Directive No. 515/TTg On Promoting the Program for Exploitation and Development of Economic and Social Activities in the Dong Thap Muoi Region

DIRECTIVE

Regarding the acceleration of implementation of the program for exploitation and development of economic and social affairs

in the Dong Thap Muoi region

After ten years of implementing Directive 74/CP dated March 18, 1998 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister), under the guidance of the Party committees, authorities of Dong Thap, Long An, and Tien Giang provinces, contributions from scientists, and the participation of the people, the program for the exploitation and development of economic and social affairs in the Dong Thap Muoi plain has achieved significant results with important political and socio-economic implications, creating profound changes throughout the entire Dong Thap Muoi region.

From a harsh natural environment with sparse population, self-sufficient production, and dependence on nature, the Dong Thap Muoi region has become an important rice-producing area, agricultural production structures have been formed, initial population distribution and resettlement have taken place, cultural and social living standards of the people have improved, and technical infrastructure such as transportation and irrigation have developed.

However, the program for the exploitation and development of economic and social affairs in the Dong Thap Muoi region has also revealed some shortcomings: there is still no comprehensive, synchronized, and rational strategy for exploiting and developing resources to ensure a sustainable and stable ecosystem; forest areas have decreased rapidly, aquatic resources have declined; production mainly relies on single-crop rice cultivation; technical infrastructure remains weak; planning for transportation development, irrigation, and construction of residential areas and towns, as well as cultural-social infrastructure, lacks coordination and synchronization.

To continue the comprehensive and sustainable exploitation and development of the Dong Thap Muoi region to transform it into an economically and socially developed area oriented towards industrialization, a typical new rural area of the Mekong Delta, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. Continue to implement the program for the exploitation and development of economic and social affairs in the Dong Thap Muoi region in the coming period with the principle: improving the quality of the achievements made over the past ten years, adopting comprehensive and synchronized solutions to develop the Dong Thap Muoi region into a diverse agricultural economy with mechanization; closely combining economic, cultural, social, and national defense and security affairs.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and provincial People's Committees to complete by the end of 1997 specific plans and programs for flood drainage and water retention for the entire region and each province, consistent with the overall plan for economic and social development of the Mekong Delta.

3. The exploitation and development of economic and social affairs in the Dong Thap Muoi region must be linked to the establishment of a new, stable, and sustainable ecological system, leveraging the region's advantages, quickly forming a diversified agricultural structure, alongside food crops, developing fruit trees, industrial crops, and poultry farming at an industrial scale; closely linking with the protection and establishment of a balanced ecological system, protecting and developing aquatic resources:

- In agricultural production: Vigorously invest in intensive farming, increasing crop yields, enhancing the efficiency of cultivated land for rice planting, focusing on special rice varieties and high-quality rice for export, gradually diversifying crops, especially fruit trees and industrial crops that are economically efficient and suitable for the region's ecological conditions.

- In forestry development: Firstly, maintain forest areas appropriate to each province, restore and conserve the Tram Chim bird sanctuary, plant new forests on vacant lands, prioritize scattered tree planting, windbreaks, and wave barriers along canal and road axes, and residential areas to ensure ecological balance in the region.

- In aquaculture: Protect and develop aquatic resources, expand and develop models of fish farming combined with forest planting in ponds and lakes, encourage the construction of integrated garden-pond complexes in residential areas to create new water reservoirs for both water regulation and aquaculture development.

4. While awaiting approval of the flood control and drainage plan for the Dong Thap Muoi region, urgent measures should be taken to complete critical water management, transportation, and residential community construction projects as stipulated in Decisions 159/TTg and 99/TTg of the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Construction to closely cooperate in preparing basic construction plans for 1998 and from 1998 to 2000 concerning water management, transportation, and residential community construction, ensuring consistency, synchronization, and integration from the surveying stage through project approval and construction, avoiding wasteful investment.

- Direct the Review Board for Urgent Projects in the Mekong Delta to continue reviewing specific projects to prepare for immediate implementation after the 1997 flood season and in 1998.

5. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and provincial People's Committees of the Dong Thap Muoi region:

- Develop a comprehensive plan for economic and social development in the Dong Thap Muoi region until 2000 and 2010.

- Study the construction of water reservoirs to mitigate floods, provide water during dry seasons, serve as ecological lakes, protect the environment, and develop additional aquatic resources; ensure sufficient clean water for the local population.

- Direct and formulate specific plans to quickly introduce machinery into all stages of rice planting, harvesting, storage, and processing.

- Encourage businesses and farmers to invest in producing and using rice harvesters, combine harvesters, and apply improved manual drying methods to reduce labor costs. The State Bank of Vietnam should promptly develop medium- and long-term credit plans to lend to domestic enterprises for production and to farmers for purchasing domestically manufactured machinery and equipment.

- Develop a proposal to reorganize the grain trading system, linked with the supply of agricultural materials and fertilizers, and organize agricultural promotion to enhance the core role of state-owned enterprises, effectively utilizing individual organizations from all economic sectors participating in purchasing rice, milling, and supplying agricultural materials and fertilizers, to be submitted to the Prime Minister by September 1997. Pay attention to new cooperative models established based on voluntary participation and capital contribution from farmers and various economic components in the area for agricultural services, input materials, and resolving output issues for cooperative members.

6. The Ministry of Education and Training shall cooperate with the People's Committees of provinces to develop a human resource training strategy serving agricultural development and rural industrialization until 2010 in the region. In the short term, specific policies regarding study time and summer vacation suitable for students in flood-prone areas; policies to attract and utilize students for higher education and vocational training in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; and experimental boarding schools for children in remote areas to ensure educational opportunities.

7. The Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces must immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation and assessment of the current land fund and land use in their localities, particularly the additional land fund due to reclamation and restoration over the past ten years; statistics and classification of households without residential land, lacking production land, and those with one hectare or more of cultivated land. The Land Administration shall provide technical guidance to ensure accurate and rapid statistics and closely coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies to develop necessary adjustment plans to ensure that all farming households in the Mekong Delta and the Plain of Reeds have residential, garden, and cultivated land, to be submitted to the Prime Minister by the fourth quarter of 1997.

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies equivalent to ministries, and Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces in the Plain of Reeds are responsible for strictly guiding and implementing this Directive./.

PRIME MINISTER

(Signed)

Vo Van Kiet