Growing Sa nhan tim (Amomum Longiligulare T.L.Wu ), a valuable medical plant, helps local residents in Dien Bien province escape poverty and improve their lives. (Photo: VNA) Underthe leadership of the Party and the Government, localities nationwide haveimplemented solutions and programmes to help local people develop suitablelivelihood models to escape poverty and improve their lives, especially in2016-2020.
TheMuong Nhe Nature Reserve in the northern province of Dien Bien started toimplement a project to develop the livelihood based on the forest in fivecommunes in the buffer zone of the forest.
Theproject of planting Sa nhan tim (Amomumlongiligulare T.L.Wu), a valuable species of medical plants, was firstconducted in Sin Thau commune, the westernmost area of the country.
Initially,local people were reluctant to join the project as they were unaware of theeconomic benefits gained from growing the plant.
PoDan Sinh, a Ha Nhi ethnic resident in Ta Ko Khu village of the commune, was apioneer in implementing this project. Sinh, a former Party Secretary andChairman of the People’s Committee of Sin Thau in 2000-2015, set an example forlocals. Witnessing his success, the local residents followed suit.
Sa nhan tim is a valuable plant that can be usedas traditional medicine, spice and a source of aromatic material.
Vietnamis rich in wild Amomum Longiligulare and at least four species are commonlyused in the country including Amomum Longiligulare T.L.Wu. The demand for thisplant is increasing while the amount of the plant collected is decreasing.
Themedical plant is easy to take care of and can be sold at a good price. Plantingthis in mountainous areas also helps the forest as the plants have a highmoisture level, helping to prevent fires as well as soil erosion in the forest.
Localfarmers can harvest the first crop after about two years with a hectareyielding about 100kg of fruits. Dried fruits can be sold at 500,000 VND (21.7USD) per kilo.
Thesuccess in Sin Thau had a ripple effect. Local residents in other localitiesincluding Nam Po, Muong Cha, Dien Bien, Tuan Giao and Tua Chua started plantingthis species and earned income.
Theprogrammes and solutions to alleviate poverty have had positive results in thedistrict. After five years of implementing the national targetprogramme on sustainable poverty reduction, the rate of the poor households inthe district decreased from 74.02 percent in 2015 to 58.43 percent in 2020.
MuongNhe district in Dien Bien is only one of the localities across the nationworking to help local residents develop suitable livelihoods to improve theirlife.
TheParty and State have identified sustainable poverty reduction and ensuringsocial security as an important goal in the development process, which isclearly shown in the documents of the Party, the resolutions of the NationalAssembly, and strategies, plans, schemes and programmes of the Government.
TheNational Steering Committee on National Target Programme on Sustainable PovertyReduction during 2016-2020 has been assisting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucin directing and coordinating ministries, agencies and localities to resolveissues related to mechanisms and policies to realise poverty reductionobjectives.
All63 provinces and cities of Vietnam have also released several policiesregarding poverty reduction to support poor households.
BacKan province has issued policies to encourage poor households todevelop plants and breeds that are suitable with the local climate, soil andbring high economic benefits.
Hanoihas supported those who are unable to escape poverty while Ho Chi Minh City hasconstructed a sustainable poverty reduction strategy within its overallsocio-economic development plan.
Withsuch persistent efforts, milestone achievements have been attained withmore than 6 million people escaping poverty in 2016-2019. Roughly 2 millionpeople were also removed from the list of those living under the poverty linein the same period.
Thenumber of poor households decreased 40.66 percent in Si Ma Cai district and39.96 percent in Muong Khuong district in Lao Cai province, and 34.51 percentin Mu Cang Chai district in Yen Bai province.
Oncecalculated, the poverty rate in Vietnam is expected to stand at 2.75 percent in2020.
Byachieving this, the rate of the poor households will have decreased by 1.43 percenta year, meeting the targets set by the National Assembly and the Resolution ofthe 12th National Party Congress.
Whatis more, Vietnam attained the UN's Millennium Development Goals on povertyreduction 10 years ahead of schedule and was hailed as a global model inthe task.
Despitethe impressive results, there are limitations that need to be tackled inpoverty reduction.
Accordingto the National Steering Committee on National Target Programme on SustainablePoverty Reduction in 2016-2020, poverty alleviation is still not sustainablewith a high rate of poor households and the increasing gap between the rich andpoor as well as among the groups. The poverty rate among ethnic minority groupsis still high.
Inaddition, some mechanisms and policies for poor areas, mountainous areas, andethnic minority areas are ineffective.
Inlate 2020, the Government set new poverty standards for 2021-2025. With thisnew standard, the country will have about 4.5 million households with incomebelow the poverty line, equivalent to more than 17 million people, which is ahuge challenge for the country.
However,this will serve as a basis for more accurate and comprehensive identificationof poor households, near-poor households and other beneficiaries of nationalpoverty reduction and social security policies.
Thenational multidimensional poverty line in 2021-2025 will also serve as thebasis for making policies, mechanisms and solutions to achievemultidimensional, inclusive and sustainable poverty reduction./.
VNA
