Comprehensive development

(Baonghean) - Visiting Nghia Dong today, we can feel the strong development here. The rice fields stretch far and wide, lush and green; the irrigation system brings water to every corner of the fields; the villages are prosperous; and the village roads and alleys are well-maintained and decorated with colorful flags and flowers to welcome this great occasion: Nghia Dong is the first commune in Tan Ky district to achieve the New Rural Development (NRD) goal.

Ms. Hoang Lan, head of the Women's Association in Hamlet 4, led us around the commune on concrete roads built by the people, admiring the new tiled houses of many families with red flags and yellow stars fluttering in the breeze... She smiled and said, "The commune is preparing to receive the New Rural Area standard, everyone wants to repair and renovate their houses to welcome guests." So where do they get the funds from? "Oh, there are many occupations here. Raising silkworms brings in 5-7 million dong per month for each household, then there's sugarcane farming, construction work for companies right in the commune, and money sent back by relatives working abroad..."

Currently, nearly 10 companies in the commune are thriving, including those involved in sand and gravel mining (newly licensed by the State), construction, restaurants, transportation, and agricultural services. The land leveling project in Nghia Dong commune is a significant event, as all the fields, which were previously uneven, with some areas high and others low, and some overgrown with weeds, have been leveled and filled with soil by hired machinery. This has created flat fields, facilitating the introduction of mechanization into production. After months of leveling, the rice is now green and thriving, and it's gratifying to see that every field is doing well. With the potential sand quarries along the Con River now licensed by the province, people have the opportunity to invest in building roads, alleys, and houses.

In addition, increased mechanization has led to land consolidation and the emergence of services such as plowing, harrowing, preparing sugarcane fields, and harvesting agricultural products more conveniently. The Party Secretary of Hamlet 4a, Mr. Nguyen Thao, excitedly said: “Everyone is thrilled that Nghia Dong has achieved the New Rural Area status. The happiest thing is that the rice crop is thriving after land conversion. To be honest, before that, we were worried we wouldn't have enough time to prepare the land for the spring crop…” The people in the commune are proud of the fairly comprehensive infrastructure system, from schools, kindergartens, cultural centers, roads, commune headquarters, and sports fields… mainly thanks to the people's efforts and contributions from Nghia Dong residents living away from home.

Farmland restructuring in Nghia Dong commune.

Like many other mountainous communes, when Nghia Dong commune first started building the New Rural Area model, it faced many difficulties due to its vast terrain, inadequate infrastructure, and the challenging living conditions of its people. After careful study of the natural and social conditions, along with the unanimous support and unity of the Party committee and the political system, and the high level of awareness among the people, the commune resolved to build a New Rural Area model in a standardized and innovative way. Initially, the commune only met 8 criteria, but after intensifying the movement, it successfully addressed each criterion. To date, the commune's People's Committee headquarters has been built in a spacious, impressive, and aesthetically pleasing manner, costing nearly 15 billion VND.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee: “Immediately after receiving all the policies, resolutions, and plans from the Central Government, the province, and the district regarding the construction of new rural areas, the Standing Committee and the Executive Committee discussed and determined that this is a major issue, a huge amount of work requiring a great deal of effort, money, and time, demanding the synchronized involvement of the entire political system and the people. Therefore, the Executive Committee of the Commune Party Committee issued a thematic resolution in 2011 on “Implementing the national target program for building new rural areas in the period 2011 - 2015”. The Steering Committee for building new rural areas is directly chaired by the Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, and a Management and Operation Board for building new rural areas was established, chaired by the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, along with the establishment of subcommittees for action.”

"At the village level, with close guidance and specific assignments, the plan was flexibly implemented with strong support from the people."

With decisive leadership and leveraging all resources, the affection, and the wisdom of officials and the people, Nghia Dong commune achieved the criteria for New Rural Development by the end of 2014. Building on these achievements, the commune is being encouraged by the district to develop into one of the three model New Rural Development communes in the province. The New Rural Development program in Nghia Dong has made the people fully feel and feel satisfied with the elements of a truly modernized, prosperous, and beautiful midland village. Throughout this journey, the key factor has been the people's awareness and participation in the New Rural Development program. Everyone, every household, diligently worked to create material wealth and responded to the policies of the higher authorities; every movement attracted strong support from the people, such as land conversion, joint efforts in irrigation, and rural transportation…

A model for raising pheasants in Hamlet 4, Nghia Dong Commune (Tan Ky District).

To date, agricultural production in the commune has been intensively cultivated and invested in by the local people, alongside the promotion of livestock farming. When investing in cultural facilities, every hamlet has adopted a standardized house design and built very spacious and well-maintained structures. Now, Nghia Dong stands out as a picturesque rural landscape with its river, mulberry fields, sugarcane fields, the Sen communal house, clean roads, and a thriving community life… All of this is the result of the hard work, intelligence, assets, and affection of the entire Party committee, government, and people of the commune. Alongside these successes, many entrepreneurs and successful sons and daughters of the commune have invested in their hometown, such as Mr. Phan Ke Toai – Director of a bank in Hanoi, who invested 2 billion VND to build roads; Mr. Tran Dinh Hong from Vung Tau, who invested 1.2 billion VND to build a kindergarten and roads; and many other people from the commune living abroad who have contributed between 30 and 50 million VND…

Through attracting capital from the central, provincial, and district levels, along with subsidies for irrigation fees and contributions from the people, investments have been made in upgrading pumping stations in the area, such as the Rạo pumping station under the Bản Mồng project and the 8/3 reservoirs and dams; and the Quốc Vả dam. The irrigation system from the main pumping station, with its first, second, and third-level canals, has been reinforced with concrete, basically meeting the requirements of production and daily life, ensuring proactive irrigation. All 15 hamlets have planned and built cultural centers and sports areas that meet the standards set by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 100% of hamlets have a cultural center area of ​​500m2 or more; 90% of hamlets have a sports area of ​​1500m2 or more...

Scenery of Nghia Dong commune

Nghia Dong commune, located 20km from the center of Tan Ky town, was once a disadvantaged commune due to its purely agricultural nature and low rice yields. However, it is now the first locality in the district to achieve the New Rural Development (NRD) goal. This is a significant effort that other localities should learn from and summarize the lessons learned to guide and direct the construction of NRD. Over the past three years, the commune's NRD Management Board has integrated various programs and projects, combined with resources mobilized from the people, and invested in upgrading 22.36 km of commune roads and 37 km of main village and hamlet roads. The Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, Mr. Ngo Duy Nghia, stated: “After three years of shifting crops and livestock towards commodity production, the commune has created specialized production areas. To date, we have planned 370 hectares for sugarcane cultivation; 40 hectares for mulberry cultivation; and 70 hectares for grass cultivation.”

Previously, corn cultivation yielded an income of 25-30 million VND/ha, but after converting to sugarcane, it increased to 80 million VND/ha; growing fodder grass for livestock yielded 70-80 million VND/ha. Notably, mulberry cultivation yielded an economic return of 150-180 million VND/ha. After conversion, all crops generated incomes 2-3 times higher than before. For double-cropping rice land, the Party Committee focused on directing conversion in accordance with Directive No. 08 CT/TU of the Provincial Party Committee and encouraged land consolidation to develop large-scale production. Nghia Dong was the first commune in the entire province to successfully implement the "One village, one house" model. In addition, the commune has relocated 25 concentrated livestock and poultry farms to the fields. Thanks to the effectiveness of restructuring crop and livestock production, the average income of people increased from 10 million VND/person/year (2011) to 25 million VND/person/year (2014), and the poverty rate was only 3.9%.”

Chau Lan