Sustainable “steps” to develop rural industry
(Baonghean) -Over the past years, Nghe An has implemented many programs to support the development of rural industry (RIE) to create momentum to promote economic restructuring, contribute to job creation and income increase, and shift the rural labor structure. However, the results achieved so far are still very modest.
In the province, there are currently 32 industrial clusters (ICs) that have been and are implementing investment in technical infrastructure construction, with a total planned area of 467 hectares. Of which, 12 ICs have invested relatively completely in technical infrastructure with a total area of 185.8 hectares. There are 10 ICs that have had their technical infrastructure investment projects approved and are implementing investment and construction. These ICs have attracted nearly 150 investment projects (DA), with a total investment of enterprises reaching 1,913 billion VND, an average of 15 - 20 billion VND/DA. In addition, the whole province currently has 119 Craft Villages that meet the criteria recognized by the Provincial People's Committee. Craft Villages are located in all localities, with rich and diverse products. In addition, there are thousands of small-scale handicraft establishments (TTCN) operating in localities, attracting a large number of workers.
The development of industrial parks, small-scale industrial parks and craft villages has impacted and promoted the industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas; contributed to the economic restructuring, increased budget revenue, created jobs, and improved people's lives. Many places in the province have "changed their skin" thanks to the appearance of factories and enterprises. Projects in industrial parks have attracted nearly 8,300 workers, an average of 50 workers/project. In 2012, the production value of projects in industrial parks reached approximately 1,300 billion VND, accounting for 12% of the province's total industrial production value, and budget revenue reached about 120 billion VND. Craft villages have created regular jobs for 25,000 people with a stable income of over 16.5 million VND/person/year. Some products of craft villages and craft villages have been recognized as high quality. The average annual increase in the value of industrial production reached 18.32%/year.
However, the industrial parks are scattered, mixed with residential areas; the technical infrastructure of industrial clusters is slow to develop and is not yet synchronized. The distribution of craft villages is uneven and mainly concentrated in dynamic economic regions, while in difficult mountainous districts and remote areas, there are almost none. The structure of industries does not reflect the strengths of the district and the province. Specifically, agricultural and forestry product processing is still limited; occupations that use highly skilled human resources such as embroidery, although supported a lot, have not yet developed.
Many craft villages are operating at a low level, fragmented and small scale, so they have not been able to produce a large volume of goods and create high production value. For small-scale industries, most of these establishments are fragmented, the equipment is too old, mainly single production organizations to solve employment and improve family life. In particular, environmental protection in the development of the KVNT industry has not received due attention, if not to say it is still neglected, affecting the production and life of the people, especially in the fields of mineral exploitation, agricultural, forestry, aquatic product processing, food and beverage.
Identifying industrial development in the rural areas as a very necessary and important solution for socio-economic development, the province has focused on investing in infrastructure, issued many programs, policies and guidelines to encourage and attract investment in industrial development in rural areas. In particular, the important highlight is Resolution 06-NQ/TU of the Provincial Party Committee for the 2011-2015 term on industrial development, small-scale industry and craft village construction in the 2011-2020 period.
Accordingly, priority policies for industrial activities that directly affect agriculture, rural areas and employ a lot of labor have been issued. In the context of difficult budget sources, the Provincial People's Committee has soon issued policies to support the development of industrial clusters. In particular, the province supports detailed planning costs from 100-120 million VND/industry cluster; supports compensation for site clearance of 100 million VND/ha; supports investment in technical infrastructure in industrial clusters including internal roads, drainage systems, wastewater and waste treatment systems with a maximum support level of 3 billion VND/cluster. In addition, from the national industrial promotion source, the province has 2 industrial clusters supported with detailed planning costs, namely Dinh Son and Na Khuu industrial clusters.
Nam Giang Industrial Cluster (Nam Giang Commune, Nam Dan District).
The Provincial People's Committee also pays attention to the planning and support of traditional craft villages. In the period of 2002-2012, the Provincial People's Committee supported over 30 billion VND for localities to invest in infrastructure construction, vocational training, support production facilities, participate in exhibitions... for traditional craft villages. In addition, the Central's industrial promotion capital has also supported an average of nearly 1 billion VND each year for craft villages in the province. From the local industrial promotion source, the province has organized a vote for typical rural industrial products at the provincial level, in order to discover quality products and products with potential for production development to develop plans to support investment in production development, technology innovation, equipment...
Mr. Pham Hai Duong, Chairman of Sa Nam Cooperative (Nam Dan Soy Sauce Craft Village) said: In 2012, Nam Dan soy sauce products were recognized as typical rural industrial products in the Northern region. Since the product was recognized as typical rural industrial products, the province has created opportunities for the unit to participate in fairs and exhibitions, so there are more information channels to promote and introduce its products to customers. Currently, Nam Dan soy sauce products are consumed in many provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and at tourist destinations nationwide.
However, the support source for industrial parks is still limited. On average, each industrial park has an area of at least 20 hectares, so the capital for planning, compensation for site clearance, and technical infrastructure in the industrial park needs at least 30 billion VND. However, currently, the province's support policy is only about 3 billion VND/industry. The investment source for industrial parks in recent years has been quite large, but fragmented and spread out due to the large number of industrial parks, making it ineffective. Therefore, no enterprise has invested in building infrastructure for industrial parks. This work is mostly carried out by the People's Committees of districts through the Industrial Park Management Board.
Also due to limited budget, many districts face many difficulties, most of the technical infrastructure of industrial parks is still unfinished, not completed, or investment is unreasonable, leading to not attracting enterprises to produce in the industrial park. Mr. Le Quang Nhung, Head of the Department of Industry and Trade of Nghia Dan district, said: Due to lack of funds, Nghia Long industrial park has not yet completed the investment in technical infrastructure. The wastewater treatment system, roadbed and drainage ditches in the industrial park have not been fully invested. Therefore, enterprises wishing to produce in the industrial park must pay for the leveling of the ground themselves. This is an "obstacle" that prevents the industrial park from being filled.
As for Craft Villages, they are also supported every year in many forms to stimulate development. However, the support source is very small compared to the needs and reality. Mr. Nguyen Hong Phong, Director of the Industrial Promotion Center (Department of Industry and Trade) said: Investment and support for Craft Villages from the province's industrial promotion source is only for encouragement and stimulation because the support amount is still too small. For example, in Hoa Hai Broom Craft Village (Nghia Hoi Commune, Nghia Dan District), people are in dire need of preferential loans but are facing many difficulties. Lacking capital, people cannot be proactive in purchasing raw materials, so activities are also limited and irregular, leading to unstable output.
Households producing brooms in Hoa Hai broom village (Nghia Hoi commune, Nghia Dan district) are in need of loans for production.
Therefore, the development of industrial clusters and craft villages in the province faces many difficulties. In general, enterprises and industrial establishments in the province are small and medium-sized, have weak competitiveness, lack experience, lack capital, and lack access to the market. In addition, although the labor force in the province is abundant, it is of low quality, poor skills, and has not been properly trained, making it difficult to access advanced techniques; credit capital, complicated administrative procedures, etc. have also hindered the development of enterprises in the industrial zones. Transportation in the industrial zones has not yet developed, which has adversely affected the output price of manufactured goods. Nghe An is not yet in the key investment area, the financial capacity of investors is mainly small and medium-sized. Capital mobilization for infrastructure construction from enterprises is still limited.
For traditional craft villages, most of them do not have a specific and systematic development direction. Currently, the number of enterprises that act as “midwives” for craft villages to operate effectively can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The biggest difficulty of craft villages is that the product consumption market is unstable. The main reason is that people lack information about the market, customer tastes, lack of development direction from local authorities, combined with outdated production technology, low technical skills, and poor product competitiveness.
The mentality and production style of the people are not used to industrial production, and are hasty, causing damage to many businesses. For example, the Do paper craft village in Nghi Phong commune (Nghi Loc), due to the lack of a market for Do paper, from the original 100 households, now only about 30 households participate. The young generation in the village is not interested in the profession, but has left to work elsewhere. The families who still keep the profession work one day and don't the next, so the risk of the profession disappearing is always present.
Faced with the above difficulties, to welcome investment flows to rural areas, all levels and sectors need to have practical solutions. Regarding capital sources, continue to mobilize support capital from the Central Government. Link investment in the construction of industrial clusters with programs to support rural transport development, to reduce investment costs for localities and investors. In addition, call on infrastructure businesses to invest in industrial clusters, encourage investors to spend their own costs on leveling the land on the leased area to build factories according to the plan.
The organization ensures the provision of sufficient investment resources and creates all favorable conditions such as exploitation of raw materials, investment procedures, etc. for the development of industrial parks. Mr. Nguyen Huy Cuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said: The Department of Industry and Trade has also advised the Provincial People's Committee to develop a policy mechanism to increase the level of support for infrastructure investment, industrial development and invite economic sectors to participate in investing in industrial development in rural areas. In addition, we also request local authorities to promote administrative reform, create favorable conditions to support the development of enterprises in the area.
For Craft Villages, it is necessary to choose practical support contents. Such as support in technical means, support in finding product outlets, tours, seminars, fairs, vocational training. To create competitiveness, Craft Villages must regularly improve product quality, innovate designs and grasp market needs well. This requires vocational training to focus on highly skilled and specialized workers to create product appeal and reduce labor. In particular, it is necessary to coordinate with the Department to transform the structure of seedlings, introduce new varieties into production, and process agricultural products to build a stable source of raw materials. Localities need to actively and responsibly participate in finding jobs, orienting and having specific implementation measures for the development of the industrial sector and Craft Villages.
It is necessary to build links between Craft Villages to create a large and diverse volume of products; build links between Craft Villages and distributors, commercial and service enterprises to find markets and ensure stable output and raw material sources for products. When having a stable market, the next important thing is to build and promote brands. This is a matter of survival for Craft Villages. Because without a brand, the products created by Craft Villages will not have a place in the market, in the minds of customers. In addition to expecting support from the State, enterprises in industrial parks and Craft Villages must mobilize themselves with their own internal strength and potential. These are sustainable "steps" to promote industrial development in rural areas, striving for Nghe An to become an industrial province by 2020.
Article and photos: Pham Bang
