Nam Dinh: A fulcrum for new rural take-off

10 years of implementing Directive No. 40-CT/TW is not a long time in the journey of implementing social credit policies in Nam Dinh . However, the participation of local Party committees and authorities has mobilized the entire socio-political system to participate in implementing social credit policies in the province. Therefore, the policy credit capital flow has not only increased in coverage but also in depth, becoming a support to help Nam Dinh become the first province to reach the new rural finish line in the country, and continue to support Nam Dinh towards further goals, not only a model new rural area, but also becoming one of the important development centers of the Southern Red River Delta by 2030.

Governor of the State Bank, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies Nguyen Thi Hong speaks at the conference summarizing 10 years of implementing Directive No. 40-CT/TW in Nam Dinh province.

The days when the people of Giao Long commune were joyful when the commune was recognized as meeting the advanced new rural standards in 2023. In that journey, the contribution of policy credit capital to support the poor and policy beneficiaries to borrow capital to invest in the economic advantages of coastal communes is indispensable. Even for those who cannot rely on the sea to rise up, the opportunity to improve their lives and develop the economy is not closed because of that.

Like the family of Ms. Tran Thi Lan, Hamlet 3, Giao Long Commune, Giao Thuy District. Originally only relying on farming, plus her husband often sick, 3 small children, although she worked hard, poverty still haunted her family for many years. The whole family of 5 people lived in a cramped, dilapidated house, until 2014, they were able to borrow 30 million VND from the Poor Households Economic Development Program. They received a bid for nearly 2 hectares, renovated it into a traditional fish pond and built a barn to raise super egg-laying ducks, chickens, sows, and pigs, but because of limited capital and lack of knowledge and experience, her family produced and raised livestock on a small scale, supplying the market in the commune, with unstable income, life was still very difficult.

Therefore, in 2019, she continued to borrow 50 million VND from the Near-Poor Household Program, plus the little capital she had saved, she invested in renovating the pond to raise white-leg shrimp, grass carp, and carp. Since then, on average, in a 6-month crop, her family harvested 600 kg of shrimp, 25 tons of various types of fish, after deducting expenses, the family's income was 12 million VND/month. And after only 3 years, her family paid off all the debt and saved nearly 100 million VND.

Going one step further to stop the path to poverty, in 2022, she continued to borrow 100 million VND from the capital source for newly escaped poverty households to rent an additional 1 hectare of pond and invest in buying more shrimp and fish seeds. As a result, every 6 months her family harvested more than 1 ton of shrimp and 47 tons of fish. After deducting expenses, the family's income was 21 million VND/month. The annual profit is also the foundation for her to have the conditions to raise her children to study. Currently, the first child is in the 3rd year of the University of Agriculture , the second child is in grade 11, the third child is in grade 4, all of them are well-behaved and good at studying. The family has also built a spacious 55 m² house in Hamlet 3, Giao Long Commune.

Giao Thuy is the first district of Nam Dinh province to be recognized as meeting advanced new rural standards in 2023.

For Mr. Nguyen Van Dong, currently residing in Go hamlet, Hai Minh commune, Hai Hau district, the bright future of his wife and him has been lit up not only by economic development but more importantly, the capital for students from the district's Social Policy Bank has become a "savior" to help his children not give up their dream of studying. He said, "My family is one of the most disadvantaged groups in the commune. The whole family's life depends on the traditional vermicelli production business, the income is not much and we have to raise 6 children to study. Every time the new school year is about to begin, seeing the children eagerly preparing to go to school, my wife and I are worried, at times we have discussed letting them drop out of school early to help with the family work. Therefore, accessing the capital for students has helped 3 children complete their university programs, have stable jobs after graduation, and repay the principal and interest in full.

In addition, his family also received a loan of 100 million VND from the Job Creation Support Program, maintaining and expanding jobs, investing in modern machinery, increasing productivity and quality of vermicelli products, thereby having a stable source of income and building a spacious house.

As for Mr. Bui Van Huong, residing in Son Hoa residential group, Ngo Dong town, Giao Thuy district, the policy credit capital is a support for him to have more confidence in life, determined to strive to become a useful person for society. He said: after going through a period of mistakes in his life, after completing his prison term and returning to his hometown, at first I felt very self-conscious, afraid that people would notice my previous mistakes. Not only that, my economic life was very difficult, no job, no means of production. Luckily for me, on the day I returned, I received attention from my family, local authorities, especially Ms. Pham Thi Thu, head of the Savings and Loan Group of the Women's Union of Son Hoa residential group, comrades from Ngo Dong town police, local departments and officers of the Social Policy Bank, who promoted the source of preferential credit support loans for people who had completed their prison sentences according to Decision No. 22 of the Prime Minister. I discussed with my family to boldly register and appointed my wife as the representative to complete the application procedures to borrow capital from the Bank. The Savings Group approved a loan of 100 million VND, for a term of 5 years, to invest in a food service business.

“I was extremely happy and excited and my family started repairing the store and buying equipment. From here, my dream became a reality. I had a stable job to earn some income to support myself and my family and become a useful person to society,” Mr. Huong shared.

These are just a few features of the social policy credit picture after 10 years of implementing Directive 40-CT/TW. With the Party committees and Party organizations of Nam Dinh province focusing on leading and directing social policy credit activities; determining that policy credit is a major and consistent policy of the Party and State, an important, regular and long-term political task in poverty reduction, ensuring social security and building new rural areas. From here, the source of entrusted local budget capital has increased sharply. By June 30, 2024, the entrusted local budget capital reached 121.4 billion VND, an increase of 115.4 billion VND compared to before Directive No. 40-CT/TW, bringing the total policy credit capital to 4,546.2 billion VND, an increase of 118.5% compared to 2014. Policy credit is increasingly penetrating into life, helping many borrowers boldly change their thinking, working methods, and invest in transforming production and business forms.

Staff of the Social Policy Bank of Nam Dinh province guide people to complete their application for social policy credit loans.

Statistics show that after 10 years of implementing Directive 40-CT/TW, in Nam Dinh province, policy credit capital has been disbursed to 290,877 poor households and other policy beneficiaries, with loan turnover reaching 9,704.3 billion VND, contributing to helping 46,880 households overcome the poverty line; attracting and creating jobs for 21,834 workers, 48 people who have completed their prison sentences have received loans to integrate into the community; 8,805 students with difficult circumstances have received loans to study; built 323,156 clean water and environmental sanitation works; 469 houses for poor households and policy households, 493 houses for low-income people...

These achievements have contributed positively to solving social security issues, contributing to supporting the National Target Program to achieve the goal of reducing the poverty rate and meeting the criteria in building new rural areas in the province. By the end of 2023, the number of poor households in the province was only 7,041, accounting for 1.09% of the total number of households; near-poor households were 17,803, accounting for 2.76% of the total number of households. To date, the whole province has 197/204 communes and towns meeting the advanced new rural standards (reaching 96.6%) and 34/188 communes meeting the model new rural standards (reaching 18%).

However, to maintain and improve the quality of the new rural criteria, model and further turn Nam Dinh into a province with fast, comprehensive and sustainable development, a fairly developed province of the country, one of the important development centers of the Southern Red River Delta by 2030, it is necessary to continue to promote the role of "midwife" in terms of capital for the poor and other policy subjects to have the opportunity to rise up and escape poverty sustainably; shift the economic structure associated with shifting the labor structure, increasing income for local people.

Policy credit capital is disbursed promptly for people to borrow capital.

New dynamics in the implementation of policy credit have opened up, when the Provincial Party Committee set an annual target to continue to balance and prioritize the allocation of local budgets entrusted to the VBSP to supplement capital for lending to the poor and other policy subjects; strive for capital entrusted for investment from local budgets to annually account for 15% -20% of the growth in total outstanding credit of the VBSP and by 2030, capital entrusted from local budgets to account for 15% of the total operating capital of the VBSP. The province also called on the Fatherland Front at all levels to continue to promote the expansion of the "For the Poor" campaign, consider depositing funds and temporarily idle money into the VBSP. At the same time, it aims to mobilize organizations, agencies, and unions to implement and direct affiliated units to open deposit accounts and deposit money from funds at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to increase resources for social policy credit activities to support and care for the poor to escape poverty, contributing to the goal of sustainable poverty reduction, in accordance with the orientation set forth by the Party and the State.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/nam-dinh-diem-tua-cat-canh-nong-thon-moi-156549.html