(VOVworld) – Two years of implementing Vietnam’s new rural areas program have brought positive changes to the villages of the Cham ethnic people in the southern province of Ninh Thuan. New houses have been built; roads have been expanded and paved; and canals have been upgraded. New apple and grapefruit orchards are boosting local incomes.
Building road connecting Phuoc Nhon to National Highway 1
(photo: baoninhthuan.com.vn) |
Traveling through any commune in Ninh Thuan province, you can see Cham ethnic people building rural roads. Thousands of hectares of farm land, which were once deserted, have become fruitful orchards.
We’re visiting Phuoc Nhon commune, where people are building a communal road connecting to National Highway 1A. In the distance, we can hear the sound of bulldozers and people urging each other to work. The rocky road leading to the commune used to be dusty in the sunny season and inundated in the rainy season. With a 30,000 USD project funded by the government and private contributions, a 400-meter road has been built which makes travel and transportation of goods more convenient. Dao Hieu is a Cham resident of Phuoc Nhon village. "It was hard traveling on this road, which was muddy in the rainy season. The authorities encouraged people to donate money and get involved in paving the road. We are glad because the project benefits us."
Phuoc Thai commune was chosen to pilot building new rural areas. The local authorities mobilized resources and combined construction projects to build public works. In 2 years, 300,000 USD has been raised, including 80,000 USD from private donations. Han Tan Duy, Vice Chairman of Phuoc Thai commune’s People’s Committee, says: "Since the commune was chosen to pilot the new rural areas program, we have been mobilizing resources from the people. They have been active in doing their part to build new rural areas."
Although the lives of many households remain difficult, they have voluntarily donated land public works. Ngo Van Quang of Thai Hoa hamlet donated 900 square meters of land for a canal. "I donated land to build canals and roads so the commune will not be inundated. We appreciate the State’s policy of building new rural areas. My family lost a piece of land but it benefits the whole area."
Villagers in Phuoc Hau commune have adopted new plant and animal varieties to increase output. They have developed fish farms, subsidiary farms, and orchards which have increased farmers’ incomes, raised people’s living standards, and reduced rural poverty.
Ninh Thuan province has 1 commune that has achieved 9 criteria, and 6 communes that have achieved 8 criteria. Chau Thang Long is Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: "We will continue to mobilize the people’s involvement in building new rural areas. The people play the central role and the State supports them by getting enterprises to invest in agricultural and rural development. We will enhance communication and identify work to be done by the people and ways the State can help them obtain health insurance, clean up the environment, and plant trees. We’ll try to do work that doesn’t require much investment."
Ai Nghiem