The Hanoi People's Committee has decided to develop specialised agriculture production zones this year under the management of rural districts with an estimated expenditure of 64 billion VND (2.9 million USD).

According to a policy issued to encourage the development of such zones, financial assistance to develop specialised agriculture production zones will be granted to domestic enterprises, households, individuals, farms and cooperatives who are committed to producing or consuming seedlings, livestock and aquatic breeds that meet standards set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Financial support to change breeding, planting, and livestock structures and to build ample infrastructure for expanding agriculture production will be allocated from district budgets.

For developing seedlings and aquatic breeding, district budget will bear 50 percent of the cost for buying breeds for the first time. It will also provide 20 percent of the cost for the first-time procurement of orchid and lily varieties by implanting living tissues.

The district budget will bear 50 percent of the disease prevention cost in the first year and 30 percent in the second year, which will include medicine, labour cost, and money for hiring machines. The financial assistance will cover 70 percent of the expenditure for plant protection in the first year and 50 percent in the following year, if they use finished biological products or products that originate from biological products to ensure disease prevention in the production of safe vegetable, fruits, and tea.

It will also support 50 percent of the cost of chemicals that will be used for sterilising and detoxifying ponds for aquatic products in the first year and 30 percent in the second year.

One-time financial assistance for drilling wells for irrigation, with maximum 10 million VND (460 USD) per hectare, will also be allotted from district budget.

It will also support 50 percent of the expenditure for buying oxygen enrichment equipment for aquatic breeding, with 15 million VND (690 USD) per hectare.

Tran Xuan Viet, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, has asked the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with districts' authorities for policy implementation and organising training classes for beneficiaries.

He also directed local authorities to work with the department in identifying specialised production zones as planned so that policy beneficiaries can be provided with assistance in accordance with current regulations.-VNA