(VOVWORLD) -The government and people of Cu Dram, a remote commune in Krong Bong district, Dak Lak province, have jointly turned unfavorable terrain and natural conditions into advantages for economic development. With capital support from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, locals have restructured crops to increase economic efficiency.
 In Cu Dram commune, many steep rocky hillsides are now covered with green pineapple plants. (Photo: VOV)
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Tran Thi Lan of Hamlet 2 in Cu Dram commune told VOV that over the past 4 years pineapples have become the main crop and a stable source of income for her family.
5 years ago, Lan borrowed 2,100 USD from the social policy bank of Krong Bong district to switch 7 of the 12 hectares of land they used for growing coffee to Cayenne pineapple. The first harvest earned nearly 13,000 USD. Thanks to pineapples she has paid off the first debt and borrowed enough to convert the remaining 5 hectares.
“I used to grow coffee trees, which were hard to care for, so I switched to pineapple. Compared to other crops, pineapples require less labor, less capital, and less fertilizer, and produces more profit than coffee. I got a low-interest loan from the policy bank to plant pineapples,” Lan recalled.
In Cu Dram commune, many steep rocky hillsides are now covered with green pineapple plants.
Nguyen Thi Kim Yen of Hamlet 2 says farmers are worried about finding outlets as their production increases. They’ve started developing multiple pineapple harvests to keep prices stable.
“We mainly grow pineapples here, because pineapple is better adapted than other crops. Pineapple trees are easy to grow. Since Cu Dram people grow a lot of pineapples, they need to produce an off-season crop to stabilize prices,” said Yen.
Locals grow other crops, including acacia hybrids, cashews, and other fruit trees adapted to the local soil, and raise livestock under the forest canopy.
Cu Dram commune has more than 700 hectares of hybrid acacia trees, 800 hectares of pineapples, and 120 hectares of durian, lychee, longan, oranges, and tangerines.
 Preferential loans provided to raise cows is a way for economic restructuring in Krong Bong remote district. (Photo: VOV)
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The remote commune of 10,000 people, 80% of them ethnic minorities, has many resources and its farmers are able to obtain preferential-rate loans from the social policy bank.
According to Tran Duc Anh, leader of Hamlet 2’s loan group, “52 households in this group have obtained loans totaling 86,000 USD. The money is used to raise livestock and grow crops.”
Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Deputy Director of Krong Bong district’s Social Policy Bank, says the outstanding loan balance in Cu Dram is 1.3 million USD. She added money from different programs has been distributed to various lending channels in Krong Bong district to make it easier for local people to access.
“We are providing loans through 12 programs and focus on poor, near-poor households, and households that have recently escaped poverty, and production and business households in difficult areas. The lending is conducted through loan groups, associations, and unions,” Huyen says.