Meaningful gift

The project to provide breeding cows for economic and social development according to the model "Army attached to the people in ethnic minority and mountainous areas" in 2023, invested by Division 320 (Army Corps 3), was deployed in Ia Lang commune, Duc Co district, Gia Lai province in mid-January 2024.

Specifically, 66 poor and near-poor households were given 132 breeding cows (2 cows per household). These are yellow cows from 16 to under 24 months old, each weighing an average of 180kg and 100% fertilized before being handed over to the locality.

In addition to providing breeding cows, the project also provides 150kg of mixed feed for each household receiving cows. At the same time, training on breeding techniques, grass planting, and support for building barns with an amount of 2.5 million VND/household, to initially help people gain more knowledge, conditions for caring for and building barns for raising cows.

This is a very meaningful program for ethnic minority people. Because in addition to receiving valuable assets (equivalent to about 34 million VND/household), this is also a livelihood for people to develop the economy, increase production, and stabilize their lives.

After receiving the cows, on the very first night, one of the two cows of Mr. Ro Cham Bol's household (Phang village) successfully "gave birth". This is the first cow out of 132 cows that have just been granted to carry out the "pioneering mission" of the project. Up to now, there are 7 households with cows giving birth, especially both cows of Mr. Ro Mah Yen's household have given birth to calves.

As one of the 66 households that received cows in the recent period, Ro Ma Yen (residing in Klũh Yẻh village) has a very pitiful situation. Her parents died early, and Ro Mah Yen and her brother live with their uncle's family. Life is extremely difficult. Every day, she and her husband have to go to tap rubber trees, pick cashews, and hoe grass for hire to earn a living to raise their two children, just to get by.

Stroking the calf, Ro Ma Yen emotionally said: "I am very happy to be given these two breeding cows because this is a huge asset for my family. My husband and I work for hire, earning enough to eat is already difficult, let alone buying cows. I never thought that one day we would have a pair of cows like this. I will take good care of these two cows to give birth to many calves."

Motivation to escape poverty

Mr. Ro Mah Deo (born in 1994, living in Le 1 village) and his wife have a small garden with 200 coffee trees. Each year, their total income is about 30 million VND, which is just enough to get by. In their free time, they pick pepper and collect cashews for hire to earn extra income.

Like many households benefiting from the project, Mr. Deo and his wife are very happy because this is a huge asset. In the future, this asset will create economic value for the family through the birth of calves. In addition, each year there is a large amount of cow manure to fertilize coffee, saving the cost of buying chemical fertilizers.

"Without the project's support, my wife and I don't know when we would have had the money to buy a pair of cows like this. Hopefully, from this project, people's lives will be less difficult," Ro Mah Deo said, thinking about a better future.

Looking at the healthy calves, many households also feel happy, because one day soon they will also receive the results of the project. These are "gifts" that help them eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and improve their lives.

Ms. Ro Cham H'Guel, Chairwoman of the Farmers' Association of Ia Lang Commune (Duc Co District) said that Ia Lang is a particularly difficult commune in the district. The whole commune has 5 hamlets and villages with more than 1,000 households living there. Of which, 4 villages are ethnic minorities. In 2023, the whole commune has 257 poor households and 157 near-poor households.

According to Ms. Ro Cham H'Guel, local people have received a number of project cows before, but this is the project with the largest number of cows, good quality, big, beautiful and close to giving birth. Without this project, many households would not be able to buy one cow, let alone a pair like now.

The President of the Ia Lang Commune Farmers' Association also thanked the project investor for his attention and creating favorable conditions for poor and near-poor households. "I hope that in the coming time, the units stationed in the area will pay more attention to helping people eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and develop the economy," said Ms. H'Guel.