Provincial leaders presented gifts to religious dignitaries, officials, and influential figures in the ethnic minority communities of Cluster No. 1, in the communes of Sop Cop area.

These days, the new Catimor coffee variety planted in Bang Da village, Bo Sinh commune, is thriving, opening up new livelihood opportunities for the local ethnic minority people. Thanks to funding from the National Target Program for Socio -Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas and the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction, 32 households in Bang Da village received support to plant 17 hectares of Catimor coffee, bringing the total coffee area in the village to 22 hectares. Mr. Tong Van Hien, Secretary of the village Party branch, said: "Previously, the villagers mainly grew longan, mango, corn, cassava, and raised livestock on a small scale, with low economic efficiency. With government support in terms of seedlings and technical training, the people have boldly changed their crop structure, gradually creating sustainable livelihoods."

As a poor household in the village, benefiting from government policies, Mr. Lo Van Duy happily shared: "This year, my family received support in the form of 2,300 coffee seedlings and guidance on cultivation techniques. After two months of planting, the coffee trees are developing well. My family will continue to maintain proper care, hoping that in a few years the coffee will yield a harvest, providing a stable source of income to help us escape poverty."

Officials from Bo Sinh commune and village elders, along with respected figures in Pu Bau village, are disseminating information and encouraging the people to comply with legal regulations.

Along with Bang Da village, households in 13 villages of Bo Sinh commune also received support to plant 400 hectares of Catimor coffee seedlings. All seedlings were distributed and planting was completed in August. In addition to providing seedlings, the commune coordinated with the supplier to organize training on coffee planting and care techniques for village officials to serve as a core group to guide the people.

Bo Sinh is one of many localities receiving support from policies for ethnic minority and mountainous areas. The province currently has 67 communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, of which 66 are in particularly difficult Zone III. Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions has advised on the implementation of the Ethnic Affairs Strategy for the period 2026-2030, with a vision to 2045; approved the list of ethnic minority villages and particularly difficult villages for the period 2026-2030; and advised on mechanisms to support housing and allocate resources for the implementation of national target programs.

Officials in Bang Da village, Bo Sinh commune, are guiding households on techniques for planting and caring for coffee trees.

The capital carried over to 2026 for the implementation of the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the province is over 810 billion VND, including over 363 billion VND in investment capital and over 447 billion VND in recurrent expenditure capital. As of September 20th, the entire province had disbursed nearly 387 billion VND, reaching 42.79% of the planned capital; specifically, investment capital disbursed reached over 363 billion VND, or 84.25%. Resources are being focused on essential infrastructure, supporting production, and creating livelihoods for people in disadvantaged areas.

Comrade Nguyen Viet Hung, Director of the Provincial Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions , said: Along with advising on the implementation of policies, the Department regularly monitors the situation at the grassroots level, promptly resolves difficulties and obstacles, urges progress in implementation and disbursement of funds; directs policies to the right target groups and areas, creating conditions for ethnic minorities to develop production and improve their lives. State management of ethnic minorities and religions is also being gradually modernized. The Department has cleaned and integrated 4 specialized data sets into the province's shared data warehouse; standardized data according to the criteria of "accurate, complete, clean, and relevant"; and developed scenarios for exploiting dashboards and AI chatbots...

Repair and upgrade the road in Bo Sinh commune.

Along with infrastructure investment and livelihood support, the province also pays special attention to promoting the role of influential figures among ethnic minorities. After the merger of villages and hamlets, the entire province has 2,168 influential figures. From the beginning of the year until now, the province has distributed nearly 300,000 copies of the regular Son La newspaper; over 4,300 copies of the special edition of the Son La newspaper and over 13,000 copies of the Ethnic and Development newspaper to influential figures, with a total cost of over 1.27 billion VND; and organized 6 conferences to provide and disseminate information to about 500 influential figures...

Along with ethnic affairs, state management of beliefs and religions has been implemented synchronously, ensuring the right to freedom of belief and religion as prescribed by law. Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Ethnic Affairs and Religion has advised on the organization of the 4th Congress of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Son La province, term 2026-2031; organized a meeting and presented gifts to 40 religious dignitaries and influential people in the two border communes of Sop Cop and Song Ma. The software "Electronic Handbook on State Management of Beliefs and Religions" has been put into acceptance testing, contributing to the gradual modernization of management work.

Continuing to effectively implement ethnic and religious policies, the province focuses on removing obstacles and accelerating the disbursement of national target programs; effectively implementing policies for influential individuals; and improving the effectiveness of state management of beliefs and religions. Through these efforts, the province aims to leverage investment resources, create livelihoods, improve the lives of ethnic minorities, strengthen national unity, maintain border security, and lay the foundation for sustainable development in Son La.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/xa-hoi/phat-huy-hieu-qua-chinh-sach-dan-toc-ton-giao-8D13iO9vg.html