Son La asked to focus on hi-tech agriculture

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested that Son La province focus on developing high-tech agriculture to boost its economic growth at a working session with local leaders on July 17.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the working session (Photo: VNA)

Son La (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested that the northernmountainous province of Son La focus on developing high-tech agriculture toboost its economic growth at a working session with local leaders on July 17.

PM Phuchailed the Party Organisation, authorities and locals of Son La for theirefforts to record high economic growth and maintain good relations with Laolocalities.

However, henoted that Son La is still a poor province with high poverty rate and lowcompetitiveness. He asked the province to exert every effort to fulfilsocio-economic targets for the year.

Son Lashould focus on ensuring security and order in the border, while paying greaterattention to business development.

He alsosuggested the locality continue boosting high technology agriculture and seekmarkets for local products as well as speed up the building of new-style ruralareas and increase the cultivation of herbal trees.

At the sametime, the province should also take more care of locals in resettlement areasfor the construction of Son La hydropower plant. Son La should also develop itstourism in a sustainable way, with special attention to preserving culturalidentities of local ethnic minority groups, making tourism a spearhead sector.

Son La has anatural area of 14,174 square kilometres, with 250km border sharing with Lao provincesof Houaphanh and Luang Phrabang. With a population of 1.2 million, the provinceis home to 12 ethnic minority groups.

Son La isstill a poor province with the ratio of poor households reaching 31.44 percentin 2016.

Last year,the province’s gross regional domestic products (GRDP) was 9.2 percent, whileits budget collection was over 4 trillion VND and per capital GRDP reached 25.4million VND.

In the firstsix months of this year, the province’s economic growth hit 5.15 percent.


In 2016, theprovince welcomed 1.85 million visitors, earning nearly 900 billion VND inrevenues. In the first half of 2017, tourists to Son La numbered over 1million, with most of them going to Moc Chau and Van Ho. Its forest coveragereached 42.5 percent.

Along withfruit cultivation, the province also has 22,000 milk cows which produced 37,000tonnes of milk in the first six months of this year.

Son La has43 enterprises and cooperatives with 86 agricultural products meeting VietGapstandard.-VNA 

VNA