Ho Chi Minh City will focus financial sources to help all its 56 rural communes fulfil the criteria of the national programme on new-style rural areas within 2015, municipal officials said at a February 2 meeting.

The programme was initiated by the Government in 2010 with 19 criteria on construction of infrastructure and public facilities, improvement to production capacity, protection of landscape and environment, and promotion of cultural identities, among others.

In 2014, the city mobilised nearly 4.8 trillion VND (220 million USD) from the State budget and the community for implementing the programme, Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Phuoc Trung reported at the conference.

Local authorities also collaborated with businesses to encourage agricultural restructuring and open farming and vocational training courses for farmers, he added.

The department is asking the municipal People’s Committee to recognise 18 additional communes as satisfying all criteria of building new-style rural areas.

Currently there are five communes meeting all standards, with average annual per capita income of 37.6 million VND (1,750 USD), up 2.3 times than the level at the start of the programme.

One commune has met 18 criteria and the remaining 50 have fulfilled 16 out of the 19 criteria.-VNA