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Japan allocates $5m for Dien Bien development
The Japan International Co-operation Agency, JICA, will provide US$5 million to support rural development in northern mountainous Dien Bien Province.
JICA Viet Nam Chief representative Motonori Tsuno and Dien Bien Province People's Committee deputy chairman Hoang Van Nhan signed a record of discussion for the Japan – Viet Nam Technical Co-operation Project for "Northwest Region Rural Development" yesterday.
Focus of the five-year project will be the improvement of cultivation, post-harvesting and the marketing of agricultural produce.
This will include rice, maize and soybean.
Other targets will be the improvement of water distribution; the management of irrigation infrastructure and enhancing the capacity of the provincial, district and commune People's Committees as well as mass organisations and agricultural enterprises.
"Eighty per cent of Japan is mountainous and the development of the highlands is the key to increase rural livelihoods," said Motonori Tsuno.
"Japan's method of rural development is based on the participation of people living in the area and government officials who listen to their opinions throughout a project.
Organising farmer groups is a common method of rural development in Japan and it will be applied in the project area."
The Statistical Yearbook 2008 shows the poverty rate in Dien Bien Province was as high as 44.1 per cent - making it one of the country's poorest regions.
The rural province is heavily dependent on agriculture, which contributes 37 per cent of its GDP, and employs 80 per cent of its labour.
Poor infrastructure, environmental degradation and a lack of management expertise mean low productivity compared with the national average.
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