A worker harvests rubber latex in a farm in the Central Highlands of Gia Lai. (Photo: VNA)The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) will be given close to 60.64 trillion VND and the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (VinaCafe) will get nearly 2.28 billion VND from the 2021 central budget in pursuant to Decision 42/2021/QD-TTg dated October 8, 2012 on provision of support for employers of ethnic minority people from mountainous and extremely disadvantaged areas.
The Ministry of Finance was assigned to manage and disburse the funding in line with current regulations.
The move forms part of the government’s efforts to improve livelihoods of ethnic minorities in remote and disadvantaged regions.
Rubber and coffee have been among Vietnam’s key currency earners for years. Last year, the country’s rubber and coffee export value hit 2.4 billion USD and 2.7 billion USD, respectively.
The two agricultural products are largely grown in the northern mountainous, Central Highlands and Southeast regions which are endowed with nutrient-rich red basalt soil. The regions are mainly inhabited by ethnic minority people, a majority of whom have been struggling with many difficulties.
According to a 2019 survey by the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, Vietnam is home to 14.1 million ethnic minority people, accounting for 14.7 percent of the total population. It also revealed that the percentage of poor and near-poor households in ethnic minority inhabited areas is 3.5 times higher than the country’s average./.
VNA
