Cultural and Social Situation in Rural Phu Tho Before Building New Rural Areas

Ecology. Phu Tho rural area has a natural area of 342,591.52 ha (accounting for 96.97% of the natural area of the whole province), a population of 1,138,011 people (accounting for 84.58% of the whole province's population), including 253 communes with 2,593 villages [70, p.1]. This is where agricultural products are produced, livestock and poultry meat output, and paper raw material output are all produced in rural areas. Therefore, this is where the province focuses on sustainable development. In the years from 2002 to 2007, rural development has achieved many important victories. The agricultural economy has developed strongly. The value of agricultural and forestry production increased by an average of 5.77% per year, of which agriculture increased by 5.11%; forestry increased by 9.94%; and fishery increased by 10.51% [70, p.1]. Although there has been a shift in the economic structure towards increasing the proportion of industry and services and reducing the proportion of agriculture, forestry and fishery, the speed of the shift is still slow and agriculture, forestry and fishery still accounts for a large proportion (47.08% in 2007) [70, p.11].

However, the starting point of the rural economy is still lower than the average level of the whole province and the income gap is getting bigger and bigger (average income per person in rural areas in 2007 was 58.78% of the average of the whole province). The average income of rural areas was only 2,369,000 VND/person/year while the whole province reached 4,052,000 VND/person/year [70, p.12].

In terms of economic structure, it can be said that Phu Tho's rural economy is still backward. Rural agriculture still accounts for 47.08%, industry only accounts for 20.77% and trade and services 32.15% (in 2007). Meanwhile, the proportion of the agricultural sector in the economic structure of the whole province accounts for only 26.21% [70, p.11]

Agricultural production

This is the sector with the highest proportion in the rural economic structure (accounting for 42.73% in 2007). In 2008, the average annual rice yield reached 48.9 quintals/ha (the whole country 52.2 quintals/ha), higher than some neighboring provinces such as

Maybe you are interested!

Yen Bai (42.93 tons/ha), Son La (32.59 tons/ha)...[70, p.295]. In general, the agricultural production of rural areas in Phu Tho before the construction of new rural areas had changed. In the industry structure, there was a shift towards reducing the proportion of crop production value and increasing the proportion of livestock production value.

In 2007, the total area of annual crops planted in rural areas reached

118,486 ha (accounting for 92.2% of the whole province). High-value industrial crops and crops are focused on such as: peanut area reaches 5,880.31 ha (the whole province 6,011.2 ha), soybeans reach 1,508.7 ha (the whole province 1,594.4 ha); vegetables of all kinds 8,707.43 ha (the whole province 9,538.0 ha). etc. [70, p.12].

In cultivation, rice production is the main food crop, accounting for 74.86% of the cultivated area and 43.3% of the total production value of the cultivation industry. The main perennial industrial crop is tea. This is a typical commodity product of the region, with an area of 12,458.5 hectares, and an output of over 70 thousand tons of fresh buds [70, pp. 12-13]. Fruit trees such as longan, lychee, orange, tangerine... all give large yields. The work of crop conversion in recent times has had good results, with a shift in the structure of varieties and crop structures.

Shifting the structure of varieties: the proportion of hybrid rice structure increases, districts that maintain a high proportion of hybrid rice area such as: Ha Hoa, Thanh Thuy, Phu Ninh, Thanh Son, Doan Hung... In the plains, the structure of using high-quality rice varieties is increasing day by day. Districts with high-quality rice areas such as Lam Thao district, Viet Tri city, Ha Hoa... Shifting the structure of crops: For rice production, the structure of rice crops has been strongly shifted, the early and main spring crops have been reduced, and the late spring crops have been increased to limit the disadvantages of the weather. The winter crop has been expanded over the years and is considered the main production crop. The area of winter crops has increased from 16 - 17 thousand hectares (before 2001) to over 20 thousand hectares (in 2007), contributing to increasing income per unit area [70, p.13].

In livestock farming: The livestock industry continues to receive attention in order to gradually turn livestock farming into a major production sector. There have been a number of models

Industrial and semi-industrial scale livestock farming has brought about efficiency; the program of sindizing cattle and lean pig herds has been widely replicated, many communes have focused on improving cattle and pig herds, introducing some high-yield and high-quality poultry breeds into production. Disease prevention for livestock and poultry has always been focused on, contributing to minimizing damage to production.

Forestry production situation

The rural area of Phu Tho has 166,004 hectares of forest land [70, p.14]. Forest planting has been focused in recent years. The total area of planted forests in the province in 2007 was 107,828 hectares, compared to 2000, the area of planted forests increased to 38,067.2 hectares [70, p.14]. The main types of trees in planted forests are: Acacia, eucalyptus, bodhi, oak... Trees with economic value. Forest protection has also achieved certain successes. Phu Tho has closed the forest, focusing on the work of enclosing and protecting natural forests.

Aquaculture industry

The aquaculture industry has developed quite strongly in recent years. As of 2007, the total aquaculture area in rural areas was 8,139.2 hectares (equal to 89.67% of the whole province), concentrated in the districts of Cam Khe, Ha Hoa, Tam Nong, Thanh Thuy, etc. [70, p.15]. The region has focused on exploiting the available pond area, and at the same time actively directed and had policies to support the conversion of low-lying rice fields to aquaculture; there have been many models of rice cultivation combined with fish farming and raising specialty animals, bringing high economic efficiency.

Industrial production - small industry in rural areas

Realizing the potential for industrial and handicraft development in rural areas, Phu Tho province always focuses on development and considers this a breakthrough sector to transform the rural economic structure. The value of rural industrial production in 2007 is estimated at 2,623 billion VND. The average annual growth rate in the period 2002 - 2007 reached 12.92%/year in production value [70, p.18]. Phu Tho is a province with a tradition of craft villages: Craft

processing, preserving, agriculture, forestry, fishery; weaving (this is a relatively popular item in many localities and there are many craft villages that produce large quantities, bringing stable income to producers such as Ba Dong shrimp village).

– Thanh Thuy, Do Xuyen weaving village – Thanh Ba, Minh Hoa – Ha Hoa, etc.), household wood production, woven blind production, conical hat making, processing of raw materials for rural production, handicraft production, etc.

Phu Tho rural area has three industrial parks: Thuy Van, Trung Ha, Phu Ninh industrial parks, and about 20 industrial clusters. Most districts already have industrial clusters, some remaining districts also have plans to build industrial parks and clusters, but in the recent period, new industrial development has mainly focused on building infrastructure for industrial clusters.

In general, in the period of 2002 - 2007, industry - handicrafts and rural industries have achieved encouraging results, production value has increased sharply, industrial clusters have attracted many investment enterprises, rural industries have gradually developed, some new occupations have been introduced, creating jobs for many idle agricultural workers in rural areas. Industrial enterprises in the area have recently invested, upgraded, renovated, replaced machinery and equipment, production and business have become increasingly stable.

The development of trade and services in rural areas

In the rural economic structure of Phu Tho, the proportion of the trade - service sector accounts for 32.15% [70, p.11], higher than the proportion of the industry - construction sector, showing that the service sector in rural areas is quite developed, in order to meet the increasing needs of farmers. Some main activities such as postal services, telecommunications, credit services in rural areas are increasingly developing. Postal and telecommunications activities have a rapid growth rate and follow

modern direction. Up to now, 100% of communes have cultural post offices or post stations, the rate of electricity machines is 5.01 machines/100 people. Rural credit services in the region have 35 communes with operating bank branches, 23 communes have people's credit funds, etc. [70, p.18].

There are 182 markets in rural areas [70, p.17]. These are places for buying and selling consumer goods as well as consuming products. However, these markets have rudimentary facilities, are unhygienic, and have not been invested in synchronously. The market network and commercial infrastructure have not yet met the trading needs of the people. Besides the achievements, the trade and service sector in rural areas still has many limitations.

1.2.2. Rural infrastructure

In general, the infrastructure of rural areas before Phu Tho implemented new rural construction was still limited and could not meet the agricultural production requirements of the region.

The irrigation system in rural areas has been built for a long time, and up to now, it has generally degraded, negatively affecting the drainage process. The current irrigated area only ensures the supply of 71.9% of the winter-spring crop and 72.6% of the summer-autumn crop compared to the design; the area without irrigation works mainly exists in mountainous districts such as Thanh Son, Yen Lap, Doan Hung, Tan Son... [70, p.38]. Along the rivers and streams, there are many low-lying areas, so they are often flooded in both the winter-spring and summer-autumn crops, such as the Chinh Cong dam area (Ha Hoa), the area of 16 Cam Khe communes... In recent years, irrigation works serving irrigation have mainly focused on irrigating rice and vegetables, the combined hill irrigation works have only stopped at the source creation level, and the complete hill irrigation technology solution has not been implemented synchronously.

Roads in rural areas are mainly dirt roads (67.76%), the proportion of concrete roads is only 15.8%. The type of road to the fields and up the hills is mainly dirt roads (accounting for 96%) [70, p.44]. In general, the traffic network

Rural areas in Phu Tho are still very difficult, especially in mountainous communes. Inter-village routes and intra-field roads are mostly dirt roads, with narrow roadbeds and an unsynchronized drainage system. Bridges and culverts across rivers and streams are still lacking, limiting production and daily life of local people.

Phu Tho has three major rivers flowing through it: the Red River, the Lo River and the Da River, which meet at Viet Tri City. In addition, there are tributaries such as the Chay River and the Vong River, forming a river transport network that is very convenient for the exchange and transportation of goods and products. However, the region's river system has not yet fully exploited its strengths, and dredging of waterways and upgrading and building of new ports have not been carried out.

Basically, rural areas have been fully supplied with electricity. Farmers have electricity for production and daily life. The system of medium-voltage and low-voltage lines and transformer stations is being gradually renovated, upgraded, replaced and newly built. In 2003, 100% of communes had access to the national grid. In addition, the province also focused on investing in key projects on the grid and power transmission: expanding the 220kV Van Phu station; investing in 4 new 110kV transformer stations in Phu Tho - Ngan Xa, Dong Lang, Bach Hac, Pho Vang.

In 2007, 100% of communes, 97.34% of villages and 97.74% of households had access to the national grid, ensuring the minimum electricity needs of the people [70, p.46]. The highland communes have a relatively dispersed population, so the high investment rate leads to the lowest rate of households using electricity in these communes. Although the grid has reached all communes in the region, it still cannot meet the electricity needs of people for consumption and production, especially in economically developed areas. People's electricity consumption is increasing day by day, and the power line system is deteriorating. In recent years, the electricity sector has implemented rotating power cuts and sometimes without prior notice. This has significantly affected the production and daily life of people in the region.

Facilities such as housing and household appliances of farmers are still lacking and simple, many places do not have solid houses, especially in mountainous areas. In the whole region, 47.09% of households have motorbikes: in the plains, 52.65%; in the mountainous areas, 45.95% and in the highlands, 25.34%. Nearly 80% of households have televisions, of which the plains have over 90% of households; in the midlands, nearly 80%; in the mountainous areas, nearly 50% of households [70, p.47]. In general, the level of use of appliances is different between the three regions: the plains have the highest rate, followed by the mountainous areas and the lowest is the highlands.

1.2.3. Cultural and social situation in rural Phu Tho before building new rural areas

Population and labor in rural areas

The rural population is 1,138,011 people, accounting for 84.09% of the province's total population (2007) [70, p.25]. The density is unevenly distributed, with an average of

332 people/km 2 . The district with the highest population density is Lam Thao (1040

people/km 2 ), the lowest is Tan Son (109 people/km 2 ) [70, p.25]. In general, the population is distributed quite concentratedly along traffic routes and towns.

The total number of workers working in economic sectors is 561,107 people, accounting for 49.30% of the total rural population. Of which, the majority are workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors (accounting for 79.99% of the total workforce) [70, p.26]. The quality of labor in rural areas is increasing day by day, however, the number of untrained workers is still 495,039 [70, p.26]. The labor structure continues to shift in a positive direction: agricultural workers in rural areas have gradually decreased, industrial workers, services and labor exports have gradually increased, so the number of unemployed people has also decreased significantly.

Education - training, health care in rural areas before building new rural areas

In recent years, the quality of teaching and learning in rural areas has been continuously improved. In 2002, universal education was completed.

Primary education at the right age, in 2003 universal lower secondary education was completed, and by the end of 2007, 191 schools had met national standards. Vocational schools are shifting their training to match the requirements of labor use according to the market mechanism. The number of workers receiving vocational training is about 9%, of which about 7% are technical workers [70, p.27]. In general, the network of schools at all levels is relatively reasonable. The whole province has 330,000 students at all levels, accounting for 24.9% of the province's population [70, p.29]. Phu Tho has been recognized as meeting national standards for universal primary education at the right age and universal lower secondary education. The quality of education is being improved, the rate of students repeating grades and dropping out is low, the rate of students passing graduation exams is increasing.

Health care for people, especially in rural areas, has been well implemented. The medical staff has been improved in both quality and quantity. 100% of communes have health stations, each station has an average of 5 health workers, 100% of villages have village health workers [70, p.30]. However, in addition, health care in rural areas is still very difficult: more than 50% of health stations have not met national health standards, equipment at district and commune levels has not been invested in upgrading, the level and structure of human resources have not met the requirements, the arrangement of health workers to villages is difficult, etc.

Socio-cultural situation in rural areas of Phu Tho before building new rural areas

Like other rural areas, villages here are also building a civilized cultural lifestyle every day. The information and cultural network in rural areas is developing rapidly. Basically, communes and villages have cultural post offices, communal cultural houses, libraries, and loudspeaker systems to the villages. In 2006, 90% of communes had telephones (in 2001, there were 88.3%), 93.6% of communal cultural post offices, and the number of telephones in rural areas reached 5.01/100 people [70, p.31]. Farmers have the opportunity to update information and pay attention to the Party and State's guidelines and policies through

Comment