Tapping potential of hometown
Guiding reporters of the People’s Army Newspaper through the VAC model of war veteran Tran Nam Duong, Veteran Le Tuan Tien, a member of Hoang Dieu commune’s Veteran Association, noted that Duong is an outstanding member of the association in developing household economy. VAC is an acronym formed from the three Vietnamese words “Vuon” (garden or orchard), “Ao” (fish pond), and “Chuong” (pigsty or shed for livestock and poultry raising). It refers to a form of domestic agricultural model in which fruit and vegetable growing, fish raising, and husbandry are wholly integrated with modern farming methods.
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War veteran Tran Nam Duong harvesting fruits |
When Duong turned 17, he volunteered to join the military in February 1975 in Xuan Mai townlet, Chuong My district, Hanoi. He then moved to the Southern theater. He served in the military for eight years and eight months, including spending five years in Cambodia. In December 1982, he was discharged from the military and returned to his hometown with the rank of warrant officer.
After many years working far from home, he wholeheartedly made contribution to the development of his hometown. With his experience working inside and outside the military, Duong has always set a good example and motivated other people. At that time, he thought of farming.
In 1994, with small amount of capital, he borrowed money to buy 12 hectares of land in the Southern area to build a farm to grow sugarcane and other fruit trees. At that time, he earned VND 100 million each year from his economic model.
In 2010, he decided to implement the VAC model at home. Initially, he invested VND 400 million in building two fish ponds, and then bought seeds and breeding animals. As of 2017, the VAC model was basically complete. Annually, the model brought him from VND 400 to 500 million.
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Taking care of his fish pond |
To do that, he had to overcome many difficulties and challenges. Every day, it costs him nearly VND 2 million to buy food for animals, or around VND 50 million a month.
In order to gain experience in farming, he learned from books, television, and economic household models of other people. He also joined refresher courses in this field to gain more valuable knowledge.
According to Chairman of Hoang Dieu commune’s Veteran Association Pham Hong Ngu, after many years of conducting the combined economic model, Duong has become an outstanding example in his locality. Many locals have followed his footsteps, contributing to raising their income while promoting local socio-economic development.
All for community
In addition to developing economy, Duong regularly shares his experience to support other households. Besides, he also helps needy families in the locality stabilize their life. Accordingly, many similar household economic models have been built in the commune, contributing to boosting local socio-economic development.
For example, Le Tuan Tien in the village held that in recent years, he has built a VAC model to develop household economy thanks to Duong’s sharing and assistance.
Duong’s family has also wholeheartedly contributed to his local movements and activities. He has donated VND 50 million to upgrade public facilities of the village, while actively joining activities in the village. During the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, he presented food, fruits, and fresh water to troops and people working at COVID-19 checkpoints. He also joins various charity associations and groups.
In acknowledgement of his contribution, his family has been honored with many noble titles from the State, government and localities.
Translated by Minh Anh