(HBO) – The Good Neighbours International (GNI) in Vietnam has helped brought a facelift to Muong Pa region, stretching across Xam Khoe and Bao La communes in Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh, where locals have been living on agriculture for generations.
Agriculture in Muong Pa is seeing positive transformation
with new thinking and approach, said Ha Thanh Hoan, Secretary of the Bao La
Party Committee. It was owing to the support of the GNI in Vietnam, he added.
GNI staff in Mai Chau provides training on clean agriculture for
farmers in Bao village, Bao La commune.
The international humanitarian development non-governmental
organisation has been supporting the development of livelihood in Muong Pa through
a project on rural development assistance in Mai Chau, phase 2 from 2015 –
2019.
Before the project was carried out, people in Bao village,
Bao La commune only farmed wet rice, but with the help of GNI, farmers here
have started planting higher-value side crops in their paddy terraces.
Under the project, a cooperative for pig farming in Muong Pa
was also established in August 2018, starting with ten farmer households in Bao
La and Xam Khoe.
In the two communes, eight livelihood groups have been founded
in which farmers are provided with advanced agricultural techniques and
knowledge on food safety practices. They were also trained in how to develop
business plans; and together they visited agricultural demonstrations.
The group members have been also offered with soft loans
worth nearly 2.1 billion VND to expand their production.
To scale up safe agriculture production models, the GNI has
built two inner-field ditches with a total length of 700 metres to supply water
for 13 hectares of fields at a cost of over 166 million VND.
Of 119 poor and near-poor households who are members of the
project’s livelihood groups, over 84 percent said they are satisfied with the
livelihood support while only 1.7 percent were not satisfied because they
believed the loan repayment deadlines should stay in line with the production
cycles and the members should receive bigger loans.
Besides these 119 households, 11 others have taken part in a
livelihood group for safe vegetable and fruit farming which have reported an
increase in their income per capita per year from 9.5 million VND in 2016 to 25
million VND last year./.
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The people in Hoa Binh province are aware of the need to build and preserve the cultural traditions and unique customs of their communities, especially those related to ethnic identities and family values which serve as foundation for a vibrant, tradition-rich Hoa Binh, enriching community life. In recent years, the province’s Party Committee, authorities, and residents have paid heed to building and developing family values and fostering human standards in the new era.
The festival of great national solidarity and culture in 2024 was held at the communal house of Da Bac district on November 5. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Toan and leaders of departments and sectors attended the event.
The Labor Federation of Da Bac district has focused on protecting workers' rights while actively participating in patriotic emulation movements to enhance the creativity and productivity of the local workforces across agencies, organisations and enterprises.
In recent years, the Women's Union of Yen Thuy district has actively contributed to the implementation of the National Target Program on building new the rural areas. The Union's activities not only help raise awareness of environmental protection for the members, the women, and the people but they also contribute to improving the appearance of rural areas and improving the quality of life.
The model of intergenerational self-help club (ISC) has been expanded in Mai Chau district over recent times, contributing to sharing and motivating the disadvantaged people, especially the elderly, to improve their lives.
Following President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings that emulation is patriotism, patriotism requires emulation, the trade union at all levels in Hoa Binh has effectively implemented patriotism emulation movements, especially the "effective, creative working” movement. Responding to the movement, local workers, public servants, and officials have proposed many creative and applicable ideas, helping spread the movement to all agencies, units, and businesses.