MARD supplies foods for laborers in Covid-19 blockaded areas

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Working Group 970 is proactive in terms of direction for agricultural output, connectivity, supply, and demand in the Southern area. Until August 1st, the working group had received the registration of 562 focus points that provide agricultural products and foods. The register comprises 126 focus areas for vegetables, 137 for fruits, 246 for seafood, 30 for meals, and 23 for miscellaneous products, covering a wide range of products.

The MARD's Working Group 970 intended to collaborate with the Ministry of National Defense's Working Group 970 to create a program to assist employees in tough working circumstances in Ho Chi Minh City's industrial parks during the implementation of Directive 16's social distance.

The program's objective is to assist and encourage workers to remain temporarily on site in order to implement the social distance required by Ho Chi Minh City's laws, thus avoiding travel and increasing the danger of the Covid-19 epidemic spreading. At the same time, it contributes to the provision of necessary food and foodstuffs to protect employees' health throughout the quarantine period, thus decreasing the number of migrants from Ho Chi Minh City to other areas.

MARD's Working Group 970 will specifically organize sources of agricultural goods to support, assist in connecting distribution points in communities, and receive agricultural products in Ho Chi Minh City. The Ministry of Defense's working group 970 is responsible for transport organization, as well as loading and unloading vehicles at the departure and arrival checkpoint.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the Confederation of Labor in Ho Chi Minh City, arranged locations to collect and preserve agricultural products, provided a list of workers in need of assistance and their locations, arranged personnel to assist in the delivery and receipt of agricultural products, as well as preparation tools and medical equipment for epidemic prevention.

Agriculture and Rural Development Departments in 18 provinces and cities across the Mekong Delta and Southeast area will provide local agricultural goods, coordinate with local deliveries and collection locations, and facilitate the circulation to Ho Chi Minh City.

The initiative will be implemented in the following days in Thu Duc city, which presents boxes including necessities such as rice, eggs, meat, vegetables, etc.

On July 30, Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam, leader of Working Group 970, sent a letter regarding food assistance for workers to departments under MARD in Southern localities and towns with difficult activities in Ho Chi Minh City's Covid-19 barrier zone.

The Deputy Minister said in the letter that at the height of the anti-epidemic campaign in Ho Chi Minh City, a significant portion of employees and freelancers, particularly those who lost their employment, were forced to live in hotels. The majority of them are youngsters from southern regions who need little livelihood stability. There are about 384,000 motel rooms in 12 districts and Thu Duc city, with over 1,030,000 people temporarily staying, according to statistics from 12 districts and Thu Duc city.

On the basis of the potential and strengths of agricultural products in the South, it is proposed that provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development participate in mobilizing food supplies for those experiencing hardships as a result of the pandemic, unable to access regular food sources.