Nguyễn Văn Chí, deputy chief of the Hà Nội Coordination Office on New Rural Development, talks to Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) newspaper about measures to implement the programme on new-style rural areas.

Could you tell us about the implementation of the national programme on building new-style rural areas in Hà Nội?

The city had four districts and 325 communes, or 84.2 per cent of communes, meeting new-style rural standards in 2018, fulfilling the set target two years ahead of schedule. As planned, up to 80 per cent of communes will meet new-style rural criteria by 2020.

The city set a target to have an additional 30 communes recognised as new-style rural areas in 2019. In order to fulfil this target, districts and communes registered plans to obtain the new-style rural area status from the beginning of the year. They also focused investment in each specific criteria of the new-style rural area to meet the requirements.

In 2020, the city aims to have at least two more districts gaining new-style rural status.

What difficulties has the programme encountered?

The remaining 61 communes are focusing on achieving new-style rural status but most of them are disadvantaged areas.

The incomes of these communes mainly come from agricultural production while the application of high technology in agricultural production remains low and vocational training is limited. As a result, residents in these communes, particularly ethnic minority areas, face difficulties.

What measures will the city take to fulfil the set target in building new-style rural areas?

From now to the end of 2019, the city will review the 10-year implementation of the city’s programme on building new-style rural areas to make clear shortcomings and limitations in order to develop more effective measures for the implementation of the programme in the future.

At the same time, the city will complete documents and procedures to propose the recognition of Gia Lâm and Quốc Oai Districts as new-style rural areas.

The city will prioritise agricultural production development, focusing on the application of science and technology and promoting the linkages from production to consumption.

The city will direct districts and communes to pay more attention to implementing criteria of the new-style rural area building programme, particularly criteria relating to environmental protection, food safety, healthcare, education and security in order to improve the living conditions for farmers.

Acting as a consultant agency, what are the main tasks of the Hà Nội Coordination Office on New Rural Development?

The office will continue consultations with the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to issue documents guiding and supporting districts and communes to implement the new-style rural area building programme effectively.

It will collect opinions from departments, sectors and People’s Committees of districts and communes about the criteria for new-style rural areas.

The office will also closely review and follow the implementation of the programme by districts and communes to report difficulties in a timely manner and propose solutions. VNS