New look of mountainous areas

After nearly 5 years of implementing phase 1 (2021 - 2025), the national target program on socio-economic development for ethnic minorities and mountainous areas for the 2021 - 2030 period has brought about remarkable changes to mountainous localities. From new, spacious houses, clean concrete roads, to lush gardens and fields... in the ethnic minority and mountainous areas, it has demonstrated the effectiveness and resilience of the program.

Changes in all aspects

Ca Lan used to live in a temporary, dilapidated house in the middle of a remote mountainous area in Khanh Trung commune, Khanh Vinh district. Thanks to the program's support of 40 million VND to build a house, she has been living in a spacious, 60m² level 4 house since the end of last year. “Without the program, I don’t know when I would have a decent house like this. In addition to the support from the program, many relatives and neighbors also helped with bricks, corrugated iron sheets, and working days. With a new house, I feel secure in learning a trade and working to escape poverty,” Lan shared.

A corner of To Hap town, Khanh Son district.

According to Mang Du - Vice Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Son Tan commune (Cam Lam district), thanks to resources from the program, they have invested in irrigation systems to restore abandoned farming areas, and provided loans for households in the commune to invest in automatic irrigation systems, switch to suitable crops, bringing about clear economic efficiency. For example, Mau Thi Nguyen (Va Ly village), thanks to preferential loans from the program, has risen out of poverty. “I was able to borrow money to buy cows and plant mango trees. Now the cows have given birth and the mango trees have started to bear fruit. Commune officials and prestigious people also guided me on how to raise and treat cows. Thanks to that, my family has escaped poverty and has a stable income,” said Nguyen.

In 2021, Khanh Son district had 3,530 poor households, accounting for more than 47% and 1,405 near-poor households, accounting for nearly 19% of the population. The locality is on the list of 74 poor districts nationwide for the 2021-2025 period and is one of 22 districts prioritized by the Central Government for investment resources and support to escape poverty. However, by the end of 2024, the district will have only 1,620 poor households (accounting for about 20%), 908 near-poor households (accounting for about 11%), and an average income per capita of 37.3 million VND/year, 1.58 times higher than in 2020. "Implementing the program, from 2021 to 2024, the district has invested in socio-economic development, especially in infrastructure, job creation, social security, housing support, and livelihood models to help people develop production... Thanks to that policy, Khanh Son has been removed from the list of poor districts" - said Dinh Van Dung - Chairman of Khanh Son District People's Committee.

In Khanh Vinh district, before 2020, there were 4,831 poor households, accounting for nearly 46% of the population. Now, thanks to resources from investment programs on infrastructure, housing, education, and production support, people's lives are gradually improving. "The poverty rate in the district has decreased to 17%, the average income of people has reached more than 25 million VND/year. We strive to increase this number to more than 40 million VND by the end of 2025" - Van Ngoc Huong - Chairman of Khanh Vinh District People's Committee shared.

Foundation for sustainable development

It can be said that the national target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas has achieved many important results, contributing to fundamentally changing the face of the mountainous areas of the province. The total capital for implementing the program in the 2021 - 2025 period is more than 790 billion VND, of which the central budget is nearly 619 billion VND; by the end of the first quarter of 2025, the whole province has disbursed more than 489 billion VND, reaching 87.3% of the plan. The socio-economic infrastructure system has been invested synchronously: 100% of communes have asphalted or concrete car roads to the commune center; 100% of villages have car roads to the center; 100% of households use the national grid or suitable power sources; 100% of ethnic minority households have clean water; schools, medical stations are solidly built. In particular, policies to support housing, livelihoods, job conversion, preferential loans, etc. have contributed to reducing the poverty rate of ethnic minority households by an average of 7.2% per year; the average income of ethnic minority households exceeds 30 million VND/year; More than 50% of communes and villages have escaped from extremely difficult areas, and both Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh districts have officially escaped the list of poor districts. Production support models have been evaluated as effective, such as loans to convert crops and livestock, invest in new technologies in cultivation, or vocational training, helping people proactively develop the economy and transform their livelihoods sustainably. The program also contributes to improving the educational level of ethnic minorities, preserving and promoting the national cultural identity...

Son Binh commune, Khanh Son district  with durian gardens

Speaking at the recent conference summarizing the program, Nguyen Tan Tuan - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee emphasized: The achieved results are a testament to the spirit of solidarity and efforts to overcome difficulties of the entire political system and the people. To successfully implement the program for the period 2026 - 2030, Party committees at all levels need to enhance their responsibility in directing ethnic work, especially focusing on building a team of grassroots cadres. Localities need to urgently complete the planning of industries, occupations, crops, and livestock, along with specific incentive mechanisms on land, taxes, capital, and production investment to attract businesses and households to develop the economy according to the value chain. Along with that, it is necessary to prioritize synchronous investment in socio-economic infrastructure, focusing on national standard school systems, inter-village transport, irrigation, reservoirs, etc. to create favorable conditions for living, studying and production of people in mountainous areas.

Ma Phuong

Translated by T.T