These efforts have helped improve local living standards and solidify people’s heart posture in the areas.
“Three commitments,” “four together”
Coor Doc, a resident of A Xoo village, La Ee commune, said Unit 207 not only provided her family with breeding bamboo rats but also offered detailed guidance on animal husbandry and disease prevention. According to Lieutenant Colonel Huynh Van Don, deputy head of the Breeding Farm of Unit 207, proper care is essential because bamboo rats are sensitive to climate and disease, particularly during periods of extreme heat.
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Leaders of Defense-Economic Unit 207 inspect the bamboo rat breeding model at the unit’s breeding facility. |
Unit 207 operates in six mountainous border communes with nearly 30,000 residents, more than half of whom live in poor or near-poor conditions. Working with local authorities, the unit has effectively implemented national development and poverty-reduction programs to improve local people’s livelihoods while strengthening defense and security.
Senior Colonel Dang Quang Trung, head of Unit 207, said that since 2024, the unit has distributed breeding cattle, bamboo rats, black pigs, medicinal plants, pomelo trees, and jackfruit trees to 1,415 poor and near-poor ethnic households.
To ensure effectiveness, the unit’s officers regularly visit villages to provide technical assistance and disease-prevention guidance. Young intellectual volunteers follow the principles of “Three commitments” of staying close to the unit, the locality, and guidelines and policies, and “Four together,” (living together, eating together, working together, and speaking local language together), helping residents develop farming and livestock models and adopt higher-value crops.
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Personnel of Agricultural and Forestry Production Team No.3 under Unit 207 guide local residents on orange harvesting and preservation techniques. |
Effective development models
During visits to project areas, clear improvements in living conditions were evident. Resident Colau Bang of Voong village, Hung Son commune said his family escaped poverty thanks to support from Unit 207.
Previously one of the poorest households in the area, his family received 3,000 purple morinda officinalis seedlings, fertilizer, and technical assistance in 2020. Today, the plantation has grown to more than 10,000 plants, generating an annual income of VND 30-40 million.
Political Commissar of Unit 207 Senior Colonel Vu Van Hien said the most successful models include group cattle raising, purple morinda officinalis cultivation, and Paris polyphylla medicinal herb production, all of which have helped increase household incomes and reduce poverty.
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The military medical staff of Unit 207 provide medical examinations and medicine to residents of Dak Pring commune. |
The unit has also promoted pineapple cultivation, oyster mushroom farming, black pig breeding, and bamboo rat raising. To improve success rates, breeding stock is first adapted to local conditions before being distributed to residents.
In a conversation, Po Loong A Doc, Chairman of La Ee Commune People’s Committee, said Unit 207 has always supported local Party committee and authorities in improving education, social welfare, socio-economic development, and maintaining local defense and security.
By integrating local and national development programs, the unit has helped transform agricultural production, reduce poverty, and improve living standards of local ethnic communities.
Translated by Mai Huong