A project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the World Bank (WB) has helped improve the competitiveness of farmer households in the central and Central Highlands regions after five years of implementation.

At a seminar to review the project in Hanoi on December 22, Pham Quang Toan, deputy director of the project management board, said the 75 million USD project was carried out during 2009-2014 in the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Binh Dinh, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan and Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces in the Central Highlands.

It aimed to increase farmers’ access to the market through the application of new production technologiges, the re-organisation of production groups and the enhancement of business links.

It also helped protect natural resources and the environment via applying sustainable and environmentally friendly production processes and use technologies that save water, enrich land and control chemical residues.

Thanks to the project, the income of local farmers, especially women and ethnic minorities, remarkably improved, Toan said, adding that based on its success, the donors pledged to continue support a new project on developing sustainable agriculture in the country.

According to project director Dang Minh Cuong, as many as 154 research subjects was carried out, while 105 production unions were set up and 98 of them operated effectively during the five-year project. It also helped build and upgrade 186 essential infrastructure works for production.-VNA