Building development strategies to improve rural living standards

Starting from 7:00 a.m. on July 1, 2011, over 20 districts, cities and towns across the province simultaneously launched the 2011 rural, agricultural and fishery census. On this occasion, Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh - Director of the Statistics Department spoke with reporters of Nghe An Newspaper about the above issue.

Reporter: Could you please tell us about the purpose and significance of the 2011 rural, agricultural and fishery census and how it is being implemented in our province?

Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh: On September 27, 2011, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1785/QD-TTg on the organization of the 2011 General Census of Agriculture and Rural Development nationwide. The purpose and significance of the General Census is to assess the current situation, analyze changing trends, develop plans and strategies for developing the agricultural and rural areas and improving the living standards of rural residents nationwide as well as in each locality, serving the assessment of the implementation results of a number of contents in the national target programs on industrialization, modernization of agriculture and rural areas and new rural construction; international comparison of agricultural and rural indicators. In addition, the General Census also aims to build a database of the agricultural and rural areas, serving in-depth research and sample selection for the next periodic surveys.

Construction of Chau Thanh - Chau Thon connecting road (Quy Hop).
Photo: Le Ba Lieu

To prepare for the census to be carried out well, Nghe An has established a Steering Committee (SC) and a standing census team at the provincial level, and a Steering Committee and a standing census support team at the district and commune levels. The Central Steering Committee has organized a training conference for the SC and the standing census team at the district level on the work of making a list of types of census units such as: fully surveyed households, sample households, and farms.

PV: So could you tell us about the preliminary results in the first days of implementing the General Statistics Office of Vietnam in our province?

Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh: Starting at 7:00 a.m. on July 1, 2011, 20 districts, cities, and towns across the province simultaneously launched a survey to collect data. The Steering Committee and standing teams at all levels from the province to the commune, according to pre-assigned tasks, went directly to the localities with investigators and investigation team leaders to meet with household heads to interview the information printed on the ballots. In total, on the first day of the survey, the entire province collected about 31,000 ballots, accounting for 5% of the total number of ballots.

However, the General Census is currently facing some difficulties because our province has just been hit by storm No. 2, which caused widespread damage. Localities are focusing their forces on overcoming the consequences of floods, affecting the General Census.

In particular, on the afternoon of July 1, the water level in rivers and streams in the flood-prone areas of Ky Son and Tuong Duong districts rose suddenly, many roads leading to remote communes were completely cut off, the risk of landslides and land slides on mountain slopes was very high, and the risk of flash floods recurring in the mountainous areas of Nghe An. Therefore, in some areas, investigators were not able to approach households to interview for information on the questionnaires.

In addition, due to the use of scanning technology to process data, the recording of the form requires more rigor and accuracy, the numbers must follow the printed form, while the level of surveyors in different regions and areas in the province is uneven, especially surveyors in mountainous areas. In particular, this year the winter-spring rice harvest is 20-25 days later than last year, so at the time of the General Census, farmers are focused on the fields to produce the autumn-spring crop in time for the season, so some surveyors can only access it after hours, taking advantage of noon or at night.

To effectively carry out the investigation, it is recommended that all levels and sectors pay attention and participate, especially in mountainous districts. The Steering Committees at district and commune levels continue to do a good job of propaganda so that all classes of people clearly understand the importance as well as the purpose and significance of the investigation, thereby mobilizing resources to support the General Investigation, and the subjects of the investigation fulfill their obligations to provide complete and accurate information as requested.

PV: Thank you!

Hoang Vinh (performed)