The Mekong Delta province of An Giang should address land issues properly, especially implementing policies for farmers who have no or lack farming land, narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, and provide jobs for rural residents.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made the request while working with An Giang province’s key leaders on August 27 during his two-day visit to the province starting one day before.

The Party leader urged An Giang province to continue promoting its attained achievements, surmounting weaknesses and shortcomings, and speeding up the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s Resolution 26 on agriculture, farmer and rural areas with higher determination and stronger and more comprehensive measures.

Regarding new production models that should be multiplied in rural development, the province should strengthen the linkage between production, processing and sale to increase productivity, quality and efficiency, ensuring interests for local farmers.

General Secretary Trong praised rural development efforts made by An Giang province over the past years with a total farming area of over 644,000 ha and an average rice yield of 6.33 tonnes per ha in 2011.

Aquaculture, especially tra fish breeding, has strongly developed, becoming a key economic sector of the province.

Eighty out of 136 communes throughout the province have had standard roads standardized, all communes have gained access to national power grid and 97 percent of communes have reached secondary education universalisation./.