A foundation for ethnic minorities to rise up.

The National Target Program 1719 is the "key" to helping ethnic minority people in Bac Kan province rise out of poverty. In particular, the implementation of Project 1, "Addressing the shortage of residential land, housing, production land, and clean water," has helped disadvantaged people build new houses, providing them with the motivation and confidence to develop their economy .

Irrigation canals in Thanh Van commune, Cho Moi district ( Bac Kan province) were invested in using funds from the National Target Program 1719. Photo: Minh Thu.

Bac Kan province currently has over 12,000 households facing housing difficulties. Therefore, implementing Project 1 "Addressing the shortage of residential land, housing, production land, and clean water" under the National Target Program 1719, giai đoạn 2021-2025, the entire province has developed a plan to support 983 houses for poor households, helping people feel secure in their work and production, and rise out of poverty. With a focused and targeted investment approach, Bac Kan province has gradually and effectively implemented ethnic minority programs, projects, and policies. In particular, during the period 2019-2024, Bac Kan province allocated over 3,300 billion VND to implement the contents of the National Target Program, focusing on particularly disadvantaged communes and villages. This includes addressing urgent issues related to housing, clean water, and the resettlement of residents in necessary areas. Thanks to this, the entire province has so far joined hands to eliminate nearly 1,100 temporary and dilapidated houses for poor and near-poor households, ensuring they have "three solid" houses (solid walls, solid roof, solid roof).

For example, in Cho Moi district, thanks to funding from the National Target Program 1719 and other projects, programs, and policies, by the end of 2023, Cho Moi district had basically achieved and exceeded the plan for 29 key indicators, and its socio-economic infrastructure was increasingly improved. In addition, the agricultural sector is transforming towards increasing added value and developing the economy sustainably. From 2021 to the present, the entire district has recognized an additional 3 communes as meeting the standards of new rural areas, with an average income of 40.5 million VND/person/year; the poverty rate has decreased by 2-2.5% annually.

Along with investment in infrastructure, housing, residential land, and production land, Bac Kan province pays special attention to components supporting production for ethnic minority communities. In Pac Nam, which is the most disadvantaged district in Bac Kan province, in 2023 alone, the entire district implemented 4 community production development support projects in livestock farming and crop cultivation in Bang Thanh and Boc Bo communes. Simultaneously, two projects were implemented in Bang Thanh commune: one project for raising indigenous pigs (100 pigs/project); one project for growing pears on 5 hectares; and one project for breeding cattle (30 cows) in Boc Bo commune, aiming to create marketable products and contribute to increasing the value, productivity, and quality of agricultural products.

Furthermore, as part of the implementation of the decentralized water supply support program under Project 1 in 2023, Liem Thuy commune, Na Ri district, provided 28 water tanks to 28 poor households of ethnic minorities in the commune, with a total cost of 84 million VND. The water tanks provided to these poor households are made of stainless steel and have a capacity of 1,200 liters. The provision of these water tanks helps poor ethnic minority households in Liem Thuy commune access and use clean water for daily life, contributing to ensuring the health of the people.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the National Target Program 1719 currently being implemented in the province, Mr. Pham Duy Hung - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Kan province - said that in order to effectively implement Project 1 of the National Target Program 1719 on addressing the shortage of residential land, housing, and production land for ethnic minorities, from the beginning of 2024, the People's Committee of Bac Kan province issued a plan and many guiding documents for the implementation of each specific program and project. Along with that, it directed units and localities to seriously implement Government Decree No. 05/2011 on ethnic affairs until 2030, with a vision to 2045. These are considered important steps, creating momentum for ethnic minorities to strive for sustainable development.

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In the first six months of 2024, Bac Kan province had 321 households building houses; 73 households purchasing agricultural tools to switch occupations; and 895 households receiving support for decentralized water supply. However, due to a lack of land, districts could not directly provide support in the form of production land or residential land. The progress of housing construction in some localities was slow with a low disbursement rate. Regarding centralized water supply projects, the province implemented two projects to provide water to ethnic minority and mountainous areas, totaling 57 water supply projects in seven districts and villages still facing difficulties with clean water.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/diem-tua-de-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-vuon-len-10294914.html