The fish pond in the Xuan Du valley belongs to Mr. Ha Van Dong.
Winding along relatively narrow village roads, we finally reached the furthest valley in Xuan Du commune. From afar, we could easily see a mountainous area covered in lush green acacia and bamboo forests, fruit trees, rows of ornamental peach trees, and a hillside planted with ginger for commercial purposes. Dressed in worn work clothes, Mr. Ha Van Dong, the owner of the integrated economic model, enthusiastically guided us on a tour of the entire production area. High up in the mountains were forestry trees, cultivated under a production forest model, with land leased from the State for 50 years. In the fertile red soil hills, rows of jackfruit, macadamia, and pomelo trees had spread their branches, bearing abundant fruit.
He also took us to visit a high-tech industrial chicken farm located at the foot of a mountain, enjoying a cool, breezy climate year-round. The chickens raised are colored-feathered chickens, produced under contract with Japfa Comfeed Vietnam Co., Ltd. The company provides the chicken breed, feed, and supplies, along with technical guidance. Each batch consists of 13,000 chickens, but only one worker is needed to pour the feed and water into a container outside the coop; the machinery then supplies each line to prevent people from entering and leaving and spreading disease. Standing right at the farm, there was almost no foul odor like in traditional farms because the floor was covered with a biological bedding material mixed with probiotics to neutralize odors. After each batch of chickens, about three months later, all the waste from the coop floor was composted into organic fertilizer, providing nutrients for the crops on the farm. According to Mr. Dong, although the farm only has 1,300 square meters of chicken coop, this chicken farming activity is the most profitable production stage on the farm, generating approximately 900 million VND per year.
Taking advantage of the water source from a small stream flowing from the heart of the mountain, in 2020, he built a dam and reinforced the banks to create a 1-hectare spillway for fish farming. The clean water and abundant food sources (grass and plants) allow his family to harvest 5 to 7 tons of carp and catfish annually. This also serves as a reservoir for daily irrigation water for all the fruit trees and ginger plants on the hillside below, supplied through a pipeline system from the reservoir.
The success he enjoys today is the result of a lifetime of hard work and dedication by Mr. Ha Van Dong's family in reclaiming and developing the barren valley. According to him, from 1991-1992, the government implemented a policy and called for reforestation to green barren hills and develop production forests. During a survey, he noticed many areas of uncultivated land in the Xuan Du mountainous region that had not yet been leased, so he boldly bid for the land to improve it.
“When I was young and energetic, I was eager to get rich, so I came here with two friends from Giắt town, Triệu Sơn district (formerly) to lease land and start a business. Initially, there were no roads, no electricity, conditions were extremely difficult, and there was no source of income. After a few years, my two friends left one by one to return to their hometown of Triệu Sơn to find other jobs, while I stayed. Then, my journey of planting forests and reclaiming hillside land continued tirelessly. I brought my whole family here to build a hut and develop production and livestock farming,” Mr. Đông said.
According to Mr. Dong, the heavy investment in roads and production infrastructure depleted his capital, forcing him to borrow from everywhere, and at times he almost gave up. In 2007, he had to temporarily put aside his efforts to reclaim the barren hills to work as a hired laborer for over a year, then used the capital to reinvest. The livestock raised in the valley provided him and his family with an annual income, allowing them to sustain themselves and continue reclaiming the barren land and developing production.
For over 30 years, Mr. Ha Van Dong has been revitalizing barren, remote land. Today, he owns dozens of hectares of forest land covered in greenery, and 3.5 hectares of low-lying hillsides dedicated to integrated farm development. This production area, nestled between hills and mountains, streams and forests, has become a model of agricultural and forestry economic development in Xuan Du commune. In recent years, he has been developing his farm towards a circular organic production system, producing clean products to compete in the market. All fertilizers used on the farm are organic fertilizers from his livestock farming. The ginger crops are also thriving, yielding two harvests per year, with a total revenue of approximately 400 million VND. His 8-year-old pomelo orchard is also purchased directly from the farm by traders due to the delicious, sweet quality of its fruit. By cultivating his crops without using harmful chemical pesticides, he consistently maintains 60 to 100 bee colonies under his fruit trees, earning nearly 100 million VND annually through bee breeding and honey sales.
According to the farm owner's calculations, the family's total annual revenue exceeds 3 billion VND. Currently, the model provides stable employment for 5 workers with an income of 5 to 7 million VND per person per month, and about 10 seasonal workers. Having achieved success and gained experience, he is willing to share his knowledge and provide breeding stock and technical support to other households in the region to develop farms, creating a strong production chain.
Text and photos: Linh Truong
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/thung-lung-hoi-sinh-253870.htm
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