Policy Credit (Part 2)

Over the past ten years, the Tra Vinh Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee have issued numerous resolutions and policy mechanisms to effectively implement policy credit programs in the province. Timely support from these people-friendly credit policies has created momentum to help the poor and other policy beneficiaries overcome adversity; fostering self-reliance, self-improvement, and the aspiration for advancement among the people.

These "bridges" connect the Party's will and the people's hearts.

To deliver policy credit funds to the right beneficiaries and improve credit quality, the provincial branch of the Social Policy Bank has implemented a lending method through four socio- political organizations: the Women's Union, the Farmers' Association, the Veterans' Association, and the Youth Union. This method helps socio-political organizations integrate credit programs with agricultural and industrial promotion programs, and the transfer of science and technology into production. This, in turn, helps people use loan capital effectively.

The Farmers' Association is one of the four socio-political organizations implementing entrusted credit programs. To date, the outstanding balance of entrusted policy credit programs of the Association is over 1,373 billion VND through 841 savings and loan groups, creating conditions for nearly 40,000 members to access capital for production development and job creation.

To utilize loan capital effectively, the Farmers' Association at all levels has coordinated with relevant units and localities to organize training, consultation, and technology transfer for over 587,000 farmer members.

According to Quang Thanh Tu, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Tra Vinh Provincial Farmers' Association, the entrusted activities have contributed to enhancing the position and role of the Association, creating conditions for the Association to gather and unite farmers, and promoting increasingly effective emulation movements, especially the movement "Farmers competing in excellent production and business, uniting to help each other get rich and sustainably reduce poverty". Thanks to preferential loan capital, many farmers have boldly changed their crop structure, yielding very high efficiency compared to old farming practices.

The model of growing seedless lemons for export to the Netherlands by Thanh Chi Cooperative in Huyen Hoi commune, Cang Long district, is proof that farmers are effectively using policy credit funds to prosper in their homeland. Through the Provincial Farmers' Association, the cooperative has 19 members who accessed preferential loans from the Policy Bank totaling 950 million VND to invest in growing seedless lemons.

Farmer Kim Hoai Phuong, from Huyen Hoi commune, Cang Long district, received a loan of 50 million VND from the policy credit source through the Huyen Hoi Commune Farmers' Association to invest in planting seedless lemons.

Farmers receive technical support and guidance on planting and caring for seedless lemons to ensure export standards. In addition, thanks to the close linkage in production and consumption between farmers, cooperatives, and businesses, the cooperative's output is very stable. Currently, on average, each hectare of seedless lemon cultivation yields a profit of over 400 million VND per year for cooperative members, 7-8 times higher than growing rice in the same area.

According to Quang Thanh Tu, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Tra Vinh Provincial Farmers' Association, advising and guiding the development and replication of effective production and business models, helping each other escape poverty and achieve legitimate wealth, is one of the key activities included in the annual work program of the Association at all levels. At the end of the year, a summary, evaluation, and awarding of prizes are organized for outstanding and effective production and business models at each level of the Association, from the province to the grassroots. In recent times, many effective production models of farmers have contributed to helping localities complete the criteria for building new rural areas and developing socio-economic conditions in the area.

According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Vinh province, Le Van Han, in accordance with Directive 40 of the Party Central Committee, over the past 10 years, Tra Vinh province has issued many specific policies to support loans for poor and near-poor households and other policy beneficiaries to address employment, improve housing, living conditions, and education for students, and support investment in production development. Each year, the province prioritizes allocating local budget funds to the Social Policy Bank to supplement loan capital for poor households and policy beneficiaries. To date, the entire province has entrusted over 633 billion VND, accounting for 13.32% of the total capital of the Provincial Branch of the Social Policy Bank. Thanks to this, credit capital in the province has continuously grown to meet the loan needs of poor households, near-poor households, newly-escaped-poverty households, and other policy beneficiaries.

A "foundation" for aspirations to rise.

Over the 10 years of implementing Directive No. 40-CT/TW, the Social Policy Bank branch in Tra Vinh province has provided loans to 407,424 poor households and policy beneficiaries with a total amount exceeding 8,524 billion VND; of which, the total outstanding debt of policy credit programs reached 4,547 billion VND, an increase of nearly 3,000 billion VND and three times higher than in 2014.

From 2014 to 2023, Tra Vinh province reduced its poverty rate from 10.66% to 1.19%. Credit programs also created jobs for over 61,000 workers; of which, nearly 3,500 workers received loans to work abroad for a limited period; helped over 10,500 disadvantaged students receive loans for their studies; supported the construction and renovation of nearly 162,000 rural water and sanitation facilities; built over 10,500 houses for poor and near-poor households and policy beneficiary families; helped 141 households borrow capital to build or buy social housing according to Government Decree No. 100/2015/ND-CP; and facilitated loans for 11 businesses to pay wages to nearly 1,500 laid-off workers...

Policy credit funds have contributed to reducing the number of poor households by 53,000 over the past 10 years; ensuring social security, building new rural areas, and developing the local economy and society.

Directive No. 40-CT/TW has brought about profound changes in the awareness and actions of Party committees, government agencies, and socio-political organizations at all levels; it is a key and regular task in the programs and plans of agencies and units. Credit capital has helped realize the dream of "settling down and establishing a livelihood" for tens of thousands of poor households, thanks to support in building solid, spacious houses and creating sustainable livelihoods; reducing the rate of students dropping out of school due to family financial difficulties; and many households have been able to borrow capital to build facilities for their living needs.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Vinh province, Le Van Han, affirmed that social policy credit is one of the "pillars" of poverty reduction, job creation, social security, and new rural development policies in the locality. This policy has met the needs and aspirations of the people, contributing to improving the living standards of the people of Tra Vinh, and enabling the province to basically complete the task of building new rural areas.

To date, 85 out of 85 communes in the province have achieved the new rural standard, 51 communes have achieved the advanced new rural standard, and 9 communes have achieved the model new rural standard; all 9 districts, towns, and cities have been recognized by the Prime Minister as having met the standards and completed the task of building new rural areas. The two districts of Cau Ke and Tieu Can have achieved the advanced new rural standard.

The material and spiritual lives of the people have improved significantly; especially in the Khmer ethnic minority areas, the transformation is particularly noticeable. It is estimated that by the end of 2024, the average per capita income of the province will reach 93.78 million VND/person/year, 3.3 times higher than in 2014 and 128 times higher than when the province was re-established.

This result serves as a foundation for the locality to realize its aspiration of "Building a prosperous and happy Tra Vinh province, becoming one of the leading developed provinces in the Mekong Delta region before 2030".

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/tin-dung-chinh-sach-bai-2-158895.html