A farmer harvest vegetable at Thanh Xuân Safe Vegetable Co-operative in Hà Nội's Sóc Sơn District.  — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội spent more than VNĐ56.5 trillion (US$2.4 billion) developing agriculture, new-style rural areas, and farmers’ living standards between January 2016 and June 2020.

The information was reported at a working session on August 6 between a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Trần Thanh Nam and the steering board for the Hà Nội Party Committee’s Programme 2 on rural development for 2016-2020.

Chu Phú Mỹ, director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said despite African swine fever and COVID-19, the city’s agro-forestry-fishery sector in the first half of 2020 grew 1.61 per cent year-on-year.

He said Hà Nội has so far carried out land allocation on 79,454 hectares. It is home to 164 high-tech farming models and 141 agricultural production connection models. As a result, local farmers are following more sustainable practices to turn out branded products and forming links with enterprises to ensure a stable distribution market.

Meanwhile, the city has six districts recognised as new-style rural areas, namely Đan Phượng, Đông Anh, Thanh Trì, Hoài Đức, Quốc Oai Gia Lâm.

To date, local authorities recognised 355 out of its 382 communes (92.9 per cent) as new-style rural areas, and 13 as advanced ones. Of the remainder, 24 communes have fulfilled between 15 and 18 of the criteria.

By the end of this year, Hà Nội aims to have Sơn Tây Town and six more districts meeting the criteria, while selecting Đan Phượngg and Hồng Vân communes to propel towards becoming model new-style rural areas.

The national target programme on building new-style rural areas was initiated by the Government in 2010 with the aim of developing rural regions. The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.

At the meeting, Nam praised the achievements, stressing that the goal of the national target programme is to improve people’s living standards.

He noted the income gap still remains between the city’s urban and rural districts, adding that measures to increase local income is important to Hà Nội. — VNS