Highland market: A driving force for poverty reduction and improving the quality of agricultural products

Tourists visit the OCOP area and choose handmade products of the people.

Awakening indigenous potential

Twice a month, the A Luoi highland market is always crowded from the beginning until the end of the market. Visitors come here not only to buy but also to feel the highland life through each product. The smell of bamboo rice still fragrant from the fire, the sound of pounding rice to make A Quat cakes, or the colorful traditional costumes of Ta Oi women make the market like a miniature festival. For the people, this is an opportunity for the whole village to exchange goods and chat after days of farming.

Ms. Ho Thi Luu, a familiar trader at the market, said that thanks to the market, she has more regular customers in many places. When the market is not open, she still packages goods to send to customers in neighboring provinces and cities. Items such as black sticky rice, wild honey, ginseng wine or Ra Du rice... are ordered the most. Thanks to the stable output, her family takes better care of the garden, knows how to choose good varieties and how to dry them to maintain quality.

Also doing business at the market, Mr. Ho Van Het said that the markets have significantly changed the way people think about selling: " Tourists like products with clear origins, so everyone pays more attention to the packaging and printing of product packaging. At my stall, smoked meat, honey, wild salt and pepper, or wild vegetables are sold regularly every month. Thanks to that, the family income is much more stable." Not only selling at the market, many groups of visitors also order in batches as gifts, helping to increase consumption.

The market space also contributes to promoting local culture. Tourists enjoy pounding rice to make cakes, watching women weave zèng, and taking photos with traditional costumes. Many visitors, after experiencing the experience, place orders online or contact the vendors directly to buy more. This helps people get used to new ways of selling, expanding the market outside the market.

One noticeable effect is that many households have boldly invested more in production. Previously, growing vegetables, raising chickens, collecting honey or making brocade mainly served family needs, but now it has gradually shifted to small-scale commercial production. Many women in the village have learned from each other how to package beautifully, make information labels, maintain hygiene during processing and introduce goods more attractively. All of this has created new vitality for the market and increased income for the people.

Economic development associated with community tourism

According to Mr. Phan Duy Khanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of A Luoi 2 Commune, the highland market has special value for both locals and tourists. "Coming to the market, tourists will have interesting experiences. This is also a place for tourists to better understand the culture of the people of the old A Luoi highlands. For the locals, the market gives them the opportunity to sell goods and create a livelihood for their families," Mr. Phan Duy Khanh shared.

Thanks to the systematic organization, the markets are clearly divided into areas such as food court, OCOP, brocade, agricultural products, etc. This helps sellers conveniently display goods and helps tourists easily find the products they want to buy. Some homestays in A Luoi have proactively included the market in their tours so that tourists can have a more complete experience.

In addition to its trading role, the market also helps to form people's habit of producing goods. Many households have known how to choose high-value products, easy to transport, neatly packaged for tourists to buy as gifts...

Mr. Phan Duy Khanh said that the locality is aiming to build the market into a typical tourism product: "If maintained sustainably and organized more professionally, the highland market will become an important lever in economic development, contributing to poverty reduction for the highland people."

The combination of culture, tourism and commerce is opening up a suitable direction for the people of the old A Luoi communes. With the participation of the people and the support of the government, the highland market will continue to be a bright spot for livelihoods, helping people improve their lives and preserve the cultural identity of the mountainous area west of Hue City.

Article and photos: Bach Chau

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/phien-cho-vung-cao-dong-luc-giam-ngheo-va-nang-chat-luong-nong-san-160623.html