Dien Bien: Awakening people's inner strength to escape poverty

In recent years, the rural appearance in Dien Bien has changed a lot. Poverty reduction work is no longer just a simple support, but has become a process of awakening inner strength, creating opportunities for each person to stand on their own two feet, contributing to building a prosperous and fulfilling life.

Many policies to support people to escape poverty

As a province with a high poverty rate, with more than 80% of the population being ethnic minorities and a fragmented terrain, in recent times, Dien Bien has flexibly implemented many poverty reduction solutions suitable to the conditions of each region and each population group.

Identifying the diversification of livelihoods, production development associated with career conversion as the focus, for Dien Bien province, poverty reduction is no longer a simple support but needs to become a process of awakening internal strength, creating opportunities for each person to stand on their own feet, contributing to building a prosperous and fulfilling life, gradually realizing the development aspirations of the heroic land in the new period.

To achieve this goal, Dien Bien province continues to effectively mobilize resources, especially from the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction, focusing on supporting production, diversifying livelihoods, developing the OCOP model, promoting vocational training and creating sustainable jobs.

Dien Bien prioritizes vocational training for workers. Photo: Quoc Huy

Looking back at the 2021 - 2025 period, Dien Bien province was allocated more than 2,063 billion VND by the Central Government and has implemented 7 key projects, focusing on infrastructure investment, production development, housing support, vocational education , sustainable employment, poverty reduction communication and improving capacity to monitor and evaluate the Program.

On that basis, Dien Bien has built and replicated more than 200 effective livelihood models, suitable for the conditions of each region and each ethnic group. Many models such as growing squash, passion fruit, macadamia, cinnamon, coffee, beekeeping... have helped thousands of households increase their income and stabilize their lives. Each year, more than 8,000 workers are trained in vocational skills, thousands of poor households are supported with housing, domestic water facilities, and means of production, creating conditions for household economic development.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the province will recruit 6,621 new vocational training students. Of which, 381 are college students, 1,156 are intermediate students, and 5,084 are elementary and training under 3 months. The training classes are concentrated for college and intermediate levels and mobile training in villages and hamlets for elementary levels. Thereby, supporting workers to improve their skills, qualifications, and scientific and technological knowledge to apply in production and business, increase productivity and income, and gradually reduce poverty sustainably.

Providing livelihoods for sustainable poverty reduction has been the right policy of Dien Bien province in recent years. Instead of simply providing support, programs and projects have shifted to creating conditions for people to be self-reliant in production, create jobs and increase their income. The combination of preferential credit capital, vocational training linked to practice and technology transfer is forming a solid foundation for the process of rural economic development.

Striving for a prosperous and innovative Dien Bien

In recent years, the province's agriculture and forestry have been restructured in the direction of development according to key fields and product groups, gradually forming concentrated production areas, such as rice, tea, coffee, macadamia, and rubber. Up to now, the area of ​​high-quality rice accounts for nearly 60% of the total cultivated area; rubber over 5,000 hectares, coffee over 8,000 hectares, macadamia over 10,600 hectares.

Some specialty products have built brands and geographical indications, typically Tua Chua tea, Muong Ang coffee, Dien Bien rice, contributing to increasing the value and competitiveness of local agricultural products; initially forming a chain linking production, processing, and consumption associated with cooperatives and enterprises, thereby increasing the added value of products and increasing income for farmers.

According to Mr. Le Xuan Canh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the industry promotes the application of science and technology and digital transformation; considering this a breakthrough solution to improve productivity, quality and added value for local agricultural products. This is also one of the major orientations, demonstrating the determination to make science and technology a breakthrough, creating momentum for modern and sustainable agricultural development.

The positive results in poverty reduction in Dien Bien province reflect the effectiveness of leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities at all levels, and at the same time affirm the central role of the people in poverty reduction. Wherever livelihoods are expanded, there faith, aspiration and will to rise up are ignited.

Currently, the operation of the two-level local government model from July 1, 2025 is creating new momentum for Dien Bien to develop its socio-economy faster and more sustainably, including poverty reduction.

In the coming time, Dien Bien will continue to pay attention to livelihood development, through implementing livelihood diversification and developing sustainable poverty reduction models. Specifically, supporting the construction and replication of the OCOP model; developing vocational education and job creation, further promoting the will of self-reliance, self-reliance and the aspiration to escape poverty of the people.

According to the Department of Home Affairs of Dien Bien province, in 2024, the Provincial Employment Service Center carried out many outstanding activities; organized 6 job fairs, 74 mobile and online job transactions; attracted more than 24,700 workers to participate. The Center introduced 1,573 workers to work at companies and enterprises in and outside the province, along with 18 workers being sent to work abroad. These efforts helped Dien Bien not only achieve but also exceed the set target, reaching 120.64% of the plan.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/dien-bien-khoi-day-noi-luc-thoat-ngheo-cua-nguoi-dan-10394408.html