The central province of Binh Thuan is striving to reduce its poor household rate in mountainous areas to below 15 percent by 2015, and eight percent for the region’s ethnic Cham households.

The province will focus on increasing the Cham people’s ability to raise themselves out of poverty while also cracking down on the the illegal trade of arable land, which often results in a relapse back into poverty.

Priority will be given to investments for developing rural transportation, irrigation systems, trade and service facilities, and ensuring a sufficient supply of fresh water to local people.

Binh Thuan will continue to boost activities to encourage agricultural expansion, to foster the sustainable socio-economic development of the Cham people.

Today, the rate of poor households in the locality is 17 percent, a 42 percent drop from 2008, whilst that of the Cham households is just over eight percent.

The outcome is attributed to the province’s efforts to create more than 4,755 ha of farmland for 4,000 households, and provide concessional loans worth a total of 22 billion VND (1.04 million USD) to help local farmers expand production.

Notably, the province has also worked out an investment policy allowing farmers to get varieties of rice and corn, fertiliser and pesticide in advance, totalling 63 billion VND (2.9 million USD).

On average, local farmers can reap 550 kilos of rice per hectare and 680 kilos per hectare for corn, and earn around 40 million VND (1,895 USD) from corn cultivation and eight million VND (379 USD) from rice without failure of crops.-VNA