Dak Hlo valley in Gia Lai province’s Kbang district is covered with the immense green color of sugarcane this rainy season. Tong Van Giang, a local of Dak Hlo commune said that over the past 3 years, the local people have applied advanced technologies in cultivating sugarcane, their long-time major plant suitable with the local sandy soil. This has proved to be effective as the local sugarcane productivity has increased up to 130 tons/ha from 60 ton/ha. Giang and other 15 households are piloting the model of vast field of sugarcane growing on nearly 13 ha for higher productivity and quality. He said: "When applying the vast field model proposed by An Khe factory, farmers benefit the most as we don’t have to put much money in investment. The factory takes care of everything for us, from setting up infrastructure to preparing breeds, fertilizers, and mud to make the soil loose and friable."   

The application of vast field model in sugarcane growing is to be expanded in the near future in Kbang district thanks to a close coordination among An Khe Sugar Factory, and the local authorities and people. In addition to an alteration in production methods, changes can also be seen in the local infrastructure system thanks to volunteer contributions of the local residents in terms of land, money, and labor. Most of Dak Hlo commune’s roads have been paved, making it easier for people to travel. Nguyen Thanh Phuong lives in Dak Hlo’s hamlet 3: "The local roads used to be very swampy and it was very difficult for us to travel around. The government support with the national new rural development program plus the local people’s contributions have brought a new face lift to our commune".

Amid a thriving local economy and increasing demands for better living conditions, many people in Dak Hlo now can save enough money to build new modern houses. Nguyen Van Thang from Dak Hlo commune’s hamlet 2 told VOV that his family has saved up to 50,000 USD to build a new house: "We want to build a better house to match with the nice surroundings here. This is also part of our efforts to contribute the local implementation of the national new rural development program."
New modern houses are mushrooming in Dak Hlo commune over the past 3 years, proving the local authorities’ effective implementation of the national new rural development program. Tran Huu Phuoc, chairman of the Dak Hlo communal People’s Committee attributes the program’s success to positive changes in people’s awareness regarding the importance of the national new rural development program. The local average per capita has reached nearly 15000 USD, doubling that of 2011, on the same cultivation areas of sugarcane. Among the commune’s 800 households, only 50 are categorized as poor households. Tran Huu Phuoc told VOV: "In the beginning, even local staff like us was still at fault implementing this new rural development program. But we managed to make the local people to understand of the program’s importance. They are well aware that they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the program with the government support in terms of mechanisms, policies, and conditions."

An appropriate combination of old and new methods in implementing the national program on new rural development has brought a new facelift to Dak Hlo, a former disadvantaged commune of Kbang district.