Vietnam has to date had 2,884 communes, or 32.3 percent of the total, recognised as new-style rural areas.

Chicken farm in Minh Lap commune - a model new-style rural area in Dong Hy district, Thai Nguyen province

The information was announced on December 23 at a conference in the northern province of Thai Nguyen to sum up the 2014-2017 United Nations Joint Programme (UNJP) supporting the National Target Programme on New Rural Development (NTP-NRD).

The UNJP armed at providing technical assistance for the NTP-NRD in order to develop potential of Vietnam’s rural areas and coordinating UN offices’ technical assistance for Vietnam’s new-style rural area building.

It focused on intensifying technology transfer for the country’s agricultural production, improve the sector’s climate change response capacity, help mobilise social investment in developing rural areas through recommendations on rural financial policies, rural development strategies, labour market and education quality.

Chief Representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Origanisation in Vietnam Jong Ha Bae said that during 2014-2017, the UNJP contributed to raising rural residents’ awareness, improving public investment and policy and strategy building capacity in rural areas, and monitoring and assessing the implementation of the NTP-NRD.

The programme helped increase monthly income of rural residents and make positive changes in rural development in Vietnam, he stated.

The NTP-NRD, approved in June 2010, listed 19 basic criteria, including infrastructure, education, health care and culture, as well as environment and employment, for recognition as a new-style rural area.

It targets 50 percent of communes recognised as new-style rural areas by 2020.-VNA