Thanks to the national target programme on new-style rural area building, the highland district of Da Bac has got a facelift and the material and spiritual lives of local residents have been improved.
A newly-built road from Tam village to Giang village in Cao Son commune.
According to a report of the Da Bac People's Committee, the district has four communes that have satisfied new-style rural building criteria. In recent years, through the new-style rural area building programme, the rural infrastructure system has been developed vigorously and the living conditions of rural residents have been improved.
Cao Son is one of the four communes in the district that has been recognised as meeting new-style rural area criteria. Coming to the commune, changes can be seen with roads being widened and concretised.
Dinh Van Lam, who resides in Giang village - one of villages that is far away from the commune centre, said in the past, people's lives faced many difficulties due to transport-related problems. Since the implementation of the new-style rural area building programme, roads in the village have been concreted, making it convenient for traders to come the village to buy agricultural products, he noted.
After the road connecting Giang village with Tam village was opened to traffic, it is easy for local residents to go to the commune centre to sell goods or make transactions at the commune People's Committee. Thanks to the road, many households have escaped poverty, and some even have been able to buy cars.
According to Ngo Van Cuong, Secretary of the Cao Son Commune Party Committee, to fulfil the criteria for new-style rural area building, in addition to the State's investment resources, it is necessary for people in the commune to enthusiastically respond to the movement.
Total capital mobilised to serve the commune's new-style rural area building programme for the 2010-2020 period was over 359 billion VND (14.6 million USD). Of which, local residents donated money, land and working days worth over 34 billion VND, Cuong said.
Cao Son is striving to meet standards for an advanced new-style rural area, he said, elaborating that 7 out of the 19 criteria have been fulfilled.
Bui Khac Vinh, Head of the district’s Division of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in 2023, four communes met 19 out of the 19 criteria, one fulfiled 15 out of the 19 criteria and 11 communes satisfied between 10-13 criteria. It also had three more products that were rated as three-star products under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme in 2023, raising the number of OCOP products to nine.
The district now has five model residential areas and 17 model gardens.
The official said the district has set specific goals for new-style rural areas building in 2024. They include improving the material and spiritual lives of local residents, linking agricultural development with industry and services as well as rural development with urban areas.
The district also rolled out solutions to achieve the goals which priotise fund for supporting the development of cooperative economic models and production linkage models in line with value chains to generate jobs and increase incomes for rural residents.
The communication work will be stepped up to mobilise the entire political system to join hands in building new-style rural areas, he said, adding that attention will be paid to implementing a number of criteria, especially those related to transport infrastructure, irrigation, schools, health stations, clean water, and the environment.
Over recent years, the Farmers' Union of Mai Chau district has implemented numerous specific programmes and activities to support its members in developing products under the One Commune One (OCOP) programme. These efforts have contributed to enhancing local agricultural branding, increasing goods value, and improving incomes and living standards for residents.
Since 2022, the Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training has provided advice for the provincial People's Committee to issue Plan No. 219/KH-UBND on November 17, 2022, which outlines the implementation of a project titled "Enhancing the application of Information Technology (IT) and Digital Transformation in Education and Training for the 2022–2025 period, with a vision to 2030.” As of now, the local education sector has made significant progress in IT adoption and digital transformation.
Hoa Binh allocated over 30 trillion VND (nearly 1.18 billion USD) to develop infrastructure systems in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during 2019 - 2024. Priority was given to transport and irrigation infrastructure; markets; schools; medical stations; communal houses; and power grid, telecommunication, radio, and television systems.
The Hoa Binh provincial organising committee for anniversary activities on December 17 held a ceremony to unveil a ceramic mural on the local military-civilian ties and release a book on the Party and political work of the provincial armed forces during 1947 – 2024, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and 35th anniversary of the All-People Defence Festival.
In recent years, Hoa Binh has allocated significant resources to foster cooperative economy, helping ethnic minorities capitalise on their potential and advantages to escape poverty.
As a mountainous district still facing numerous challenges, Da Bac has made notable progress in advancing administrative reforms across various areas. The district has prioritised reorganising and streamlining its administrative apparatus, operating "one-stop-shop” units, and applying information technology (IT) in the handling of administrative procedures. Efforts have also been directed toward upgrading infrastructure and equipment to enhance service quality for residents and businesses.
.jpg)