(HBO) – Sao Bay commune (Kim Boi district) of Hoa Binh province has been widely known for local farmers’ dynamism in crop restructuring. Coming to the commune any time of the year, visitors could see the green colour of various vegetables and food crops.
The commune’s proactive switch to plants generating high economic income has improved the livelihood of local people towards sustainable poverty reduction.
Residents in Dam Gian village, Sao Bay commune (Kim Boi
district) grow wax gourd which brings in high economic value.
The commune relies
completely in farming. Earlier, local people lived on the cultivation of rice,
maize, potato and cassava. Farm
productivity heavily depended on weather, resulting in unstable output.
After learning of big consumers’ demand for tuber and fruit vegetables,
the Party committee and People’s Committee of the commune guided local people
to cultivate new plants with high economic values.
Since 2012, local farmers have grown various types of vegetables such as
wax gourd, cucumber or melon, raking in higher income compared to maize and
rice. Currently, pumpkin, wax gourd, melons and cucumber has become key crops of
local residents. Those crops have generated good earnings for many households
in communes of Dam Gian, Sao Bac, Doi Boi and Sao Dong.
We travelled to Sao Bay at the time local people were growing the 2018
winter crop. Accompanied by Bui Huy Ban, the commune’s agricultural official,
we visited a model farm where wax gourd is grown using trellis, with its roots
being covered by polyethylene membranes to keep moisture in soil, while preventing
weeds. The 3-ha model farm in Dam Gian village is owned by three families of
Bui Van Huy, Bui Van Luc and Bui Van Nguyen.
The farm has created permanent jobs for four labourers and temporary
jobs for 20-30 others. In 2018, the average output of gourd at the farm hit
about 70 tonnes per ha, with selling price in the spring crop at 3,000 VND per kg.
According to Bui Van Luc, his family grew pumpkin and wax gourd on 6,000
sq.m., raking in 300 million VND (12,815 USD) a year. Meanwhile, Bui Van Huy’s
family earned 350,000 million VND (14,950 USD) a year from wax gourd.
At present, people in Sao Bay are growing winter crops such as wax
gourd, cucumber, kohlrabi, cabbage, cauliflower and potato. Locals have already
harvested the first crop of wax gourd and are planting the second. Other crops
are growing well, giving hope to local people about a bumpy crop generating high
income./.
Kim Boi mineral water has been known as a precious natural gift bestowed upon the district of Kim Boi. Kim Boi mineral water is extracted from limestone beds formed 250 million years old at a depth of 175.5m with a temperature of 36.5°C. It contains many minerals useful for human health such as calcium, sodium and magnesium.
Hoa Binh has paid due attention to fire prevention at local industrial parks through promoting communications work to raise businesses’ awareness of fire safety, and guiding them how to well implement related regulations.
The provincial Administrative Reform Steering Committee (ARSC) held a conference on May 7 to evaluate the results of the Public Administrative Reform (PAR) Index, the Satisfaction Index of Public Administrative Services (SIPAS), and the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) for 2023; and to discuss ways to improve indexes for 2024 and the subsequent years. Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and head of the ARSC Bui Van Khanh chaired the event.
Kudzu powder product of Nhuan Trach agricultural services and starch processing cooperative in Dong Se hamlet, Nhuan Trạch commune, Luong Son district was certified as meeting One Commune One Product (OCOP)’s 3-star standard last year. For local residents, kudzu is a crop that helped them improve income, alleviate hunger and reduce poverty. The certification of the product is a prerequisite for local households to continue their production and expand their market.
Yen Thuy district has effectively implemented a project to support the construction of model new-style rural residential areas and gardens under the national target programme on new-style rural area building for 2021-2025.
With favourable climate and land advantages, the agriculture sector in Hoa Binh has been attracting investment from enterprises, organisations, and cooperatives, gradually asserting the position of some local specialties in the international market.
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