New driving force for development in Western Nghe An

SEEING FROM REALITY

Over the past years, the development of the western districts of the province has been promoted by all levels and sectors with many policies such as: Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2004 of the Politburo on socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security in the midland and mountainous areas of the North until 2020; Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW dated July 30, 2013 on the direction and tasks of developing Nghe An province until 2020; The Prime Minister approved the Project on socio-economic development of western Nghe An until 2020 in Decision No. 2355/QD/TTg dated December 4, 2013.

Along with that, many effective and practical policies from Program 135, Resolution 30a. The province also assigned 113 agencies and units to receive support to help 115 poor communes in 11 districts in the West...

Clean post-planting model in Phong village, Thach Giam commune (Tuong Duong). Photo: Thanh Le

Those policies and guidelines, together with the efforts of the Party Committee, the government and the people, have brought the average growth rate of the Western districts in the period 2013 - 2019 to 7.3%. In 2019 alone, the total social investment capital reached 15,763 billion VND (an increase of 6,267 billion VND compared to 2013).

Many key projects and works have been and are being implemented and promoted effectively; the connection in socio-economic development between localities in the region with localities of the province and other provinces has been gradually formed. The gap in development level and living standards of people in the Western Nghe An region compared to the average of the whole province has been gradually narrowed.

However, looking at the reality, the Western region of the province still has many difficulties and problems. These are: Economic growth is not sustainable, the results of some important economic development indicators are still low; the exploitation of potential and advantages of land, forest resources and minerals is not very effective. Some key industrial products are lower than planned; tourism development is slow. Investment attraction is still limited. The poverty rate is still relatively high (By the end of 2018, the average number of poor households in the Western districts is still 15%. Typically, in Ky Son, Que Phong, Quy Chau... the poverty rate is still over 32%). The quality of education is still different from that in the lowlands. The living standards of the majority of ethnic minorities in remote areas are still low.

In Que Phong district, according to Mr. Le Van Giap - Chairman of the District People's Committee, although in recent years, the district has integrated many project programs, provided support to people to develop rice, food crops, promote livestock farming, etc., but the general infrastructure in the area is still difficult; the poverty rate by the end of 2019 was 32.5%. Up to now, there are still more than 2,063 households facing hunger in the lean season, the State is subsidizing more than 26,460 tons of rice each year.

The specialty stall in Que Phong district was opened with the desire to connect and consume products produced by local people. Photo: NS

That requires the district to step up the work of ensuring food security, encouraging people to develop the economy with effective models. In particular, focusing on effectively exploiting 2,250 hectares of rice; developing medicinal plants, passion fruit; enclosing and developing forests; increasing livestock farming towards commodities... But in the area, there is still a lack of businesses or organizations that can "lead" to connect from production to processing and consumption, increasing value along the chain.

The reality in Que Phong is also the common situation of the districts in Western Nghe An, even though the potential has been "named" as: Developing medicinal herbs, native plants and animals, clean agricultural products; increasing the economic value of forests; developing eco-tourism - community...

NEW MOTIVATION

Concerned with the Western districts, the Government and Nghe An province have actively implemented many policies, both developing infrastructure and supporting people to develop the economy, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty sustainably. The province has also organized many forums and seminars with the participation of scientists and experts to give advice for the development of the Western region. Many opinions affirm that the Western region of the province has many areas with strengths, such as forest economy, medicinal herbs, clean agricultural products, and tourism development.

Tourism in Western Nghe An is a field with many advantages for development. In the photo: Community tourism in Khe Ran village, Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong district. Photo courtesy: PV

According to Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen - former member of the Party Central Committee, former Minister of Trade, former Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee: “We are implementing the 4.0 revolution. This revolution creates many great opportunities and great challenges. Therefore, Nghe An and the Western region of the province must know how to choose the fields with the highest comparative advantages and the greatest spillover effects. We cannot do everything because our resources are limited. In Vietnam, the comparative advantages are tourism, agriculture and information technology. In Nghe An, these three comparative advantages are all present, but in the Western region, the two outstanding comparative advantages are tourism and agriculture. We need to know how to exploit these two spearheads of the region.”

According to Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen, Western Nghe An must develop the production of vegetables and fruits and specialty products such as oranges, passion fruit, pineapples, dragon fruit, etc.; develop endemic medicinal herbs such as Panax pseudoginseng, Cordyceps, and ginseng. Leaders at all levels need to find a way to create a movement to grow medicinal herbs, especially to develop medicinal herbs under the forest canopy.

In the livestock sector, the Western Nghe An region has particular potential for developing buffalo and cow herds. However, to promote the value, it is necessary to expand on a larger scale, in which the expansion of livestock farming in the industrial form is encouraged. In addition, it is necessary to develop traditional craft villages and handicraft products, associated with businesses to bring them to the market. On that basis, we will focus on investing and developing tourism, in which we focus on community and experiential tourism.

The above orientations are being promoted by Nghe An province and districts. However, there is still a lack of "conductors" for the growth of each district and the whole Western region. According to Mr. Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the development orientation of the Western region is clear. We really need new driving forces in terms of comprehensive mechanisms and policies. While the province's financial resources are still limited, the support of the Central Government and the participation of enterprises with investment potential in the area are very important to create a breakthrough.

Recently, on February 15, 2020, the Government issued Resolution 12/NQ-CP implementing Resolution 88/2019/QH14 of the National Assembly on the "Overall project for socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021 - 2030". This is a very important new driving force for the districts of Western Nghe An. On that basis, the province is reviewing and evaluating specific areas to have the next solutions in socio-economic development of the districts of Western Nghe An.

Road to Nam Can (Ky Son). Photo: Sach Nguyen

The western districts of Nghe An have a total natural area of ​​13,728.97 km², accounting for 83.36% of the province's total area. The total population of the region is about 1.1 million people, accounting for 36.6% of the province's total population, of which about 38.9% are ethnic minorities. This is a particularly important strategic area in terms of socio-economics, national defense, security and foreign affairs of Nghe An province, the North Central region as well as the whole country.