Seasons of Sweet Fruits

Located along the Ho Chi Minh Highway is the spacious home of Mr. Le Quang Loi's family in Bo Trach commune, Quang Tri province. A veteran who experienced the brutal years on the northern border, this soldier of Uncle Ho's army continued his fight against poverty in peacetime and once again achieved victory. From a once barren hillside, it is now lush with pepper, lychee, custard apple, and cassava, bringing bountiful harvests to his homeland.

The original red lychee tree has been preserved and cared for by Mr. Loi's family for many years. - Photo: NM

From the battlefield to the lychee orchard

After leaving the northern border battlefield following years of fighting in the 426th Regiment, 306th Division, 2nd Corps, soldier Le Quang Loi married a girl from Bac Giang. In 1994, he and his wife and children returned to their hometown, beginning their journey to establish a new life in the new economic zone with 5 hectares of barren hillside land.

Not only did he bring back the love and memories of his time on the battlefield, but he also brought the famous U Hong lychee variety, a specialty of his wife's hometown, to plant in this sun-drenched and windy land. Although it originated from the distant Bac Giang , with the determination of a soldier, a love for the land and his hometown, and a desire to overcome difficulties and achieve legitimate wealth, the lychee tree has taken root, blossomed, and borne sweet fruit in his homeland.

Many locals and officials proudly state that Mr. Loi was one of the first to introduce lychee trees to this area. His orchard currently has 220 lychee trees, including some "ancient" trees over 30 years old. From those first trees, he diligently propagated them through grafting and expansion. "Good wine needs no bush," and the economic benefits of his model spread, contributing to the development of lychee cultivation not only locally but also in neighboring communes.

This year, we missed the lychee season at Mr. Loi's orchard. According to him, the "U Hong" lychee variety grown in Bo Trach soil usually yields an early harvest. While many places are in their peak season, his orchard has already finished harvesting. This gives him an advantage in terms of selling price; at the beginning of the season, lychees sell for 40,000 VND/kg, while in the middle and end of the season, the price fluctuates between 25,000-30,000 VND/kg. With a yield of 8 tons, his family earned approximately 240 million VND from their lychee orchard this year.

"Taking care of lychee trees isn't difficult; you just need to weed, fertilize, and prune properly. For many years, traders from near and far have heard about my orchard and come directly to buy the fruit. When the lychee season is in full swing, my orchard has already finished its harvest, so I hardly have to worry about finding buyers," Mr. Loi shared.

From 5 hectares of barren hillside land, Mr. Loi has built an effective integrated economic model. Each year, his family earns hundreds of millions of dong and has become a reliable support for people in rural economic development. Not only is he a successful businessman, but he is also an inspiring figure, contributing to changing the production mindset of many households in the area, giving them the motivation to develop their homeland's potential.

Integrated economics: a sustainable path forward.

One of Bo Trach's strengths is pepper cultivation, and veteran Le Quang Loi has maximized this advantage by dedicating a large portion of his hillside land to sustainable pepper farming, ensuring stable yields and providing a significant income for his family. Currently, his garden has 1,200 pepper plants in production, yielding a total of approximately 3 tons. At a price of 160,000 VND/kg, this year's harvest brought him nearly 500 million VND.

Having been involved with pepper cultivation for many years, experiencing numerous ups and downs, Mr. Loi still maintains his faith in this key crop. Currently, he is preparing to plant an additional 600 pepper plants, further expanding his scale and investing in more sustainable harvests in the future.

The integrated economic model helped Mr. Le Quang Loi build a spacious and comfortable home. - Photo: NM

700 custard apple trees, a variety he brought from his wife's hometown in Bac Giang, are in season and being bought by traders at prices ranging from 45,000 to 50,000 VND per kilogram. On what was once a barren hillside, Mr. Loi also cultivates 1 hectare of cassava, raises 50 beehives for honey, intercrops watermelons, plants thousands of tea bushes, and digs a pond for fish farming... After deducting expenses, from 5 hectares of land, he earns approximately 500-600 million VND per year.

It's not simply about fruits and livestock; it's the result of a persistent, creative, and determined effort by soldiers of Uncle Ho's army in peacetime. Especially during harvest season, his garden provides seasonal employment for dozens of local laborers, contributing to the income of the community.

This stable and diversified income not only helped his family become well-off but also affirmed the practical effectiveness of the integrated economic model, a sustainable direction in the sun-drenched, windy hills of Bo Trach today.

Spreading the joy of "golden seasons"

Mr. Tran Tien Dung, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of Bo Trach Commune, proudly shared: “Mr. Loi is a model veteran in economic development. For many years, he has been recognized as an excellent farmer in production and business at all levels. Having held many roles such as head of the Veterans Association branch, beekeeping association branch, chairman of the commune's gardening association..., in every position, he has always been dedicated, responsible, and wholeheartedly committed to the community. He is a reliable support for members and farmers in sharing experiences, providing technical assistance, contributing to promoting the rural economy and making people rich on their own land.”

Mr. Hoang Van Khang, from Dai village, Bo Trach commune, one of the households owning a lychee orchard with pink lychee trees propagated by Mr. Loi, said: "I started planting lychees in 2010. Thanks to Mr. Loi's support with seedlings and dedicated technical guidance, my family's lychee orchard has developed steadily. Due to limited space, we only intercrop cassava with 30 lychee trees. In good years, the yield reaches about 4 tons, bringing in nearly 100 million VND; in less good years, it's still a few tens of millions of VND. Compared to cassava, lychee trees are both less labor-intensive and more economically efficient. I have also grafted branches and supplied hundreds of seedlings to people in the area, contributing to the economic development of this valuable lychee variety."

Returning from war as a soldier, Mr. Loi continues to assert himself on the front lines of rural economic development. Each bountiful harvest today is not only the result of his hard work and sweat, but also a testament to the resilience, perseverance, and compassionate heart of a soldier of Uncle Ho in peacetime.

In what was once a barren hillside, a "golden season" is unfolding—a golden season of knowledge, compassion, and the aspiration to rise above adversity, stemming from the hands of honest, resilient farmers.

Ngoc Mai

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nhung-mua-qua-ngot-195632.htm