(VOVWORLD) - In the hamlets of Kon Tum central highlands province, ethnic minority people have been using new technology to improve the productivity, quality, and competitiveness of their farm produce.
 A Sy, a farmer in Wang Hra hamlet, is installing an automatic watering system in his garden. |
Established in 2012, the Vegetable, Flower and Youth Tourism Cooperative in Mang Den town, Kon Plong district, has two facilities equipped with an automatic watering system to grow safe, organic vegetables. The cooperative’s productivity is more than 10 tons per month.
People in Kon Plong, Tu Mo Rong, and Dak Glei districts can now germinate Arabica coffee trees and know how to breed Dang Shen and Ngoc Linh ginseng seeds to develop their own cultivation areas.
Taking advantage of days off during the year-end holiday, A Sy of Wang Hra hamlet, Dak Ha district, installed an automatic watering system in his garden in preparation for the coming dry season.
“I’ve installed automatic watering systems for others and have gotten familiar with the work. I installed one in my garden because of its benefits. With this irrigation system, I’m no longer worried about the dry season,” A Sy told VOV.
Attending vocational training classes or technology transfer courses, or working in a cooperative or production facility, is the quickest way for ethnic minority farmers in Kon Tum province to bring technology to their hamlets.
A clean, sustainable pig breeding model is being used in Kon Tum by 17 Gia Rai and Thai ethnic people in Ya Xier commune, Sa Thay district.
There is a model to produce medicinal herbs in Te Xang and Mang Ri commune in Tu Mo Rong district.
A Tao of the Xo Dang ethnic group, who is the production manager of the Tu Mo Rong Medicinal Herb Cooperative, recalled once a week, all co-op members attend an online meeting at which the team leaders assign weekly tasks. Because the members live in different areas, an online meeting is more convenient.
 Ethnic workers at a medicinal herb germination in Mang Canh commune, Kon Plong district |
With 48 new cooperatives established last year, Kon Tum province now has a total of more than 230 cooperatives. 17% of the members are ethnic minority people. The co-ops have contributed greatly to the One Commune One Product program in which Kon Tum has 157 3-star, 4-star, or 5-star products.
Bui Duy Trung, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front of Kon Tum province, said the locals have changed.
“They want to escape poverty, take the initiative to rise up, and not rely on others. They have changed their mindset about production from subsistence to production of commodities, and about participating in training courses and applying technology to production and animal husbandry,” said Trung.
Applying technology to production has improved life in many hamlets in Kon Tum province and made some families prosperous through animal husbandry, medicinal herbs, and coffee, especially in formerly poor districts like Kon Plong, Tu Mo Rong, and Dak Glei.
Last year, the poverty rate in these districts dropped 8%, twice as much as the target set by the provincial administration, which has encouraged the locals to strengthen the technological application in agricultural production.