Asian Development Bank

Hanoi (VNA) -- The Asian Development Bank on Oct. 25 approved an assistance package
worth 108 million USD to upgrade rural roads and irrigation systems in some of
Vietnam's poorest areas.

The assistance targets 15 mountain provinces in northern Vietnam where more than
one-in-four families live in poverty.

The project will enable the upgrading of 600km of roads and provide better
irrigation on 12,400ha of farmland.

"Improved irrigation and water management is critical for Vietnam's food security,
particularly in the face of rising food demands and the worsening effects of
climate change," David Salter, Rural Development Specialist in ADB's Southeast
Asia Department Salter said.

"This project will help farming communities boost rice yields by 25 percent and
even diversify into more profitable crops," Salter said.

"Travel time, effort and costs will be reduced by an average of 55 percent while
transport reliability will be increased. This will provide farmers with more
options for strategic marketing," he added.

"Roads are lifelines for these families," said Salter. "Good roads give rural
people access to work in towns and cities to supplement and counter the cyclical
incomes of farming.

"They also give women and the elderly better access to medical care, and make it
easier for children to get to, and stay in, school."

The ADB-supported project will also upgrade 10 rural commune markets to bolster
local commerce.-Enditem







Delete & Prev | Delete & Next