Rural areas flourish thanks to the new rural development program.

Ky Tan CommuneCurrently, Ky Tan commune has a population of 7,114, distributed across 7 hamlets, of which 20% are Catholic. With the goal of building a prosperous, beautiful, and civilized homeland, over the years, the Party Committee and the Catholic and non-Catholic people of Ky Tan commune have always promoted the spirit of unity, working together to overcome all difficulties, actively participating in patriotic emulation movements, successfully building the commune to meet the standards of a new rural area in 2018, receiving the Third-Class Labor Medal from the President in 2020, and are determined to successfully build the commune to meet the standards of an advanced new rural area in 2023.

Clean and beautiful concrete roads in Ky Tan commune. Photo: Cam Tu

A notable achievement in Ky Tan is the contribution of both Catholic and non-Catholic residents, working alongside the commune's Party committee and government to improve 19 criteria, most notably the construction of rural concrete roads. For example, the nearly 1,000-meter-long road connecting the Ho Chi Minh Highway to Highway 15B, with its 11-meter-wide concrete surface, is a unique project in Nghe An province. Residents donated 4 hectares of farmland and contributed 1 million VND per person to build the concrete road. Since its completion, the road has facilitated safe and convenient travel for residents and over 700 kindergarten and primary school students.

Ms. Tran Thi Thinh, residing in Hamlet 6, Tan Son, whose house is located next to the road, happily said: "Previously, the dirt road was narrow and difficult to travel on. Since the concrete road was built, the muddy conditions during the rainy season have ended, more people travel, and the road is wider, allowing cars to easily pass each other. The hamlet has become much more civilized. Households living along the road often work together to clean and plant trees, ensuring the road is always green, clean, and beautiful, serving well for transportation and socio-economic development."

Within the grounds of the Thanh Tan hamlet Cultural Center in Ky Tan commune, there are two volleyball courts and one football field. Photo: Cam Tu

Recognizing that economic development and poverty reduction are crucial criteria in building a cultural life in residential areas, the local government has been promoting and encouraging people to focus on transforming the structure of crops and livestock, developing along value chains to stabilize product sales and improve economic efficiency. Many high-income economic models have emerged in the commune, such as biomass corn cultivation, sweet corn cultivation, and potato cultivation, yielding an economic return of 200 million VND per hectare per year. Other models include livestock farming combined with forestry, and small and medium-sized production and business models.

Thanks to appropriate guidance and the proactive efforts of the people in economic development, the average per capita income has continuously increased, reaching 51.1 million VND/person/year in 2022. Well-off and wealthy households account for 65% of the total number of households, and the poverty rate has decreased to only 0.82%.

Nghe An province recognized 9 cultural models at the provincial level in 2022, including Thanh Tan hamlet, Ky Tan commune. Photo: Cam Tu

Entering the advanced rural development program, with the principle of ensuring quality at every step, the Party Committee and the commune government have intensified propaganda efforts, combined with skillful mass mobilization, to unleash the immense resources within the people to invest in the construction and upgrading of rural infrastructure projects.

With economic development, people are competing to build culturally exemplary families and villages. Ky Tan is a pioneering locality in successfully implementing cultural, artistic, and sports activities, creating a healthy playground and improving the spiritual life of the people in the area. Every year, it fully participates in competitions and tournaments at the district level and often wins prizes, such as the Lotus Village Singing Festival and the volleyball tournament celebrating the 60th anniversary of Tan Ky district, where it won third place.

Along with building a cultural life, the commune also focuses on building cultural and sports facilities, creating community spaces for the people. To date, 100% of hamlets have cultural houses and sports fields; hamlets have established cultural and artistic clubs, and sports clubs that regularly hold activities. By the end of 2022, 6 out of 7 hamlets had achieved the title of Cultural Village, and the rate of Cultural Families reached 83.9%. Notably, Ky Tan commune is honored that Thanh Tan hamlet has been recognized as a provincial-level cultural model, "A model Cultural Village that effectively implements village regulations and conventions in conjunction with building new rural areas".

Physical and sports activities are enthusiastically embraced by the people of Ky Tan commune. Photo: Cam Tu

According to Trinh Huy Toan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Tan commune: "The commune's New Rural Development Steering Committee has developed specific annual plans to implement each criterion, making maximum use of resources to build 9.8 km of concrete roads, construct 3 new village cultural houses, and implement many solutions with the determination to complete the advanced New Rural Development program in 2023."