More than 539ha of land and expectations for agricultural region change
Firstly granted an investment certificate by Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee on November 25, 2009, the high-tech agricultural and forestry application project invested by Hoang Lan Trading Co., Ltd. has a total capital of nearly 895 billion VND.
The project has a scale of more than 539ha, operating time of 50 years, with the goal of developing forestry areas, fruit trees and high-tech application livestock.
The project is expected to contribute to shifting the agricultural economic structure towards modernity, improving product value, creating stable jobs for local workers and increasing budget revenue through production and business activities.
In the initial implementation phase, businesses invested in planting bananas, rubber, pineapple and many infrastructure items serving production.
According to the report of Bao Thang commune, from 2012 to 2019, the banana area of the project once brought in revenue of about 580 billion VND, creating jobs for many seasonal workers.
The enterprise also invests in internal road systems, power stations, water reservoirs and many other auxiliary items.
However, after initial positive signs, the project began to face many difficulties.
The Panama epidemic caused serious damage to banana areas, while rubber latex prices fell sharply, and climate conditions were no longer suitable for this crop, causing production efficiency to decline.
The pig farm development plan also did not meet expectations due to the impact of African swine fever and market fluctuations.
When the results have not kept up with the target
The reality recorded by reporters on July 16 in the project area shows that many areas are still planted with trees, but the exploitation efficiency is not high.
Some areas planned for production items have not yet fully utilized their functions, while local people believe that the land allocated to the project has not been used commensurately.
Many households in Cau Xum village said that since the land allocation to implement the project, many workers have had to switch to hired labor due to lack of production land.
What people want is not that the project stops operating, but that businesses effectively use the allocated land area, creating more jobs and livelihoods as the initial goal.
Informing reporters, Mr. Do Ngoc Son - Vice Chairman of Bao Thang Commune People's Committee said that the locality recorded that the project once had an effective operating period, but then encountered many difficulties due to epidemics and market fluctuations.
The government expects businesses to soon adjust production plans, maximize the allocated land area, thereby creating more jobs and contributing more to local economic development.
Meanwhile, through inspection, functional agencies determined that the project was 7 years behind schedule compared to the content of the Investment Registration Certificate.
Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee has requested businesses to carry out procedures to adjust the project according to regulations, and at the same time study a plan to convert crop structure to improve land use efficiency.
In case of not fulfilling commitments and not completing the necessary procedures, functional agencies will consider handling according to the provisions of law.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper reflected that the high-tech agricultural project in Bao Thang commune was not effectively exploited, and many areas of land were left vacant.
After that, the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee assigned relevant departments and agencies to organize inspections and reviews of the entire project and report the results.
