Studying and following Uncle Ho’s example through specific actions associated with performing key political tasks, serving as a fulcrum for the people in the border of Quang Nam to eliminate hunger and reduce sustainable poverty is the responsibility and affection of officers and soldiers of Defence – Economic Corps 207, under Military Region 5 (MR5) to pay tribute to this revolutionary war zone.

The western border of Quang Nam province was a strategic area of the MR5’s armed forces in the wars for national liberation and reunification. Moreover, it is an important gateway in the performance of international and defence diplomacy tasks with Laos as well as in the prevention of exiled reactionary organisations from infiltrating into the country to oppose our revolution. This area has received multi-faceted investments from the Province so that its socio-economic situation, as well as the people’s material and spiritual life, have been increasingly improved; the national defence and security have been maintained, etc. However, due to the mountainous terrain with dense forests, this area still remains in low level of growth with improper infrastructure and a sparse population with over 90% is ethnic minorities. Hence, there exist several backward customs and practices, and, in some minorities, hunger and poverty persist.

As an economic - defence unit stationed in this area, over the years, along with performing military and national defence tasks, Unit 207 has closely coordinated with the local party committee and authority to actively develop the local socio-economy on the basis of population rearrangement and long-term goals of national defence and security, gradually improving the material and spiritual life of the people, forming clusters of border villages and communes, thus creating border belts in the all-people national defence posture. There are a number of difficulties facing the Unit, including large area of operation, scattered troops, divided traffic, insufficient supplies of electricity, clean water, communication, fundings, and the unsynchronised means and equipment. The Unit has actively and proactively built and improved local infrastructure, with priority given to the construction of important works, such as traffic, irrigation, and field reclamation works, domestic water supply systems, clinics, schools, hatcheries, etc. Importance is attached to the construction and installation of infrastructure works in remote and border areas, timely ensuring services to the people and the unit. By the end of 2022, the Unit has finished 46 projects with a total value of over 102 billion VND, reaching 41.45% of the total investment capital as planned. The completed works handed over to the locality for management and use have shown their effectiveness, contributing to gradually changing the structure of local economic and social infrastructure and improving the material and spiritual life of the people in the areas where the projects are implemented.

Corps 207 provide cows for local people

Being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching that “Trying our best to do whatever benefits our people and avoiding the ones that harm our people”, the Unit’s Party Committee and Commanders have focused on leading and directing to propose policies and measures close to the requirements, tasks, and practical conditions of the area, associated with the contents and criteria on building new-style rural areas. It is worth mentioning that the Unit has actively surveyed, inquired, and grasped the thoughts, aspirations, and needs of the ethnic people. The Unit has also stepped up the propaganda and guidance of husbandry and cultivation techniques, gradually changing the way of thinking and doing of the people, thus helping them get rich by their own internal resources. To achieve high efficiency, the Unit has coordinated with the local party committee and authority to open training courses and send officials to directly guide husbandry and crop production techniques; supported seedlings, breeding animals, building materials for barns, farms, fertilisers, agricultural tools, veterinary drugs, etc. for households. To implement the policy of focusing on the building replication models of poverty reduction to create raw material areas with high commodity value, bringing stable income for the people and making practical contributions to the participation in the “Building new-style rural areas and reducing sustainable poverty” Programme in the area, the Unit has converted the thinking of self-sufficiency in commodities to commodity economy to stimulate production; promoting the application of scientific and technical advances to production, developing the household economy in the direction of commodity production, exploiting the potentials and strengths of land, and idle agricultural labour for economic development, progressively eliminating hunger, reducing poverty, and improving the quality of life for ethinic minorities in remote and border areas. During implementation, the Unit has meticulously guided the people to comply with the standards of clean and organic agricultural production and regulations on product traceability; building agricultural and forestry extension models; boldly putting varieties of plants and animals of high economic value into production; building a bank of trees and seeds to serve the people, creating jobs in the locality, transforming the structure of crops and livestock, gradually forming and developing a commodity agricultural product area, thus promoting household economy, raising income, improving living standards, and creating motivation to rapidly achieve the goal of sustainable poverty reduction in the area. Several poor households directly participating in the model have changed their way of thinking and doing, thus managing sufficient food and clothes and escaping poverty with an average income of 15 to 20 million VND per year.

Additionally, the Unit has closely coordinated with the locality to effectively integrate with other local programmes and projects to create synergy in economic, cultural, and social development in association with the consolidation of national defence and security in border areas. In particular, importance is attached to promoting the energetic and enthusiastic role of the young intellectuals volunteering under the Project of “Increasing the number of young intellectuals who volunteer to work in economic - defence zones, taking initiative in propaganda, mobilisation, and the building  of production models, guiding and transferring farming techniques to the people and participating in building a strong local political base. The Unit has also created favourable conditions for young intellectuals, including the ones from ethnic minorities, to put their knowledge into practice, realising the dream of getting rich in their homeland.

To create stable output for agricultural products, the Unit has actively cooperated with businesses and traders to consume products; regularly coordinating with branches and localities to organise trade promotion activities to introduce and advertise agricultural products, including activities of trade centres, promotion of cultural values of highland markets, opening purchasing points in the area to provide two-way supply and comsumption services to serve production and daily activities of the people; opeining highland agricultural product stalls in localities to introduce and consume clean agricultural products. Thanks to these activities, the products made by the people in the Economic - Defence zone are quickly consumed, creating a brand in the market.

Following President Ho Chi Minh’s teaching of “With skillful mass mobilisation, everything will be successful”, the Unit has actively innovated the contents, forms, and methods of operation, bringing the mass mobilisation work into depth; focusing on educating officers and employees to raise their awareness and a sense of responsibility and affection for the people, being determined to successfully implement the emulation movement “Skillful mass mobilisation”. Regularly propagandising  and mobilising people in the area so that they can grasp the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies as well as the goals and the political, economic, social, national defence and security significance of the project investing in the construction of an Economic - Defence zone, getting rid of backward customs, actively preventing and combating social evils. Implementing the motto of “3-close, and 4-together” to make people understand and believe, guiding them to follow, proactively and persistently helping people to gradually change their way of thinking, thus developing the socio-economy, preserving and promoting national cultural identity. Since 100% of the Unit’s agencies and units have relationships with local villages and communes, pratical contributions have been made in production as well as in the building of a strong local political base, a solid “people’s hearts and minds” posture, and solid district-level defensive areas, consolidating the great national unity bloc.

Besides, the Unit has actively participated in “Gratitude” movements, taking care of people’s health. Paying attention, paying visits, supporting, encouraging, and giving gifts to policy beneficiaries and people on national holidays; mobilising resources to build Houses of Gratitude, Houses of Comrades, and Houses of Greate Solidarity for policy beneficiaries. Frequently coordinating with the locality and other units stationed in the area to organise cultural, artistic, and sports activities; organising mobile film screenings in border villages in order to improve the cultural and spiritual life of the people, contributing to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identity and building a new cultural lifestyle. In the implementation of the Joint Military - Civil Medicine Programme, in addition to providing free medical examination and medicine, the Unit has focused on propaganda to raise awareness of hygiene, disease prevention, and elimination of outdated and unscientific habits, creating changes in the protection and health care for people in the area and people in border villages of Ka Lam and Dac Chung districts, Se Kong province of Laos, thus practically improving the quality of community health care, contributing to building and maintaining peace and friendship in border areas.

Although the Unit has not carried out many production and economic construction activities, which is not commensurate with its development potential, the Unit has initially created more jobs for the workers in the area, especially ethnic people, helping them to escape poverty, improving the image of villages and communes in the border of Quang Nam province. This serves as the motivation for officers, employees, and soldiers of Economic - Defence Corps 207 to continue to strive, make efforts, and dedicate themselves to be a solid fulcrum to help people to escape poverty and get rich.

Colonel VU VAN HIEN, Political Commissar of the Corps