Bac Giang has first new-style rural district

Bac Giang (VNA) – Viet Yen has become the first district in the northern province of Bac Giang to earn the status of a new-style rural district, in 2018, two years ahead of schedule.  

A ceremony was held on December 14 night to hand over the certificate to the district and honour collectives and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to new rural area construction.

In his remarks, Vice Chairman of the district People’s Committee Nguyen Dai Luong said since the new-style rural area building programme was launched in Viet Yen eight years ago, the locality has all 17 communes recognised as new rural areas and completed all nine criteria set for a new rural district.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision to recognise the district’s status on November 8, 2018, he said.

Viet Yen’s annual per capita income is estimated at 36 million VND (1,548 USD), 2.3 times higher than the number recorded in the past, and the rate of poor households drops to over 4.2 percent.

The district’s vegetable and fruit production areas are using high technologies, and there are new and upgraded medical, educational and cultural facilities.

More than 2.9 trillion VND (124.7 million USD) has been mobilised for new rural area building in Viet Yen since 2011.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh congratulated Viet Yen and Bac Giang province in general on the achievements they have gained in new-style rural area building, and urged Bac Giang to make greater efforts to improve the new-style rural area criteria.

Viet Yen should step up agricultural restructuring, complete infrastructure for agricultural production and form high-tech production areas, he said.

The National Target Programme on New-style Rural Area Building, initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam.     

The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.      

According to the Central Coordination Office for the Programme, as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, 3,289 communes nationwide earned the recognition as new style rural areas, up 220 communes compared to the end of 2017.

Forty-eight districts in 26 centrally-run cities and provinces were recognised as new-style rural areas.-VNA