Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh to develop agriculture in a sustainable way and give special attention to response to climate change.

Working with the provincial leaders on March 8, he urged the locality to increase the application of science and technology, expand the large-scale rice field model, and increase connections in agricultural production.

At the same time, special attention should be paid to developing irrigation system and coping with saline intrusion and sea level rise, he said.

The Party leader also hailed the locality’s efforts in realising the Politburo’s instruction on studying and following late President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example, as well as the Party Central Committee’s resolution on Party building.

He also asked the locality to successfully organise all-level Party congress and outline orientations for future development that would foster economic growth and reduce poverty.

Located in the southeast Mekong Delta region between the Co Chien and Hau rivers, Tra Vinh has 65km coastline and a great agricultural potential.

With 30 percent of its population being Khmer people, Tra Vinh is one of the poorest localities in the region.

However, the province has 13 communes that completed 19 criteria under the new-style rural area building programme, and 24 others finished up to 18 standards of the programme.

The percentage of poor households dropped sharply to 10.66 percent in 2014 from 20.13 percent in 2011, while social welfare has been ensured.-VNA