Having been trained in the military, upon returning to civilian life, veteran Nguyen Van Thang (born in 1958, in village 9, Son Truong commune, Huong Son district - Ha Tinh) continued to fight on the new "battlefront", becoming a typical example in labor production.

Video: Mr. Nguyen Van Thang shares about the effectiveness of the Israeli drip irrigation system

Welcoming us at the nearly 4-hectare farm in village 9, Son Truong commune, veteran Nguyen Van Thang shared: “In 1978 - when I was just 20 years old, I joined the army. In 1981, I was demobilized and returned to my hometown and started developing the agricultural economy. That was also a difficult journey, it took a lot of perseverance for my family to achieve the results we have today.”

Returning to his hometown to start a business, Mr. Thang's life was initially very difficult. The family's income depended on a few fields and a small garden. However, with the spirit of a soldier's determination to never give up, Mr. Thang persevered, not afraid of difficulties and hardships to gradually improve his family's life.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang - a veteran who dares to think and dares to do in Son Truong commune.

To break through, he and his wife discussed ways to build a farm by reclaiming nearly 3 hectares of land. In the early 2000s, he and his wife began to reclaim land and build a model of growing oranges on an area of ​​nearly 1.3 hectares. Then, to develop production, his family decided to borrow nearly 30 million VND to combine raising fish, buffaloes and cows... and growing oranges and acacia.

Mr. Thang confided: “The first days of farming on the barren land were not easy, there were many difficulties and shortages, from capital, labor to technology... so almost all fruit trees and livestock had low productivity and slow growth. However, thanks to the time I was trained in the army, I was always persistent, not discouraged with the set goals and always tried every day."

After struggling with the sun and rain for a long time, his family’s nearly 1.3-hectare orange garden began to take root. To increase crop productivity, Mr. Thang has diligently learned from the experiences of previous households and regularly attended training courses of the commune to accumulate experience.

Israeli drip irrigation system helps Mr. Thang's orange garden grow well.

In particular, to help the orange garden grow and achieve the best quality, Mr. Thang also applied digital transformation to develop the hill garden economy. Mr. Thang said that with the propaganda and guidance from all levels, in early 2023, his family boldly invested nearly 100 million VND to install an Israeli drip irrigation system. The family takes advantage of the water source from the fish ponds, thanks to which, not only the orange trees have water to irrigate, but the water in the fish ponds is also regularly renewed.

“The weather here is very harsh, so proactively irrigating plants is very important. In previous years, the heat and drought caused my family's orange trees to grow poorly and had low fruit set rates. This year, thanks to the Israeli drip irrigation system, the orange trees have enough water to grow well, and the irrigation water is used efficiently and economically. Not only that, this system also helps to supplement nutrients from fertilizers according to the correct process,” Mr. Thang shared.

Diversifying crops and livestock helps Mr. Thang increase his family's income.

Mr. Thang said: “After many years of planting and caring, the family’s orange garden has yielded high yields and economic efficiency. During the harvest season, traders come to the house to buy. Each year, nearly 1.3 hectares of oranges yield more than 15 tons, after deducting all expenses, bringing the family an income of about 200 million VND. It is forecasted that this year, the orange yield will be higher than previous years thanks to the application of scientific and technical advances in production. The family hopes for stable prices to increase income.”

In addition to growing oranges, Mr. Thang also grows nearly 2 hectares of acacia forest, nearly 100 rabbits, 5 buffaloes and cows. His hard-working hands have helped Mr. Thang's family have a comfortable life; he is an example and motivation for the villagers to learn and enthusiastically compete in production.

Besides being good at economics, Mr. Thang is also a role model in the local new rural construction movement.

In addition to being good at business, Mr. Thang is also an exemplary model in the local new rural construction movement, especially in donating land to open roads. In 2015, when Son Truong commune had a policy to build and expand the village road and cultural house, Mr. Thang's family took the lead, voluntarily donating more than 1,000m2 ^of garden land and moving 100 orange trees to make the road more than 1km long smooth and spacious.

Mr. Le Duc Thuan - Chairman of Son Truong Commune People's Committee shared: "Mr. Thang is a hard-working veteran, daring to think, daring to get rich right on his homeland. He also actively shares his experiences with other orange growers in the area, is willing to help everyone in providing seeds, providing scientific and technical advice to develop the economy together; always exemplary, leading in the local new rural construction movements, is a typical veteran in developing the commune's garden economy".

Duc Quan