic group) has been attached to cashew trees since childhood.

Realizing that her people work hard and sweat all year round for cashew trees, but the economic value is very unstable because they depend on traders and cannot take the initiative in output, from then on, she always wondered how to develop the economy from cashew trees.

Under the leadership of Ms. Thi Khui (yellow shirt), Trang Co Bu Lach organic cashew agricultural cooperative has rapidly developed, its products are not only consumed domestically but also exported abroad. Photo: Thuc Vy.

“It is already difficult for farmers to grow cashew nuts, and they are also forced to lower prices by traders. Therefore, I always have the idea of forming a cooperative, gathering like-minded people to cultivate, building a chain of links with large companies to ensure that people can consume at higher and more stable prices,” Ms. Thi Khui shared.

Thinking is doing, with the support of her family and local authorities, in 2022, Ms. Thi Khui stood up to campaign for the establishment of Trang Co Bu Lach Organic Cashew Agricultural Cooperative. Up to now, the Cooperative has 165 members and a raw material area of 1,000 hectares. At the same time, she was entrusted to take on the position of Director of the Cooperative.

In her new position, Ms. Thi Khui always researches and explores to find out the limitations in the way cashew growers have done things up to now, and at the same time finds directions for development. She realizes that currently, the role of technology, digital transformation and connection is an important link for farmers to improve product quality and proactively promote their products. From there, Ms. Thi Khui connects local companies to guide local people on science and technology, organic crop care; guides people to use social networks to introduce the cooperative, promote products, update market information... In addition, she also supports deferred interest-free loan repayment when members and people borrow to buy fertilizer to invest in gardens...

Like Mrs. Thi Poi's family in Tho Son commune, the main source of income for many generations of families has been cashew trees. However, traditional farming has unstable productivity, and life is still not well off. After being invited by Mrs. Thi Khui to join the cooperative, her family's income from the 13-hectare cashew garden has improved, giving them food and savings. Or Mr. Dieu Xang's family has 10 hectares of cashew trees. Since joining the cooperative, organic farming and the application of science and technology to production have significantly increased their income.

Grasp information, link product consumption

Under the leadership of Ms. Thi Khui, Trang Co Bu Lach organic cashew agricultural cooperative has rapidly developed and been certified to meet European and American organic standards. This is an important turning point, helping M'nong people's cashew nuts not only to be consumed domestically but also to be exported to demanding markets such as the EU, the US, and Japan.

Trang Co Bu Lach organic cashew farming cooperative of Ms. Thi Khui creates jobs for local people. Photo: Thuc Vy.

Trang Co Bu Lach organic cashew farming cooperative of Ms. Thi Khui creates jobs for local people. Photo: Thuc Vy.

Currently, Trang Co Bu Lach Organic Cashew Agricultural Cooperative has joint ventures and partnerships with cashew exporting companies; supporting members in organic cashew farming. The cooperative consumes products for members, bringing profits, improving living standards, and supporting hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

Specifically, the Cooperative has built a product consumption chain with companies such as: Taghet Vietnam Co., Ltd., LAFOOCO Long An Export Processing Company, Intersnack Vietnam Cashew Co., Ltd., Marubeni Vietnam Co., Ltd., Ha My Joint Stock Company... which are companies specializing in exporting cashew nuts and agricultural products to Europe and the Japanese market.

Although she has achieved some results, Ms. Thi Khui still always updates new knowledge, regularly participates in scientific and technical training courses to disseminate to cooperative members and local people for application. In addition, Ms. Thi Khui has created stable jobs for 25-30 local workers, of which 12-15 are ethnic minority workers. She is also determined to increase this number in the coming time, contributing to socio-economic development and poverty reduction in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

In addition, Ms. Thi Khui also regularly coordinates with the Commune Farmers' Association to organize tours for members to exchange and learn experiences in production and business. In the 2024 crop season alone, the Cooperative led by Ms. Thi Khui harvested about 700 tons of fresh cashew nuts. The selling price was about 2,000 VND/kg higher than the average. Associated businesses supported 500,000 VND/ha for members. In particular, in addition to organic cashew production, Ms. Thi Khui also oriented the Cooperative members to grow more organic products such as coffee trees, fruit trees under cashew canopy, leaf fern... and received enthusiastic response from people in the area.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Tho Son commune, Ms. Thi Khui is a person with a spirit of inquiry and learning, regularly participates in science and technology training courses and knows how to apply digital transformation in agricultural production. From there, applying it appropriately to the production conditions of households as well as cooperative members, helps to improve labor productivity, increase income, reduce investment costs, labor costs, etc.
With her efforts and achievements, Ms. Thi Khui received a Certificate of Merit from the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province in 2023, a Certificate of Merit from the Ethnic Minorities Committee of Binh Phuoc province in 2023, and a Certificate of Merit from the People's Committee of Bu Dang district in 2024.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-mnong-dam-nghi-dam-lam-d782237.html