Experiences of "transformation" in Quynh Luu

(Baonghean)In implementing Directive 08/CT.TU dated May 8, 2012, of the Provincial Party Committee on promoting land consolidation and exchange, before simultaneously deploying it in 30 out of 42 communes in 2013, Quynh Luu district selected Quynh Hau and Quynh Thach as pilot areas. Based on the results of land consolidation and exchange in these two pilot communes and the positive reception from the people, it can be seen that this is a major policy that has been successfully implemented…

Quynh Hau commune has 398 hectares of rice land, but the area subject to land consolidation and reallocation is 375 hectares. Before the reallocation, the entire commune had 1,656 households, each family receiving land in different plots depending on the number of family members, averaging 5 to 7 plots. Because the commune has many different rice paddies and varying terrain, with some plots near water sources and others far, and not all plots having good soil, the initial implementation caused great anxiety among the people, who feared they might be unlucky enough to draw a bad plot in the lottery...

Recognizing these difficulties and understanding the people's sentiments, after receiving guidance from the district, the commune Party Committee held a meeting to implement the plan in a very systematic and coordinated manner.

From the time the policy was announced and the Steering Committee was established until the land was divided in the fields, Quynh Hau only had 4 months. The most complex and demanding phase was the 2 months from the time the Commune People's Council passed the resolution and divided the land in the fields. Besides dividing and consolidating small plots into larger ones, the commune also carried out field restructuring. With limited funds, the commune mobilized the people to donate land (an average of 4 m2 per person, equivalent to 600,000 VND), and collected 200,000 VND per sao (a unit of land measurement). The commune allocated over 8 billion VND to build roads and irrigation systems, ensuring access to every field.



Concrete rural road in Quynh Thach commune, Quynh Luu district.

In recognition of the efforts of the officials and people here, from each family owning 5 to 7 plots of land in various fields, making travel and production very difficult, each household now has an average of only 1.5 plots, with the smallest plot being 562 m2 and the largest nearly 4,500 m2. After consolidating the plots, the commune introduced mechanization into production, and within just 10 days, the entire commune had prepared the land and planted the entire area.

Mr. Ho Van Hoa also shared: In reality, there were some hesitations during the land allocation lottery. However, thanks to close supervision and the voluntary agreement of the household groups, a high level of consensus was achieved. Specifically, in a large plot, if a household drew a less desirable area, they received a larger plot; if someone drew a better area, they received a smaller plot, but with the same production quota, so everyone felt secure receiving the land.

In Quynh Thach commune, land consolidation and reallocation was carried out simply and quickly. The entire commune of Quynh Thach has 368 hectares of land managed by 3 cooperatives, with the Nam Cau Cooperative selected as the pilot project, managing 143 hectares of agricultural land across 4 hamlets with 678 households. From the time the policy was implemented until the people received their land, it only took one month (from November 20th to December 20th, 2012). Thanks to the advantage of the cooperative already holding the land, after the people (cooperative members) agreed, the commune consolidated all the land and then hired machinery to level the land.

From 20 plots of land, after land consolidation, each hamlet now has only 2-3 plots. Once the land leveling was completed, the commune hired a design firm to divide the land into two categories: near, good quality land and far, deep land. With this two-group land classification and ensuring each household has two plots, every household is guaranteed to have both a near, good plot and a far, deep plot. Along with dividing the land into plots, the commune organized excavation, road construction, irrigation canals, and plot division…

To consolidate land plots, the Nam Cau Cooperative mobilized over 850 hours (450,000 VND/hour/machine) of machinery to excavate and level approximately 26,000 m3 of earth and rock, build more than 100 bridges and culverts, and 2 km of internal field roads. In addition, the commune took advantage of funding from the agricultural competitiveness project to build two 2 km long concrete roads worth 3.1 billion VND. The total cost the commune allocated for land consolidation was approximately 1.3 billion VND, with residents contributing 50 kg of rice per sao (a unit of land measurement).

Speaking with us, Mr. Dang Ngoc Binh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu District, said: To accelerate the land consolidation and exchange process according to Directive 08/CT.TU, since the beginning of March, the district's Steering Committee has established two teams to inspect and assist communes in organizing the implementation according to the prescribed procedures and steps. Drawing on experience from the practical guidance of land conversion under Directive 02/CT in 2002, this time the district is organizing a comprehensive implementation and mobilizing the responsibility of the entire political system, so it will certainly have many advantages. Based on the experience of the pilot projects in the two communes and the compiled reports from the teams, the district will have measures to direct the land consolidation and exchange process to be completed on schedule.

Nguyen Hai