Stable income from gardening and forestry

After six years of planting, Mr. Thuong's green-skinned grapefruit garden now has high productivity.

Mr. Thuong's family's garden area is more than 3,000 square meters, but the soil conditions are not very favorable, mainly hillside land, so it is quite barren. Planting trees to cover the gardens and bring economic efficiency is not easy. Because he had failed when planting fruit trees that were not suitable for the local soil and climate conditions. After a long time of researching and learning from the experiences of predecessors, in 2019, Mr. Thuong decided to destroy the old crops and switch to growing green-skinned grapefruit. Thanks to proper care, after 3 years, his green-skinned grapefruit garden began to produce the first crops.

“Looking at the grapefruit trees laden with fruit and good quality grapefruit, I was very happy. When I switched to growing green-skin grapefruit, I also hesitated. Because the soil in my garden is dry, and growing green-skin grapefruit requires a lot of effort, especially frequent watering during the dry season. Since planting until now, the grapefruit garden has not been affected by pests or diseases and has a high yield,” said Mr. Thuong.

Leaving the orchard, Mr. Thuong took us to visit his family’s economic forest of more than 7 hectares. Witnessing the vast green forests of hybrid acacia trees close to harvest, we could see the results of Mr. Thuong’s determination to overcome difficulties and get rich on his homeland. “To be where I am today, I had to go through many hardships; the days of “packing rice and digging fish sauce” to clear each tree, digging each hole to plant the forest. In the past, it was difficult, with little capital, where could I get the money to hire workers?”, Mr. Thuong confided.

However, Mr. Thuong never gave up. He thought that the land was barren and rocky, but it would certainly not let down the efforts of those who cultivated it. According to Mr. Thuong, although his homeland was not fertile, it had advantages, namely vast hills and forests with great potential for raising livestock and growing crops. Having determined the appropriate production direction, he became more determined and persistent in that direction. He gradually built up an economic foundation, focusing on growing fruit trees, raising cows and planting forests. After many hardships, Mr. Thuong's family economy is now stable, every year, after deducting expenses, Mr. Thuong earns more than 200 million VND from raising livestock and growing crops.

Ms. Tran Thi Tinh, Party Cell Secretary and Head of Khe Song Village, said: Not only is Mr. Thuong good at business, he is also an active member of the local security force. With his personal efforts, both developing the family economy and being active in social work, Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong is one of the typical farmers of the village.