(HBO) – Despite the devastating impacts of the recent floods, farmers in Phu Luong commune, Lac Son district, the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh, have maintained agricultural production. Over the past nearly ten years, after harvesting the summer-autumn crop, locals continued with the winter crop.
Local farmers are working hard in corn fields. Such vast, green corn fields have erased the image of fields previously destroyed by downpours and floods in many localities of Hoa Binh.
"Over the past ten years, the summer-autumn crop has been followed by the winter crop, mainly corn cultivation. Local farmers also plant vegetables and bulbs like onion in winter. However, a number of fields have been let free during this crop due to impacts of the recent floods. Phu Luong now has 125ha of corn, more than 50ha of vegetables and beans, and 1.5ha of onion,” said Bui Van Au, Vice Chairman of the Phu Luong commune People’s Committee.
Bui Thi Tach from Pheo hamlet, Phu Luong commune, Lac Son district, is taking care of her family’s winter corn field
Thanks to a good water drainage system, the corn field of Bui Thi Tach’s family has not been affected by the floods. Knee-high corn plants are growing together with celery cabbage.
"Traditionally, after the summer-autumn crop, fields were let free until spring. However, over the past ten years, local farmers have cultivated the winter crop. Winter corn plants grow even better than in main crops despite initial difficulties. Unseasonal corn is sold at a higher price while providing animal feed,” Tach said.
To facilitate irrigation, local farmers have dug small cannels around fields.
"The cannels aim to discharge water in case of downpours and bring water to corn fields. Winter corn requires more care in winter. Apart from water, winter corn plants need fertilizers,” Tach added.
Next to fields of Pheo hamlet, fields of Mong hamlet are also covered with green corn plants during this winter.
Winter crop production plays an important role to Phu Luong, a remote commune with a lot of difficulties and poverty rate of over 60 percent.
"Residents of Phu Luong commune, which has been included in the Programme 135, have to face various economic difficulties. Therefore, winter crop production has brought about economic values, helping them increase income and ensure livestock feed. In the years to come, we will continue cultivating winter crops while encouraging local farmers to grow higher-value plants in order to raise income,” said Bui Van Au./.
Once a mountainous province facing many challenges, Hoa Binh has, after more than a decade of implementing the national target programme on new-style rural area development, emerged as a bright spot in Vietnam’s northern midland and mountainous region. In the first quarter of 2025, the province recorded positive results, paving the way for Hoa Binh to enter a phase of accelerated growth with a proactive and confident mindset.
Hoa Binh province is steadily advancing its agricultural sector through the adoption of high-tech solutions, seen as a sustainable path for long-term development.
The steering committee for key projects of Hoa Binh province convened on May 14 to assess the progress of major ongoing developments
A delegation of Hoa Binh province has attended the "Meet Korea 2025" event, recently held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and the People's Committee of Hung Yen province.
Hoa Binh province joined Vietnam’s national "One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme in 2019, not simply as a mountainous region following central policy, but with a clear vision to revive the cultural and agricultural values in its villages and crops.
From just 16 certified products in its inaugural year to 158 by early 2025, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme in Hoa Binh province has followed a steady and strategic path. But beyond the numbers, it has reawakened local heritage, turning oranges, bamboo shoots, brocade, and herbal remedies into branded, market-ready goods - and, more profoundly, transformed how local communities value and present their own cultural identity.
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