The national target programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on different aspects, aiming to boost the development of rural regions in Vietnam.
According to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, six outlying districts have met all the criteria and earned the new-style rural area recognition, namely Dan Phuong, Dong Anh, Thanh Tri, Hoai Duc, Gia Lam and Quoc Oai.
As many as 325, or 84.2 percent of the city’s total 386 communes, have gained the status, surpassing the target of 80 percent set for the end of 2020. Notably, Dan Phuong, Song Phuong and Lien Trung communes of Dan Phuong district have satisfied the advanced criteria for new-style countryside.
Over the last 10 years, municipal authorities have successfully involved thousands of collectives, individuals, businesses and households in contributing to the building of new-style rural areas with more than VND14.74 trillion (US$633.7 million) raised. In particular, a number of local residents have made donations worth over VND7.2 trillion in total to the programme, Chung said.
However, he also admitted certain shortcomings, noting that Hanoi hasn’t succeeded in attracting more investment into agricultural production, especially hi-tech farming and connectivity under production chains. There remains a gap in the outcomes of building new-style countryside among districts, while funding for the programme in the city is still mainly sourced from the State budget.
At the conference, PM Phuc applauded efforts by Hanoi, where the new-style rural area building programme is carried out on the largest scale among all localities with 17 outlying districts that consist of 386 communes covering over 2,230 sq.km. and having a population of 4.1 million.
Requirements for new-style rural areas are very high, in terms of both quantity and quality, he noted, stressing that the ultimate goal of the programme is to improve the material and spiritual lives of people.
Living standards of rural residents in the city have been improved considerably and higher than the national average, the Government leader commented.
The PM said Hanoi’s rural areas should take the lead in applying the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. He called on the city to develop satellite urban areas more strongly and associate new-style rural area building with urban development.
Additionally, local rural areas need to preserve the traditional culture of the millennium-old capital city, PM Phuc said.
He requested Hanoi to pay special heed to environmental protection while building new-style countryside, noting that it should use new technologies in waste and wastewater treatment, resolutely say no to plastic bags and disposable plastic products, ensure the qualified reuse of agricultural waste, and form green belts around the capital’s central zone.
PM Phuc emphasised the importance of the new-style rural area building programme, describing it has “the stature of a long-term strategic revolution.”
He pointed out that this is the field the Party and State pay special attention to create solid prerequisites for national industrialisation and modernisation.
As part of the conference, a fair was opened the same day to introduce agricultural products, handicrafts and other goods under the One Commune – One Product programme of Hanoi.
The fair, featuring 170 booths, is a chance to popularize outstanding products of the city’s agriculture. It is also a platform for local businesses, associations and production facilities to step up partnerships in production, processing and sale of farm produce.
On this occasion, the municipal People’s Committee opened an exhibition on Hanoi’s achievements in building new-style rural areas.
The fair and exhibition at the Cultural Friendship Palace will run through September 22.
