Economic development in ethnic minorities

Recently, VBSP Cu Kuin district (Dak Lak) has effectively implemented credit programs with preferential policies, especially for ethnic minority households and mountainous areas, empowering thousands of people in their production development, job creation and lives stability.

Ms. H'Diep Nie (in Hra Ea Tlă village, Dray Bhang commune) takes care of her family's cows

Cu Kuin district has 26,024 households with 17 ethnic groups, of which ethnic minorities account for 32.18% of the district's population, living in 86 villages and 27 hamlets. It is extreme difficult for them to get out of poverty. In order to facilitate people's access to credit, the district VBSP has actively coordinated with relevant departments, divisions and mass organizations to implement preferential credit programs. VBSP focuses on promoting propaganda of policies on borrowers, loan sources, and loan conditions to the local people; ensuring lending to the right subjects and for the right purpose.

Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh Tam - Deputy Director of VBSP Cu Kuin district said: In order to facilitate local people’s access to credit, especially ethnic minority households, the district VBSP would continue to coordinate with the People's Committees of communes and mass organizations to propagate and implement new guidelines, create conditions for vulnerable households to access credit, etc.

As a household that received a loan from VBSP, Ms. H'Duc Bkrong (in Puk Prong village, Ea Ning commune) shared that in 2018, her family was able to borrow VND 30 million to plant and renovate a pepper garden. Due to lack of experience, her pepper garden died. Luckily, they could access to another loan for land production and job change to develop her family farming. Ms. H'Duc happily said: "The district VBSP’s officers guided me enthusiastically and created conditions for my family to borrow VND 50 million with a preferential interest rate of only 3.3%/year".

In the case of Ms. H'Diep Nie's family (in Hra Ea Tlă village, Dray Bhang commune), receiving a loan of the job creation program helped her family have stable source of income. She said that she had 3 children and lived with her parents. Her main source of income were 4 acres of coffee fields and her husband's salary working in the Commune Party Committee.

Since 2020, her family received a loan of VND 50 million. They bought 3 cows. To date, the cow herd has developed to 6 units. Therefore, her economy has been improving day by day.

Not only Ms. H'Duc Bkrong and Ms. H'Diep Nie, but many ethnic minority households in Cu Kuin district also receive policy loans. In recent years, the Government's policy source has created conditions for local people to promote their production development and income, especially ethnic minorities. To date, the total outstanding loans of credit programs across the district has reached VND 452 billion with 10,337 poor households and policy beneficiaries accessing to preferential credit loans. In which, 4,972 ethnic minority households received loans, accounting for more than 48% of the total number of households borrowing, with outstanding debt of VND 173 billion.

Lan Anh