Lao Cai (VNA) – The model of salmon and sturgeon fi𒁃sh farming initiated by young Party mꦅembers from Dao ethnic minority group in Den Sang commune, Bat Xat district, northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, has made drastic changes for the arid land.

Life-changing fish farm of a young Party member

Located in the centre of Den Sang, Ngai Cho village spans a pass. It took us two hours to drive from Lao Cai city to the village. Hoang Kim Ta, a 27-year-old Party member, welcomed us right at the foot of the pass. The thin and tall young man is the owner of a fish farm that earns him hundreds of millions of VND per year. “All households in Ngai Cho are from the red Dao ethnic minority group. In the past, the villagers mostly live on agricultural production. But their output is often low due to extreme weather conditions,” said Ta. Pointing to the high mountain, Ta said that the location is too high, so that the soil here is not fertile, while flashfloods always destroy crops.

[Young secretary of Party cell leads in ecoꩵnomic development]

Recognising the fact, members of the Party Cell of Ngai Cho, headed by Ta’s father – Hoang Kim Sieu – were determined to seek ways to take the locality out of poverty. “We divided into groups and then came to other localities with similar land and weather conditions to learn new models of cultivation and breeding. After that, we discussed with each other to find the most suitable model for our locality,” Ta recalled. In early 2018, Ta started the model of cold water fish farming that he learned in Sa Pa. Ta said that he could not imagine that he could be reckless, as at that time, no one in the village knew anything about salmon and sturgeon and how to raise them. Ta and three other young Party members borrowed hundreds of millions of dongs to invest in varieties and farm building. “At that time, I only thought of Uncle Ho’s teachings that officials and Party members must be pioneering and enthusiastic, so other people will trust us and follow suit,” said Ta. After several months, four tanks were constructed to raise the first batch of salmon. “The total sum from our savings and bank loans amounts to 300 million VND, which was a really heavy burden,” said Ta, adding that his family earned nearly 200 million VND in that year. “I thought it was a dream as no one has ever earned such a sum from agriculture. Three other members in the Party Cell also reaped similar achievements so that local residents became more confident in the new model.” So far, 10 households in Ngai Cho have developed the model with incomes between 200-400 million VND per year.

Party members take the lead, locals follow suit

For a border locality like Den Sang, the pioneering role of Party members, especially young ones, plays a significant part. Like Ta said, if Party members do not take the lead, no one will believe and follow suit. Over the past years, 13 members of the Party Cell have always taken the leading role in all movements. During the new-style rural area building programme, Ta’s family donated 185sq.m of land and 115 working days to build 3.6km of concreted road.  Inspired by the Party members, from 2012 to 2018, locals in Ngai Cho gave 5,000sq.m of land and more than 3,600 working days to build roads, waterworks and cultural houses. The ratio of poor households reduced to 38 percent in 2017 from 86 percent in 2000, with per capita income reaching nearly 14 million VND per year. Visiting Ngai Cho, we were impressed by durable houses along the wide concreted roads. Ngai Cho has seen new vitality thanks to the pioneers’ efforts. The success of young Party members in economic development has helped the border district of Bat Xat change its face. According to Giang Thi Dung, Secretary of the Bat Xat Party Committee, the locality has recorded average growth of 14.7 percent per year, with annual per capita income of 37 million VND, 11.1 million VND higher than that in 2015, while the ratio of poor households has reduced by 6-7 percent each year. Dung recognised the contributions of young Party members to the results, with many effective models such as cold water fish farming, safe vegetable and fruit tree cultivation. In 2005, all communes in Bat Xat had Party members. The total number of Party members in the district has increased to 3,189 currently from only 727 in 1991, said Dung./.