A Swiss-funded project to improve public services for agricultural development has been performing well in the northwestern mountainous province of Hoa Binh, heard a conference in the province on April 1.

The Programme on Public Services Provision Improvement in Agriculture and Rural Development (PS-ARD), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and non-governmental organisation Helvetas, aims to help reduce poverty and improve living standards for local people.

Participants at the meeting discussed the implementation of the project in 2013 and an action plan for the project in the 2014-2015 period.

Funded with a total investment of 4.06 million USD, the programme intends to enhance communal-level capacity in making socio-economic development plans and better public service systems and processes in agriculture and rural development.

Through training courses held within the framework of the project, 100 percent of financial staffs in Hoa Binh’s communes are able to make projections for small-scale infrastructure projects, and 60 percent can effectively manage investment capital.-VNA