A corner of Yen Dung district, Bac Giang province. (Photo: Bac Giang Newspaper) Bac Giang (VNA) – The northern province of Bac Giang will focus on removing difficulties and speeding up the building of new-style rural areas in the time ahead, said the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The locality is striving to have seven districts recognised as new areas or complete relevant tasks by 2025. Seventy-eight communes are projected to be recognised as advanced new-style rural areas, and 15 others are hoped to win the model new-style rural area status.
New-style rural area building will go in tandem with digital transformation to form smart villages and communes, and tourism development, helping raise income of local residents.
At the same time, the province will continue with agricultural restructuring, towards sustainable agriculture with high efficiency, effectively roll out the “One Commune-One Product” programme, and improve the performance of agricultural cooperatives.
It will also boost industries, services and trade to promote labour restructuring and raise income of rural residents, and create breakthroughs in rural security and order, waste collection and treatment, and narrowing gaps in new-style rural area building between localities.
More attention will be paid to transport infrastructure, digital transformation, culture, education, healthcare, and water supply. Drastic actions will be taken to deal with environmental pollution in rural areas, especially waste and wastewater.
A corner of Thanh Hai commune, Luc Ngan district, Bac Giang province. (Photo: bacgiang.gov.vn) As of June 2023, Bac Giang counted an additional 27 new-style rural communes, raising the total number to 148 out of 182 communes across the province, which is expected to hit 154 by the end of this year.
The number of advanced new-style rural communes now stands at 42, and would reach 55 by December 31.
As of June, one more commune was recognised as a model new-style rural area, and the number is set at 10 (5.5%) by the end of this year.
Notably, the OCOP programme has created new momentum for new-style rural area building and rural economic development. The province is home to 205 OCOP rated from three stars and more. Lychee of Hong Xuan Cooperative in Luc Ngan district is expected to gain the five-star status as its dossier has been submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the recognition.
Bac Giang is also focusing on promoting rural tourism development as part of its new-style rural area building scheme in the 2023-2025 period.
In 2025, the locality aims to standardise all tourist destinations and tourism products, developing at least three outstanding models and rural attractions that promote the locality’s specialties in agriculture, culture, craft villages, and local ecological environment.
In the year, at least 50% of local tourism service suppliers are expected to meet all requirements for serving tourists.
At the same time, Bac Giang will combine rural tourism development with its digital transformation process, striving to have 100% of rural tourist attractions promoted on the internet.
Half of the rural tourist destinations are expected to apply electronic transactions in tourism activities. Some 100% of owners of rural tourist establishments are to receive training in tourism service management, and 80% rural labourers working in tourism are expected to receive tourism skills training.
Tourism development is a way for Bac Giang to promote its potential in agriculture, craft villages, culture and natural landscapes, while attracting social resources and engagement of the local community in rural tourism development, thus increasing jobs and improving income for rural labourers.
Developing ecotourism in line with environmental protection and craft village conservation has been a priority in Bac Giang during rural tourism expansion. The province aims to restore, preserve and promote its traditional craft villages, cuisine, costumes, farming practices, and folk festivals, while restoring the production of traditional and specialty products./.
