Over 76 percent of Hanoi communes recognised as new-style rural areas

 

Hanoi (VNA) – As many as 294 out of the 386 communes in Hanoi, or 76.16 percent, have been recognised as new-style rural areas, said the municipal steering board of the programme on agriculture development and new-style rural area construction for 2016-2020.

In addition, four of the 18 city districts have now received the title.

Average per capita income in rural areas reached 38 million VND (about 1,650 USD), rising by 5 million VND compared to 2015. Health insurance coverage in the districts and towns hit 83.53 percent, while the rate of rural poor households was brought down to 2.57 percent in late 2017 from 3.65 percent in early of 2016.

The steering board has been closely monitoring and addressing difficulties in the implementation of the programme across 16 districts. Meanwhile, the municipal People’s Council has issued new policies creating favourable conditions to realise the programme’s targets.

Over the last two years, the city spent more than 25 trillion VND on the implementation of the programme, with 58 billion VND from the State budget and about 10.6 trillion VND from the city’s coffer.

By 2020, Hanoi aims to have from 10-12 districts and 85 percent of the communes recognised as new-style areas. It also plans to raise the average per capita income of rural residents to 49 million VND and bring poor rural household rate to under 1.5 percent, while ensuring that all rural citizens will have access to clean water.

The city is now home to 154 large-scale fields of high-quality rice, 100 safe vegetable production zones, and 50 gardens for flower and ornamental plant cultivation. As many as 12 collective brand names have been established, including Dan Phuong grapefruit and Dai Thanh longan.

Moreover, the city has developed 15 areas of cattle farms and 76 key animal breeding communes. In 2017, the production value of Hanoi’s cattle-raising industry increased 2.74 percent.

Hanoi has also enhanced the application of high technology in agriculture. There are 123 high-tech agricultural models in the city, with the value of high-tech farm produce contributing 18 percent.

The national target programme on building new-styled rural areas was initiated by the Government in 2010 with the aim of developing rural regions. It initially had 19 criteria, and the increased to 20 in 2015. -VNA