Deputy PM Trong pointed out key tasks that these provinces must focus on in the future. One of them is to quickly develop industrial-crop planting areas, the related processing sector and seek out consumer markets for tea, rubber, coffee and mulberry.

Provincial people’s committees must reassess and adjust rubber-planting area scientifically, he stressed. The deputy PM asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group to provide mechanism and policies for rubber planting.

Mr. Trong also required the provinces develop agricultural processing and consuming activities, boost technological research, and improve people’s farming skills and knowledge of agricultural production.

The deputy PM affirmed that human resource training was the most important thing needed to be done to develop the region’s economy, thus local staff should learn by themselves to improve their knowledge.

Participants also discussed measures to reach targets set for 2010 such as increasing forest coverage to 50 percent, 6 percent higher than 2007, and raising tea planting areas from 70,000ha to 80,000ha.

The three-day conference, which began on October 10, saw the participation of representatives of six related ministries and sectors, leaders of 14 mountainous northern provinces and some representatives of State-owned enterprises.