Breeding shrimp and mud crab in the same rice fields offers high incomes for Khmer farmers in Kien Giang province’s Vinh Thuan district. (Photo: VNA)KienGiang (VNA) - The lives of ethnic Khmer people living in Kien Gianghave improved significantly after the province efficiently implemented localand central government support policies for them in recent years.
TheMekong Delta province has 56,800 Khmer households with 242,602 members, or 13.4percent of its population and the third largest number in the delta after SocTrang and Tra Vinh provinces.
Aspart of the support policies it has provided them with easy loans, free healthinsurance, clean water, and power, and built other infrastructure facilities,according to the provincial Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.
Creditprogrammes from local and central governments have provided 211 billion VND (9.1million USD) to 18,128 Khmer families for doing agriculture or business since2014.
Theprovince has also allotted housing lands to 635 poor households and providedfree health insurance for 424,993 people.
Thenumber of Khmer households with access to clean water has increased from 77.9 percentin 2014 to 88.3 percent now, while almost all have access to power compared toless than 80 percent in 2014.
DanhPhuc, head of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee, said withthe support of local and central government support, Khmer farmers haveswitched from mostly growing rice to other high-value crops, vegetables andfruits besides livestock.
Manyhave also begun to work in industrial parks, he said.
Withthe implementation of the support policies, the number of poor households hasreduced from 10,346 in 2015 to 4,855 now for a 7.9 percent rate, according tothe committee.
Localitiesin the province have implemented several sustainable poverty reduction modelsand included Khmer households in them.
Theyinclude raising cows, buffaloes, pigs, eels, and fish, growing vegetables andfarming rice and shrimp by turns in the same fields.
InVinh Thuan district, local authorities have introduced several effectivefarming models to the Khmer like breeding mud crabs and shrimp in the samepond, raising giant river prawns and rice-shrimp farming.
Therice - shrimp model has helped improve the incomes of the Khmer since mostfarmed only one or the other earlier.
InKien Lương district, the Duong Hoa Commune Farmers Association has taught Khmerfarmers new farming models to improve incomes in recent years.
Theyinclude switching to fish, mud crabs, black tiger shrimp, buffaloes, and duckson low-yield rice fields.
DuongVan La, a farmer in Duong Hoa’s Ta Sang hamlet, has switched from rice tofreshwater fish after the association gave him training.
Henow breeds snakehead fish, yellow bighead catfish and climbing perch, he said.
“Iharvest two to three crops a year and earn 50 million VND (2,160 USD)./.
TheMekong Delta province has 56,800 Khmer households with 242,602 members, or 13.4percent of its population and the third largest number in the delta after SocTrang and Tra Vinh provinces.
Aspart of the support policies it has provided them with easy loans, free healthinsurance, clean water, and power, and built other infrastructure facilities,according to the provincial Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.
Creditprogrammes from local and central governments have provided 211 billion VND (9.1million USD) to 18,128 Khmer families for doing agriculture or business since2014.
Theprovince has also allotted housing lands to 635 poor households and providedfree health insurance for 424,993 people.
Thenumber of Khmer households with access to clean water has increased from 77.9 percentin 2014 to 88.3 percent now, while almost all have access to power compared toless than 80 percent in 2014.
DanhPhuc, head of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee, said withthe support of local and central government support, Khmer farmers haveswitched from mostly growing rice to other high-value crops, vegetables andfruits besides livestock.
Manyhave also begun to work in industrial parks, he said.
Withthe implementation of the support policies, the number of poor households hasreduced from 10,346 in 2015 to 4,855 now for a 7.9 percent rate, according tothe committee.
Localitiesin the province have implemented several sustainable poverty reduction modelsand included Khmer households in them.
Theyinclude raising cows, buffaloes, pigs, eels, and fish, growing vegetables andfarming rice and shrimp by turns in the same fields.
InVinh Thuan district, local authorities have introduced several effectivefarming models to the Khmer like breeding mud crabs and shrimp in the samepond, raising giant river prawns and rice-shrimp farming.
Therice - shrimp model has helped improve the incomes of the Khmer since mostfarmed only one or the other earlier.
InKien Lương district, the Duong Hoa Commune Farmers Association has taught Khmerfarmers new farming models to improve incomes in recent years.
Theyinclude switching to fish, mud crabs, black tiger shrimp, buffaloes, and duckson low-yield rice fields.
DuongVan La, a farmer in Duong Hoa’s Ta Sang hamlet, has switched from rice tofreshwater fish after the association gave him training.
Henow breeds snakehead fish, yellow bighead catfish and climbing perch, he said.
“Iharvest two to three crops a year and earn 50 million VND (2,160 USD)./.
VNA
