(HBO) – The Thuong Tien Nature Reserve in Kim Boi district, home to a diversity of rare plant and animal species, is precious potential the nature blesses on Hop Tien commune, but such potential has yet to be tapped into. Given this, Hop Tien is now in need of assistance to make breakthroughs in socio-economic development and improvement of people’s material and spiritual lives.
Residents in Hop Tien commune (Kim
Boi district) have been developing apiculture with the hope of turning local
forest honey into a four-star product under the One Commune, One Product (OCOP)
programme of Hoa Binh province.
Bui Van Noi, Secretary of the Hop Tien communal
Party Committee, said more than one-third of the 1,205 local households with
5,407 people are poor or near poor. Locals depend mainly on agriculture to earn
their living. However, most of the farmland is terraced fields, making it hard
for applying scientific and technical advances, animal farming is still in a
small scale, while the majority of forestry land is under "keo” (Acacia) trees
that do not generate much profit.
Per capita income in Hop Tien reached just 27.3
million VND (1,160 USD) in 2022. Over 72% of the local population are of
working age, but the number of trained or skillful labourers remains modest.
With the aspiration for escaping poverty and
capitalising on local potential and advantages, the commune has been exerting
efforts to encourage locals to restructure plant and animal farming, attract
investment, and develop tourism, Noi said.
He elaborated that making use of the vast
special-used forest, local residents have boosted beekeeping. In 2022, honey of
the Thuong Tien Cooperative of Agricultural Services in Hop Tien was recognised
as a three-star OCOP product by the Hoa Binh provincial People’s Committee.
To carry out crop restructuring, they have
converted low-effect rice farming areas into those for cultivating nut trees.
Last year, the local nut tree area reached 601ha, producing 21,000 tonnes of
nuts with a value three or even four times higher than rice cultivation.
Aside from its own efforts, Hop Tien has also
benefited from support from many agencies and units, including the Hoa Binh
Newspaper. As assigned by the provincial People’s Committee, the newspaper has
worked to assist the particularly disadvantaged commune of Thuong Tien, now Hop
Tien, since 2018.
As the official organ of the province, the Hoa
Binh Newspaper has coordinated with Hop Tien authorities to disseminate the
Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies on new-style rural area building.
It has also introduced outstanding economic models, good exemplars, and role
models in the Party building, socio-economic development, and defence -
security safeguarding, thereby encouraging natives to contribute to local
development.
Thanks to support from other units and private
sources, the newspaper has also delivered much material and spiritual aid worth
billions of VND in total to residents in Hop Tien.
With concrete, practical, and effective
assistance, the Hoa Binh Newspaper has helped the communal Party organisation,
administration, and people to surmount difficulties. Per capita income
increased almost 2.5-fold in four years, from 11.8 million VND in 2018.
However, at a working session between leaders of
the Hoa Binh Newspaper and permanent members of the Hop Tien Party Committee in
early 2023, the two sides admitted that much potential still needs to be
capitalised on. In particular, boasting a cool climate, fresh environment, and
pristine beauty, Hop Tien is completely able to promote green tourism and the
cultivation of cardamom and medicinal plant in forest.
They held that with proper investment, intrinsic
strength, and local residents’ strong will, the commune will thrive in the near
future.
