HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Many poor households that were given cajeput forests to protect andharvest as part of a local programme in Kien Giang province have escapedpoverty.

Located in Can Giao hamlet in An Minh district’s Dong Hung B commune, Forest Unit Area No 34 has more than 1,290ha of cajeput forestswhich have been allocated to poor households to protect since 2009.  

Vo Van Thach, one of the first farmers given a forested area,said that, besides money from selling cajeput trees, his family now earns anaverage additional income of 60 million VND (2,600 USD) a year from sellinghoney, fish and vegetables.

Households who protect forests are allowed to harvest 10 percent of allocated forests a year and have to replant new forests in theharvested area, he said.

When forest-allocated households moved in the area, they wereall poor and lived in temporarily thatch-roofed houses, he said.

The area did not have electricity or roads at the time, andthere were plenty of mosquitoes.

The low prices of cajeput yielded little income, but theprice has increased significantly since 2016.

The price is now 15 million VND - 20 million VND (660 - 880 USD) per 1,000sq.mcompared to 3 million VND per 1,000sq.m in 2009. Traders come directly toforests to buy the trees.  

After harvest, more households are planting new cajeputforests.

No fires have broken out as farmers were also asked to ensureprotection for the area from fire. 

Besides planting forests, the households breed fish, plantvegetables and lure bees to build hives in their forests to collect honey.

With the income, many household have built houses and boughtenough house facilities for their daily lives in recent years.  

Tran Phi Hai, Deputy Director of the Forest Protection Boardof An Bien and An Minh districts, said under the policy of the provincialPeople’s Committee on allocating cajeput forests for poor households toprotect, 142 poor households who lived near the Forest Unit Area No 34 and didnot have farmland for production were allocated forests for protection in 2009. 

Each household was allocated an average of 5ha and allowed toharvest 10 percent of allocated cajeput forests a year, he said.

The allocated forests were 10 years old at that time.

Quach Thi Diep, one of the forest-allocated households, saidpreviously she was very poor and had to work as a daily hired labourer or apeddler to earn a living. 

Thanks to the policy, she now has a stable life, and hasbuilt a new house in the area.

Similarly, Ton Van Roi, one of the households in theprogramme, now has a house and stable income.

Besides harvesting cajeput forests and replanting new forestsevery year according to regulations, Rỏi breeds fish, plants vegetables andcollects honey to improve income, he said.

He also works an additional job as a cajeput trader to earnmore income.  

Since 2017, Forest Unit Area No 34 has had access to thenational power grid.

Nguyen Thanh Cong, a secretary for Can Giao hamlet, said thelives of the households in Forest Unit Area No 34 had improved significantly.

Only 60 households in the area are still considered poor, hesaid.-VNA