Land consolidation and plot exchange - "Voices" from the fields - Part 1: The great "revolution"

(Baonghean) - In Nghe An, after more than 3 years of implementing the land consolidation and plot exchange work according to Directive 08-CT/TU of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, the initial results have truly proven the correctness and sensitivity of a policy that is suitable to the people's wishes and practical requirements; it is the basis for all levels, sectors and localities to propose specific solutions in the implementation process to achieve the set targets and contribute to improving the socio-economic situation of the province.

Demands from practice

It can be said that Directive 08-CT/TU was born from the inevitable requirements of reality, creating a strong and enthusiastic "revolution" on land among the people. Realizing that this was an opportunity, many localities have made good use of it to re-plan agricultural land to strengthen management and especially to increase land use value at a time when farmers are tending to abandon their fields. After more than 3 years of implementation, up to now, 9 district-level units have completed the field consolidation and plot exchange for 100% of communes. In particular, localities such as Anh Son, Yen Thanh, Thanh Chuong, Quynh Luu, Nam Dan are considered to be good localities with strong momentum and high efficiency in practice. However, there are still many localities whose implementation has achieved low results such as Tan Ky, Hung Nguyen, Nghi Loc, Con Cuong, Que Phong, Quy Chau.

Implementing land consolidation and land exchange in Xuan Hoa commune (Nam Dan). Photo: Pham Bang

Compared to other localities, Thanh Chuong district is not favored by nature in terms of natural conditions. The terrain is very complex, with many terraced fields, nooks and crannies. In addition, the area of ​​land was previously divided in a comb-shaped pattern, so the conversion process encountered many difficulties. However, thanks to the shortcuts, strong and decisive participation of Party committees and authorities at all levels and the consensus of the people, the results of land consolidation in Thanh Chuong district were very good.

In 2009, realizing the current situation of fragmented and inefficient fields, the district developed a project to continue mobilizing farmers to convert and transfer land (for the second time) to carry out the industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas. The direction and management process was carried out synchronously and consistently. By 2012, Directive 08 of the Provincial Party Committee was issued, creating more strength for the district's determination. To date, 38 communes in the district have completed land consolidation and plot exchange. Before the conversion: On average, a household had 9.5 plots; 5.6 areas/household, with an area of ​​nearly 200 - 1,000m2. After the conversion, on average, each household had 4.5 plots; 2.26 areas/household, with a plot area of ​​310 - 5,000m2.

Construction of an intra-field canal system in Quynh Hong commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: PB

As the first district-level unit in the province to complete land consolidation, by 2014, Yen Thanh district had only two last localities (out of 39 communes and towns) implementing this work, namely the Town and Kim Thanh. Mr. Nguyen Duc Thien, Head of the District Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said: Determining this as an important step in the development of agriculture, farmers and rural areas, all levels of the sector from district to commune have focused on directing, in which priority was given to ensuring and implementing democratic regulations, thereby receiving the consensus and support of the people and mobilizing large resources from the people for internal irrigation traffic. According to the general assessment, the progress of land consolidation was implemented quickly, closely following the approved new rural planning, thereby creating land funds for the construction of essential infrastructure works, public works, and welfare works, contributing to the early completion of the criteria for building new rural areas.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Toan (Deputy Head of Land Management Department - Department of Natural Resources and Environment) assessed: In general, the results of land consolidation and exchange in the field are basically consistent with the purpose and progress of the approved land consolidation and exchange project. The progress of implementation in the field in some pilot communes is fast, basically ensuring quality. The land consolidation and exchange process has been associated with the planning of field improvement, upgrading the transportation and irrigation systems, gradually linking land consolidation and exchange with reasonable conversion of crop and livestock structures. For localities that have done well, the reason is due to good ideological work to create changes in awareness among cadres, party members and people. Grassroots party organizations have shown determination and a sense of responsibility in the implementation process, creating fairness and democracy at the grassroots level, promoting the strength of the whole people with the motto "People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect".

People understand, people will agree

Sharing the experience of Thanh Chuong district, Mr. Tran Dinh Thanh, Head of the district's Agriculture Department, said: The most important issue in land consolidation and plot exchange is to propagate and mobilize people to agree and support. Therefore, in addition to implementing steps of holding meetings with people, listening to comments, and making policies and plans transparent, the District Steering Committee has assigned socio-political organizations to organize propaganda to union members, association members, and party members to set an example. In directing the second land conversion and transfer, members of the commune's Steering Committee stick to the work, perform well the inspection and supervision work to promptly supplement errors during the implementation process. "Members of the Steering Committee from the district to the commune level must really stick to the work, perform well the inspection and supervision work to promptly supplement errors during the implementation process. Only then will people trust, unanimously implement and achieve high results" - Mr. Thanh said.

As for Anh Son - a lowland district, the process of land consolidation encountered numerous difficulties. However, thanks to dedicated cadres, with good methods and practices, and especially always being close to the people, the conversion results were high. Up to now, 20/20 communes of Anh Son have completed land consolidation in the field, with an average of 2.1 plots and 2-3 fields per household. For example, Tuong Son is a mountainous commune with many difficulties in Anh Son district. Up to now, the commune has completed land conversion on the entire cultivated area of ​​12 villages, with an average of 1.97 plots per household. The commune determined that the policy was issued from the top down, but implementation had to be from the bottom up. Tuong Son promoted mobilization and propaganda work among the people. Initially, when implementing and soliciting people's opinions, the commune encountered disagreement from a part of the people.

However, identifying this as a major movement, with the people being the main implementers, the commune has persistently carried out ideological work with the motto of dialogue through conferences and face-to-face. To make the people understand and do, Tuong Son commune had to organize 180 large and small meetings, from the commune level to the hamlet level. People's questions were resolved immediately, without beating around the bush. Cadres and party members must take the lead as exemplary and not seek personal gain, then the people will agree.

As for Yen Thanh district, in addition to mobilizing the people, building a reasonable and effective conversion plan is a successful lesson. First of all, the plan must be built tightly, closely following the approved new rural planning, defining production zones, arranging crops and livestock, and closely following the income improvement project in building new rural areas of each commune to have an implementation plan right from the beginning. From preparation to implementation, it is necessary to build a roadmap and have a specific plan for the people. The financial plan must be built right from the beginning of the year, the commune budget must prioritize land conversion.

In particular, the land conversion plan must be approved through democratic discussions from households, hamlets and communes. Organize to mobilize people to contribute land and labor democratically and publicly to build internal irrigation traffic, build cultural institutions, farm areas, and family farms of each residential area... "In the process of implementing land conversion, priority should be given to households that tend to establish production groups in a concentrated area to have conditions for intensive farming, bring mechanization to the fields, and liberate agricultural labor to soon achieve the labor structure in agriculture according to the NTM criteria" - Mr. Nguyen Duc Thien, Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Yen Thanh district shared.

Land consolidation and plot exchange have created conditions for the development of commodity production, specifically, many large-scale model fields have been built, bringing high economic and social efficiency, increasing productivity and output by 10-15% compared to the general level, increasing income for farmers and contributing to the construction of new rural areas. Land consolidation and plot exchange also help the State firmly grasp the agricultural land fund and improve the efficiency of land management. It can be said that Directive 08 - CT/TU of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee is a correct and practical policy, meeting the trend of modern agricultural production and increasing the value of goods. Therefore, any locality that does well in land consolidation and plot exchange will create great value in agricultural production and improve people's lives.

(To be continued)

Pham Bang - Phu Huong