Graduated from VBSP's loan for business and production

Ma Seo Pao, living Lung Po 2 village at A Mu Sung commune, Bat Xat district in Lao Cai province, is the head of a Savings and Credit Group (SCG) formed by VBSP in the current location. Day by day, he helps group members to improve their livings by approaching loans from VBSP and guiding them in planting rubber and pineapple trees efficiently for poverty reduction.

Rice harvest in paddy field in A Mú Sung commune

In the year 2005, Ma Seo Pao – in the list of poor household – had persuaded and encouraged more than 30 households from Ngai Thau village, Dan Chin Commune, in the District of Muong Khuong to resettle in a new land – Lung Po 2 Village, A Mu Sung Commune, District of Bat Xat. At the first come to the border land, he proposed the local authority for being supported pineapple variety under Program 135 and encouraging the people to borrow preferential loan from VBSP to plant pineapple. Knowing that the people did not trust unless they see by themselves, he just ran on as the pioneer and told other cousins to follow. With the technical support from Farmer Association at district level, labor support from the Border Guard and 345 Defense Economic Union, his family has boldly borrowed 10 millions of loan for breaking land on 1 ha planted pineapple. Right at the first year (2005), they had harvested tens of tons, and got 35 millions harvest sold. Following up the success story of the Village Chief, the entire households in Lung Po 2 Village had borrowed from VBSP to plant pineapple, raising the planting area up to nearly 50 ha. Averagely they got 250 tons of pineapple per harvest worth about half billion VND. Since 2007, by planting pineapple, every households there could earn VND 25 – 30 millions income per year.

After fully exploiting the hilly plant for the pineapple, he went looking for the water sources, telling the people to drain water to the settled village and reclaimed the space left for planting water rice. The villagers paid more respect to the Chief Ma Seo Pao when they saw him could find out living way right at the homeland instead of going into the forest and destroying them for planting mountainous rice. The movements of intensive plough the virgin soil for planting water rice started from that, and spread out to other nearby villages. That makes the settled village in the border area with stability in living standard and  economic growth.

From a poor village with many 3 – 6 months/year hunger lots, Lung Po 2 village has been changing much thanks to using VBSP’s loans with right purpose. The average income has increased up to 400 kgs rice/person/year. As Mr. Le Nhu Loc - director of VBSP’s Bat Xat district transaction office said, Lung Po 2 village has about 30 households of Mong ethnic fellow, but the outstanding loan here is up to over 300 million, delinquency/overdue debt and bad debt are zero. The preferential loans has been used to develop animal husbandry, planting rubber trees on the tour of district projects. Currently, in Lung Po 2 village, there are more than 60 buffaloes, cows, horses, more than 200 pigs. Some households are planning to approach other loans such as business services, vocational training and student loans to take care of their children to school.

After 5 years of resettling down in Lung Po 2 village, there are more than 80% of households there could meet the standard for well – behaved family. All the children are going to school. Almost all the households could have higher average income, be alike the income of other central commune.