Vitality of plantation: Chu Se rubber rising from barren hills

Difficult early days

Meeting with a VAN News reporter at a familiar café in Chu Se commune, Gia Lai province (formerly Chu Se town, Chu Se district, Gia Lai province), Mr. Mai Ngoc Binh appeared as a friendly, open-minded man, even showing a soldier's sense of humor as he began the conversation: "If you want to write about the very first days of rubber trees in Chu Se, you have to talk to the predecessors like Mr. Ngung and Mr. Khanh."

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Born in the former Nga Son district (Thanh Hoa province), Mr. Mai Ngoc Binh was once a soldier in the 1^st Corps. In 1985, after being discharged, he was assigned to work as a youth union officer at the Chu Se Rubber Company and then promoted to Deputy General Director of Chu Se Rubber One-Member Co., Ltd.

Mr. Binh recalled slowly: In early 1984, Dau Tieng Rubber Company (under Vietnam Rubber Group at that time) sent a special working delegation to Chu Se to survey soil, climate, and other conditions. The goal is to introduce rubber trees to green barren hills and wasteland and to strengthen post-war national defense. The delegation consisted of 19 members, including geologists, agricultural engineers, logistics staff, and others, led by Mr. Ho Van Ngung.

Following a thorough survey and reporting to higher authorities, Chu Se Rubber Company was officially established in August 1984. It was among the first five rubber companies under the Vietnam Rubber Group to be present in the Central Highlands, along with Krong Buk, Ea H’leo, Mang Yang, and Kon Tum. Its first director was none other than Mr. Ho Van Ngung.

Most of the 19 members of the survey delegation later became the core members of Chu Se Rubber Company, officially founded in July 1984. From there, lush green rubber plantations stretched endlessly, greening war-ravaged wastelands and shaping the Heroic Chu Se Rubber One-Member Co., Ltd. in the renewal era.

Hardship but joy

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"In those days, rubber trees were still unfamiliar not only to local people but even to local officials. Thanks to persistent communication and field trips to Dau Tieng's rubber plantations, villagers gradually had positive views of rubber trees, moving from curiosity to eager acceptance," Mr. Binh said.

In its early years, Chu Se Rubber Company had four plantations, with its workforce consisting almost entirely of ethnic minority people. The company successfully gained their trust and persuaded them to join rubber planting, but the largest challenge was funding. Financial resources provided by Vietnam Rubber Group were very limited. Thanks to cooperation between the former Soviet Union and Dau Tieng Rubber Company, the partner supplied materials, machinery, and equipment to support land reclamation and new planting in the initial phase.

"In fact, the machinery supplied by the partner was not much, so most of the work was done manually with hoes and shovels. We learned by doing. Although the initial planned area was 13,000 hectares, it took more than 20 years to fully reach that target," Mr. Binh recalled.

Another challenge was the complicated security situation at the time, as Fulro forces intimidated, terrorized, and prevented locals from participating in rubber planting through distorted arguments.

However, those hardships gradually passed as people placed their trust in the Party's sound policies. Although there were no asphalt roads with busy traffic as today, each morning the sound of the gong brought villagers eagerly to the rubber plots, carrying backpacks filled with rice balls, water, and a pack of tobacco for the day's work. By late afternoon, young men and women returned home with cheerful chatter, joyful songs, work stories, and, of course, whispered promises.

Successive generation

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Vitality of plantation: Reform to survive

The very first rubber plots in Chu Se have now completed their life cycle, making way for replanting. The pioneers who laid the foundation for rubber planting here have had a successive generation who continue and advance their legacy.

Mr. Mai Ngoc Luc, son of Mr. Mai Ngoc Binh, is an example. He has introduced multiple initiatives and solutions, such as "Reinforcing and sealing rainwater leaks on tapping panel covers with Vaseline and repairing tapping panel damage caused by cup covers," "Management and technical measures to improve powdery mildew control efficiency," and the initiative "Solutions to enhance leadership and management capacity in agriculture."

Mr. Luc’s initiatives have been widely applied and achieved concrete results. Specifically, the average yield in 2024 reached 1.26 tons/hectare, 0.12 tons higher than the target set by the Vietnam Rubber Group. Total output exceeded the plan by 318 tons, enabling the company to complete 111% of its annual plan 35 days ahead of schedule. Labor productivity reached 5.16 tons/worker/year, up 1.35 tons compared to the plan. Workers' incomes increased by more than VND 1.7 million/person/month. The economic efficiency from the surplus output alone brought the company an estimated profit of over VND 1.46 billion.

In Area 2 of the Ia H’lop production team, Ro Ma Tuyen (born in 2000) stands out as a typical model for the company’s younger workforce. Tuyen joined as a rubber tapper in September 2021 after completing military service. He is assigned to tap over 2,000 rubber trees and consistently meets or exceeds his annual quota, achieving a yield of 8.4 tons of latex.

Besides rubber tapping, Tuyen and his wife also cultivate 400 coffee trees, earning nearly VND 100 million in profit last year, and grow wet rice, which keeps the family supplied year-round. "My family saved the monthly income of VND 8–9 million. At the end of 2024, we built a house costing VND 160 million, with VND 50 million supported by the company," Tuyen said excitedly.

Currently, Chu Se Rubber One-Member Co., Ltd. manages over 9,279 hectares of plantations, with five production teams and one processing plant equipped with three production lines and a capacity of 12,500 tons/year. The company has also successfully invested in and developed a 16,269-hectare rubber project at Chu Se Kampong Thom Rubber JSC in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The company now employs 878 workers, more than 63% of whom are from ethnic minorities, with an average monthly income of nearly VND 9 million/person.

"If it were not for people like Mr. Ngung, Mr. Khanh, and Mr. Binh, and the consensus of the  first generation of workers, there would be no Chu Se Rubber as we see today. Saying 'thank you' would not be enough; these lush green plantations and the well-being of our workers are the truest gratitude to our predecessors and the local government."

(Mr. Le Trung Kien, General Director of Chu Se Rubber One-Member Co., Ltd.)