Many changes in ethnic minority areas

Current situation of ethnic minority areas: Opportunities and challenges

Binh Thuan has 34 ethnic minority groups with more than 114,000 people, accounting for about 9% of the province's population. Ethnic minorities live scattered throughout the province, mainly in mixed forms, concentrated in the districts of Bac Binh, Tuy Phong, Ham Thuan Bac and Tanh Linh. Mountainous areas and ethnic minority areas have great potential for development, especially in the field of agriculture and forestry. In recent years, the production and life of ethnic minority areas have been basically stable; 100% of communes in ethnic minority areas have paved roads leading to the commune center; 100% of communes are covered by television and radio; 99% of households use the national grid; 88.3% of households have access to clean, hygienic water; 7/17 communes in ethnic minority areas have been recognized as meeting new rural standards...

Ethnic minorities produce corn. Photo: Ngoc Lan.

However, ethnic minority areas still have some limitations in terms of infrastructure, production conditions, labor qualifications and access to development resources. Some typical difficulties include the high poverty rate, although it has decreased from 10.04% (in 2019) to 7.73% (early 2024), but this is still a worrying number. Many households still do not have land or have too small a land area, which does not ensure sustainable livelihoods. The quality of human resources is low, most ethnic minority workers are untrained, lack vocational skills and have difficulty accessing modern production models. Infrastructure is not yet synchronized, many areas still lack electricity, clean water, roads and essential public works. These difficulties require a strategic direction, not only immediate support but also long-term solutions to ensure sustainable development.

Concentrating resources, sustainable poverty reduction

Faced with these difficulties, the province has focused on mobilizing many resources to invest in ethnic minority areas. Notably, from 2019 to present, the province has mobilized more than 600 billion VND focusing on social security, agricultural development, new rural construction and ensuring national defense and security. In addition, the province has also implemented many support programs on trade and production, helping people access the market and increase their income. Currently, 11 stores and 5 agents have been built in ethnic minority areas to supply necessities and agricultural materials at stable prices.

One of the outstanding policies is to support preferential loans for ethnic minorities to develop production. By June 2024, the total disbursed amount reached VND 55,135 billion, of which VND 6 billion supported 150 households to build houses; VND 49,135 billion supported 608 households to change jobs (on average, each household borrowed VND 81 million to grow fruit trees, industrial crops and raise livestock). Thanks to this source of capital, many households have escaped poverty and gradually stabilized their lives. On the other hand, to solve the problem of lack of production land, the province has granted 5,726 hectares of land to 5,375 ethnic minority households, creating conditions for them to cultivate and develop their livelihoods. In addition, the province has assigned 83,961 hectares of forest to ethnic minorities for management, helping them have additional income from forest protection fees. This is an important solution to limit deforestation for farming and illegal exploitation of forest products, while connecting the community with the work of protecting natural resources.

The results achieved are an important premise for the province to continue implementing comprehensive support policies, aiming at sustainable development of ethnic minority areas. In the coming time, the province will focus on promoting investment attraction in mountainous areas, creating more jobs on the spot, expanding effective production models, applying high technology, supporting agricultural product consumption, avoiding the situation of "good harvest, low price". With the attention of the Government and the determination of local authorities, the ethnic minority areas of the province will continue to have steady development steps, towards a more prosperous and sustainable future.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/nhieu-chuyen-bien-o-vung-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-129036.html