Bac Yen: Unleashing its potential and advantages for economic development.

Bac Yen is a mountainous and disadvantaged district in Son La province. The district is home to seven ethnic groups, primarily ethnic minorities, with a population of over 70,000 people. Nearly 96% of the population are ethnic minorities, while the Kinh ethnic group accounts for over 4%. The poverty rate in the district for the period 2022-2025 is 33.17%. Over the past period, Bac Yen district has mobilized all resources and focused on decisively implementing programs and projects. This has contributed to gradually changing the face of rural areas, creating momentum to help people create livelihoods, improve their material and spiritual lives, and achieve sustainable poverty alleviation.

Bac Yen district, Son La province, regularly collaborates with various units to conduct training sessions and share experiences, helping local people improve their knowledge in production. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

Leveraging its potential and advantages, Bac Yen district has focused on implementing programs and projects to promote production and business development. To change perceptions and production practices from traditional methods to the application of science and technology, the district has intensified information and communication efforts among the local population. In addition, the district has promoted the restructuring of the agricultural sector, linked with the transformation of crop and livestock structures. These efforts not only increase income but also create a foundation for ethnic minority people to change their mindset, aiming for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and improved living standards.

Thanks to these efforts, the appearance of rural areas in the ethnic minority regions of Bac Yen district has undergone many changes. To date, 87.5% of communes have paved or concrete roads leading to their centers; 67.68% of villages have hardened roads connecting them; 73.1% of communes have solidly built schools and classrooms; 86.93% of households have access to safe electricity; 100% of the rural population has access to clean water; 96.1% of the ethnic minority population participates in health insurance; the number of poor households decreases by an average of 4% each year, and by the end of 2024, the poverty rate in the district will be reduced to 24.75%.

From a poor household, the life of Mrs. Vi Thi Chang's family in Chen village, Muong Khoa commune, Bac Yen district, Son La province has now improved significantly. Mrs. Chang shared: "A few years ago, my family was classified as a poor household in the village. Our main income depended on corn and cassava crops. Due to years of cultivation, the land was barren and dependent on the weather – some years we had good harvests, some years we had bad ones – we struggled to make ends meet. Thanks to the Party and the State's support in providing loans for production and livestock development, my family now has a more stable income and is no longer plagued by poverty as before."

Ms. Vì Thị Chảng, from Chẹn village, Mường Khoa commune, Bắc Yên district, Sơn La province, has a stable income thanks to ethnic minority policies. Photo: Văn Ngọc

Ms. Chang added: "In 2018, my family had some capital, along with a loan from the district's Social Bank, and we invested in building barns and buying 8 breeding cows. Thanks to good care, our herd of cows has grown and developed well. From the initial 8 mother cows, each year they give birth to 6-7 calves. After 6 months of care, my family sells them to people in the village and commune to use as breeding stock. Each year, my family earns more than 70 million VND from selling calves."

Bac Yen: Solutions to improve the lives of ethnic minority people.

Speaking with reporters from NTNN/Dan Viet/Trang Trai Viet online newspapers, Mr. Nguyen Dang Thuc, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of Bac Yen district (Son La province), said: "Implementing the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, Bac Yen district has implemented various programs and projects... with the goal of narrowing the development gap between ethnic minority areas and other areas in the district. The effective implementation of these programs and projects... has helped improve and enhance the material and spiritual lives of people in ethnic minority areas, contributing positively to sustainable poverty eradication."

Bac Yen district, Son La province, is stepping up primary healthcare services for ethnic minority communities in the district. Photo: Van Ngoc

During the period of implementation of the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas giai đoạn 2021-2025, Bac Yen District focused on implementing solutions such as: strengthening the mobilization of investment resources and effectively utilizing investment capital; continuing to invest in infrastructure construction; continuing to review and provide support for plant and animal breeds to poor and near-poor households in the district...

Promote the development of agricultural economy towards commodity production, shifting the production structure to leverage local advantages and consumer markets. Transform traditional production methods into high-tech commodity agricultural production. Apply agricultural production practices (VietGAP) to improve productivity, quality, value, and competitiveness of agricultural products. Develop large-scale livestock farming in a concentrated manner, ensuring disease safety and environmental hygiene. Improve the effectiveness of veterinary work and proactively prevent and control diseases. Restructure the crop production sector towards increasing added value and sustainable development.

Thanks to tea cultivation and actively learning tea processing techniques, the life of Mr. Mua A Lu's family in Ta Xua commune, Bac Yen district, Son La province has become more prosperous. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

Strengthen the management, protection, and development of forest resources, developing protection forests, special-use forests, and production forests. Focus investment on developing the forestry economy, especially forestry species with advantages, high economic value, and potential, multi-purpose trees, developing agroforestry, and planting fruit trees.

Focus on implementing national target programs for building new rural areas; effectively carry out sustainable poverty reduction, improving the material and spiritual lives of the people; focus on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in conjunction with building a strong grassroots political system; ensure national defense and security in the district. Create equal opportunities for all citizens to access development resources and enjoy basic services and social welfare, diversifying resources.

Bac Yen District, Son La Province, is carrying out propaganda work to ensure national defense and security in the district. Photo: Van Ngoc

Bac Yen District, Son La Province, is gradually affirming its correct direction in developing its potential and advantages to improve the lives of ethnic minority people. Through support policies, agricultural restructuring, the transformation of crop and livestock structures, and a focus on changing production mindsets, Bac Yen has been creating positive changes, contributing to building a prosperous and sustainable life for its people. This is not only the result of the efforts of the government and the people but also a testament to the strength of unity among the seven ethnic groups in this highland region.

Nguyen Vinh