HBO – Bui Van Luc, Secretary of the Party Committee of Son Thuy commune (Kim Boi district), is one of the pioneers in bringing Huong Chi longan variety to the locality and successfully creating Son Thuy longan variety, which has opened opportunities for local people to escape poverty and get rich. He was selected as an excellent farmer and was honoured with certificates of merit by the State President and the Prime Minister.
In 1998-1999, local
residents in not only Son Thuy but also other communes in Kim Boi district lived
in hardship all year round. Their livelihoods and incomes mostly relied on
agricultural production, therefore, no one thought they could get rich. They
also studied and tried growing many kinds of plants such as watermelon and
litchis and raising a lot of animals like pigs and chickens. However, their
incomes even were not enough to feed them.
In 1993, after finishing
his military services, Luc returned to his homeland and worked as a farmer. His
concern at that time was to find out a working method to stabilise his life. He
did many jobs from fish raising, vegetable planting to afforestation, and he also
failed many times.
When visiting a relative
in Hung Yen province and seeing that local people had a stable and well-off
life thanks to longan planting, he decided to invest in growing Huong Chi
longan. He bravely bid
1.3
hectares of uncultivated land to plant Huong Chi longan.
Bui Van Luc checks Son Thuy longan quality
He then worked and learned
from experience of longan farmers in Hung Yen province as well as books and newspapers
to have his own experience in caring the trees, pruning and grafting,
fertilizing, and preventing diseases. Therefore, the productivity and yield of
his longan trees increased year after year. After one decade, longan is proved
to be suitable for local weather and soil and bring the biggest economic
efficiency in Son Thuy.
Luc now owns
2.2 hectares of longan
with 450 trees of Huong Chi longan and other longan varieties which have the
total yield of 25-40 tonnes a year, producing profits of 500-700 million VND
for his family.
In 2016, the National
Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology granted
a collective label certificate to Son Thuy longan, opening a new opportunity
for the product to gain a firm foothold in the market.
Son Thuy longan, whose
seed is small, is juicy and its taste is sweet and different from other
varieties in the locality. Together with
Hanoi,
Phu Tho and Nghe An, the product’s presence is now expanded to Hai Duong and Hai
Phong.
Longan is helping local
people change their life. At present, 54 percent of local households are growing
longans. The commune has
110
hectares of longans, of which
58 hectares have had
fruits for harvest. Its total longan output this year reached 700 tonnes, earning
local farmers 14 billion VND, or 250 million VND per hectare. The value can
reach 400-500 million VND per hectare if longan trees receive good care.
Thanks to longan growing,
many local households escaped poverty and some others earned more than 100
million VND a year. Many of them now have new-model cars, and can build big
houses. Their children can also pursue their learning without worries. Son Thuy
currently forms a production region for commercial products that is a dream of
many other localities./.
According to data from the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee, the industrial production index for the first six months of 2025 is estimated to have increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. This marks the highest year-on-year growth rate for this period since 2020.
In the first six months of 2025, Hoa Binh province’s export turnover was estimated at 1.145 billion USD, marking an 18.11% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Import turnover was estimated at $ 804 million, a 17.15% increase, which helped the province maintain a positive trade balance.
The lives of the ethnic minority farmers in Tan Lac district have gradually improved thanks to the new directions in agricultural production. This is a testament to the collective strength fostered through the professional associations and groups implemented by various levels of the district’s Farmers’ Union.
With the motto the "product quality comes first,” after nearly one year of establishment and operation, Muong village’s Clean Food Agricultural and Commercial Cooperative, located in Cau Hamlet, Hung Son Commune (Kim Boi district), has launched reputable, high-quality agricultural products to the market that are well-received by consumers. The products such as Muong village’s pork sausage, salt-cured chicken, and salt-cured pork hocks have gradually carved out a place in the market and they are on the path to obtaining the OCOP certification.
In the past, the phrase "bumper harvest, rock-bottom prices" was a familiar refrain for Vietnamese farmers engaged in fragmented, small-scale agriculture. But today, a new spirit is emerging across rural areas of Hoa Binh province - one of collaboration, organisation, and collective economic models that provide a stable foundation for production.
Maintaining growing area codes and packing facility codes in accordance with regulations is a mandatory requirement for agricultural products to be eligible for export. Recently, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hoa Binh province has intensified technical supervision of designated farming areas and packing facilities to safeguard the "green passport" that enables its products to access international markets.
