The province of Soc Trang, which has the largest ethnic minority population in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, is on track to provide land to the majority of its poor ethnic people by the end of this year. So far under Government Program 135 on poverty reduction, Soc Trang has provided land for housing for 1,500 out of 2,454 selected poor households, all of them ethnic minority people, according to the province's steering committee for the program. The program's second phase, which started in 2006, will finish this year. Each of the households has been given 40sq.m of land for building houses.
Under the program, the steering committee had also reserved 125ha to distribute to 500 households, which needed land or production. Of these, 420 households have already received a total of 105ha. Most of the land is now being used for growing high-quality rice varieties. With about one-fifth being farmed for onion, cucumber, water melon, corn and other crops. Soc Trang has also helped build 33,154 houses under Program 134 and provided land for housing and production for more than 3,000. Government Program 134 is a separate program aimed specifically to provide ethnic people with housing, land for housing and production, and safe water. Le Van Can, deputy head of the Soc Trang Province People's Committee, said the province authorities aimed to ensure that every household has land for housing and production, especially ethnic households.
"With the support of the Government and local communities, the province has implemented several program to help poor ethnic people, including Program 134, 135 and other policies," Can said.
Lam Ren, head of Soc Trang Province's Committee for Ethnic Minorities, said after being provided with land for housing and production, each poor ethnic household received VND16.4 million to build houses. The province had also called on individual donors and organizations to donate money for housing for poor ethnic people, Ren said.
"Soc Trang authorities have also implemented other program to help poor ethnic people escape poverty and have better lives," Ren said.
The province has launched agriculture and aquatic farming promotion program for ethnic farmers and provided loans, farming training courses, new plant seedlings and breeding animals.
It has given financial support of VND33 billion (US$1.7 million) to 1,475 laborers to learn vocational skills and 4,439 poor ethnic households to buy tools and equipment.
Lam Chang, an ethnic farmer in Long Phu District's Truong Khanh Commune, said last year he earned a profit of VND20 million ($1,100) after he was allocated 5,000sq.m of land and loans for breeding shrimp.
He was also trained on shrimp breeding and supplied shrimp fry by the province's aquatic farming centre.
Giang said before being granted land he had worked as a laborer, carrying water on a shoulder pole.
The rate of poor ethnic households in the province in 2009 was down to 23 per cent from 42.9 per cent in 2001, according to the province's Committee for Ethnic People.
Soc Trang has about 500,000 ethnic people, accounting for 30 per cent of the province's population – with Khmer people accounting for 350,000 and the remaining are Hoa, Cham and Tay people.
