HCM City's agricultural restructuring a success
The switch from traditional to urban farming in Ho Chi Minh City has yielded great success over the last five years, according to the city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Speaking at a recent meeting in HCM City, Tran Ngoc Ho, the department's deputy director, said the projects had created jobs for 45,097 labourers and helped raise the average per capita income in rural areas to VND39.72 million (US$1,787) per year, reducing the income gap between rural and urban areas.
Earnings from agricultural production in places like Can Gio, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, Nha Be, Thu Duc and Hoc Mon districts, and District 9 and 12 improved significantly, he said.As a leading district in agricultural restructuring, Can Gio district during the period achieved an average growth rate of 11.1% a year in production value of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said Tran Xuan Binh, head of the district's Economics Department.
Earnings from agricultural production per hectare increased to VND300 million last year, an increase of 13%over 2010, he said, adding that the programme had also helped to reduce the district's poverty rate to 15%.
Under the programme, individuals and organisations investing in the agricultural sector and having feasible business plans will receive between 60-100%loan interest subsidy from the city, he said.
The city expects to raise the average per capita income to VND 63 million as well as earnings from agricultural production per hectare to over VND 800 million by 2020 under the new programme, he said.