Minority communities prosper from farm economy
Mar. 12 (VNA) -- The farm economy has helped the minority community in Central Highlands Dac Lac province prosper. The number of prosperous or well-off households rose from 3,362 in 1990 to more than 10,300 last year.
Official statistics show that the province now has 331 farms run by minority families, that account for 10.6 percent of the province's farms and plantations.
More than 77 percent of the slash-and-burn minority farmers in the 1.88-million province have resettled down under sedentary programmes launched by the Government immediately after the liberation 26 years ago, a local report says.
Dac Lac is the biggest coffee producer in Viet Nam.
In addition to coffee growing, most minority households have also planted rubber, cotton and other long-term cash crops.
Y Win Nie, 43, of the Ede minority, resident of Ea Yong commune in Krong Pach district, earns between VND 180-200 million each year from his 7.35 ha of coffee and half a hectare of orchard.
As a result, he has built a 300-sq.m house and bought a variety of production equipment, including a coffee-processing line and van, furniture and motorbikes.
A'ma Tuc, resident of Tri A hamlet, Dle Yang commune in Ea H'leo district, about 90 km from Buon Ma Thuot city, has expanded his coffee farm to about 5 ha, with a yearly yield of 3-4 tonnes of coffee beans each ha.
Once a slash-and-burn farmer, A'ma Tuc was one of the first minority people in his hamlet to clear forests and barren hills for growing coffee and practise sedentary farming methods.
Apart from investment of more than VND 100 million in building a house, he has spent much money buying a hand-operated ploughing machine, an electric generator, a motorbike and other costly furniture and home appliances.
Among other minority people thriving on the farm economy are Y Ma Pel from Krum hamlet, who has become the owner of his 100-ha rubber plantation, while Y Vinh, resident of Ea H'ding commune, owner of his 50-ha rubber and coffee farm, and Ama Pot from Kiet hamlet, owner of his 36-ha rubber plantation.--VNA
