People in Jun village (Yang Bac commune) were excited when Dak Po district invested in pouring concrete for the village's communal house yard. Photo: Nhat Hao

Our impression when visiting De Cho Gang village (Phu An commune) was that the inner-village roads were paved with smooth concrete, with solidly built and spacious houses on both sides of the road. Talking to us, Mr. Dinh Truynh said: “Previously, my family’s 4 sao of rice only yielded about 1.2 tons. Now, thanks to guaranteed irrigation water and knowing how to take care of the rice, the yield is higher, reaching 1.6-1.8 tons/crop. Not only is there enough rice to eat, the family also has surplus to sell.”

Talking about the changes in the village, Mr. Dinh Cao - Party Cell Secretary and Head of De Cho Gang Village - shared: "The village has 137 households, including 124 ethnic minority households; the average income is 41 million VND/person/year. The village has this improvement thanks to the Party and State investing in infrastructure construction and supporting production. In particular, since the To Do reservoir was upgraded (in 2019), people have produced more effectively."

According to Mr. Tran Vu Thanh - Vice Chairman of Phu An Commune People's Committee, from 2016 to now, the District People's Committee and agencies, units, associations and unions of the district and commune have paid attention to supporting De Cho Gang village to repair irrigation dams, water drops, support rice seeds, fertilizers, seedlings with a total cost of over 3.5 billion VND. In addition, the commune also allocated the budget to support the village to concretize and harden some internal village roads; mobilized philanthropists and sister units to support the construction of "Dai Doan Ket" houses, repair houses, so the rate of solid houses reached 73%, and the rate of concreted roads reached 70%. Compared to before, the people's lives have improved significantly.

In Jun village (Yang Bac commune), Mr. Dinh Oen - Party cell secretary and village head - said: The village currently has 73 households (8 poor households), Bahnar people account for 95%. To improve people's lives, the village has actively promoted and mobilized people to change their thinking and working methods. In addition, the district and commune have also supported the construction of many infrastructure works and houses to serve production and daily life; supported seedlings, seeds, and fertilizers to help people change crops, apply new varieties, and techniques to effective production. Currently, the average income per capita reaches 41 million VND/year.

Joining us on a visit to the village, Mr. Vo Viet Nghia - Chairman of the People's Committee of Yang Bac commune informed us more: From 2019 to now, Jun village has been supported by the district to implement 4 projects with a total value of nearly 1.7 billion VND; supported to build 2 houses worth 130 million VND; supported to implement 2 effective agricultural extension models for replication; organized many training sessions on knowledge about livestock and crop farming. At the end of 2019, the village met the new rural standards (NTM).

“The commune has 8 villages, of which 5 are in particularly difficult circumstances. Therefore, in the coming time, the commune will continue to support the villages to improve infrastructure and develop the economy, including helping Jun village maintain its achievements in building a new rural area and prioritizing helping Bung Bang Hven village meet the standards of a new rural area by the end of 2023,” said Mr. Nghia.

Dak Po district and Yang Bac commune are focusing resources to help Bung Bang Hven village meet new rural standards by the end of 2023. Photo: Nhat Hao

Dak Po district has 20 ethnic minority villages. In recent years, the district has mobilized all resources from programs, projects and local budgets to support villages in building infrastructure and developing production. Notably, in the period of 2016-2022, from the capital for building new rural areas, the district has implemented 156 projects with a total cost of over 100 billion VND, of which more than 55% of the projects are focused on ethnic minority villages. In addition, the district also focuses on supporting funding for building and repairing houses and toilets for people; supporting loans, seedlings, fertilizers, and techniques for people to improve production efficiency. In addition, the district also assigns agencies, units, and organizations in charge of villages to have plans to help, especially helping poor households to rise up.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Bui Van Khanh - Chairman of the District People's Committee - said: Through investment in improving infrastructure and supporting production, the lives of people in ethnic minority villages have been significantly improved. The clearest evidence is that the internal roads in the village have been concreted, basic houses have been solidified, electricity has been brought to each household, and cultural institutions have been built.

“In the coming time, the district will continue to support resources for localities to build infrastructure, focusing on building irrigation works to ensure irrigation; assigning agencies and organizations to monitor and help people with techniques, support plants and seedlings, promote propaganda so that people can change their thinking and working methods, boldly switch crops, and apply advanced techniques to production to increase productivity,” Mr. Khanh informed.

According to the Chairman of Dak Po District People's Committee, the district is actively attracting businesses to operate in Phu An Industrial Cluster to create jobs for people, especially households without land for production. The district strives to have 1-2 villages meeting NTM standards each year.