(VOVWORLD) - The life of ethnic people in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has changed remarkably thanks to public unity and the State’s investment. Now, a new vitality is spreading in once-struggling areas of the province.
 Thanks to restructuring crops, applying science and technology to farming, the living standards of ethnic minorities in Lam Dong have improved. (Photo: VOV) |
Lam Dong has 1.3 million people, 25% of them ethnic minority. Between 2022 and 2025, the province will spend more than 72 million USD to implement national target programs of socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas.
K’Bat, Secretary of the Party cell of Bang Dung hamlet in Da K’Nang commune, Dam Rong district, says poverty has been eliminated and many households have even become well-off.
He told VOV, “The implementation of the Party and State’s investment policies, especially local programs in poor areas, has had good results,” adding, “The locals have contributed work days, donated land for roads, co-operated in production and business, and increased their production. Villagers have been encouraged to participate in all the changes and they feel inspired.”
Thanks to new-style rural building, socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas, and sustainable poverty reduction, Lam Dong’s development indicators in infrastructure, income, health care, education, culture, and poverty reduction have greatly improved.
Per capita income last year reached 3,300 USD, up 630 USD from 2020. Poverty rate among the ethnic minority population was 1.6%, 2% lower than in 2021. This year Lam Dong expects to reduce poverty in ethnic minority areas 2.5-3%.
K’Kras, a K'ho man in Loc Thang town, Bao Lam district, said, “With the attention and support of the State, the agriculture sector, and the district administration, I can attend training courses and seminars and buy fertilizer with deferred payment. Investing in production and applying technology has increased my tea and coffee production and produced a stable income for my family.”
K'Kras is just one of many ethnic people in Lam Dong province who have escaped poverty and now have a more prosperous life.
 The national target programs of socio-economic development have helped the living conditions of the ethnic hamlets in Lam Dong province greatly improve. (Photo: VOV) |
A decade ago, 60% of the 100 K'ho ethnic households in hamlet 4, Da Ploa commune, Da Huoai district, were very poor. Now there are no more poor households, and some are even rich, thanks to the State's policies, investment programs, and support.
The programs of infrastructure investment, sustainable poverty reduction, subsidized plant seedlings and livestock, and newer farming techniques have proven very effective. Ka Rom, head of hamlet 4, said that since the State has invested in and supported new seedlings and livestock and held training courses on how to care for the plants, local lives have improved.
“Backward customs and poverty have both been eliminated. Children are receiving a better education. Villagers have jointly built a new lifestyle and developed the local economy,” Ka Rom noted.
The red soil roads looping around the plateau have been replaced by paved roads connecting the villages. The hamlets of Lam Dong now ensure social security and have narrowed the gap in living standard and average income between the local ethnic minorities and the province average.