(HBO) – Kim Boi district is home to four main ethnic groups of Muong, Kinh, Dao, and Tay, with the Muong accounting for over 80 percent of the local population. To improve their access to health care, education, information, and clean water, and to narrow the development gap among the localities, the district has for years capitalised on resources for ensuring their social welfare.
Photo: An organic vegetable model by women in Nuong Dam
commune’s Lam Trong hamlet contributes to raising their incomes and boosting
local socio-economic development.
Bui Quang Hop, deputy head of the Kim Boi Ethnic Minority
Office, said over the past two years, complicated developments of the COVID-19
pandemic had affected the life and economic growth of the ethnic groups.
In fact, in the past three years, not much capital was
channeled into the district’s ethnic sector. Therefore, it has focused on
effectively using resources to ensure social security for the communities.
In 2021, Kim Boi distributed 3 billion VND (129,366 USD)
worth of non-refundable aid from the Irish Government among its communes of
Nuong Dam, Du Sang and Tu Son for the construction of four rural roads. It also
implemented the second phase of a project on strengthening self-reliance
capacity for local ethnic minority communities. Sponsored by the Bread for the
World, the project aimed at economic restructuring, income increase, job
creation, and new-style rural building.
Last year, the district completed 17 out of its 18 set
targets and its economy grew over 13.8 percent.The local average per capita income reached 37.3 million VND, while its
poverty rate decreased to 6.2 percent. The percentage of rural households
having access to hygienic water and electricity were 96 and 100 percent,
respectively.
This year, Kim Boi set out 17 goals, targeting an annual
average per capita income of 42 million VND and a 3.5 percent reduction in the
rate of poverty households.
Toward such goals, right from the beginning of the year,
drastic actions have been made to attract investment and support the ethnic
communities./.
Located in the northern part of Lac Thuy district, with a temperate climate and fertile soil, Phu Thanh commune has great potential and advantages in growing tea. The long-standing experience, combined with strict adherence to organic farming practices in the tea gardens, ensures that the dried tea products from Phu Thanh and Lac Thuy as a whole are sold out immediately upon production, providing a stable and prosperous life for the local people.
Amid efforts to streamline the administrative apparatus, Hoa Binh province has intensified measures to address challenges in land clearance, resettlement support, and infrastructure investment, aiming to speed up the progress of key projects.
Hoa Binh province has posted an unprecedented economic growth rate of 12.76% in the first quarter of 2025, marking its highest quarterly performance to date and positioning it as the second fastest-growing locality in the country, trailing only Bac Giang province.
Under current regulations, products in the One Commune – One Product (OCOP) programme that are rated three stars or higher must undergo re-evaluation every three months. However, in reality, some of these products fail to consistently meet the required standards, raising concerns about the sustainability of their OCOP certification. This underscores the urgent need for producers to enhance product quality and gradually develop their OCOP products into strong, marketable brands.
In 2019, the "One Commune, One Product" (OCOP) programme took root in Yen Thuy district. At the time, local products lacked branding, packaging, and labels, mostly sold in raw form through small-scale distribution. However, amid these challenges was a crucial advantage: farmers' willingness to change, experiment with standardised processes, and learn to package and price products based on value, not just weight.
Once barely visible on the northern region’s tourism map, Hoa Binh province welcomed 4.3 million visitors last year, generating a tourism revenue of nearly 4.74 trillion VND (USD), according for 31% of its GDRP. Beyond mere statistics, the milestone demonstrates that tourism and services have become new growth engines for the locality.
