The Red River Delta and North Central region are home to the brightest examples of new rural development.

On the morning of August 17th, in Vinh City, Nghe An province, the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programs, in coordination with the Provincial Party Committee and the People's Committee of Nghe An province, organized a conference to summarize the National Target Program for building new rural areas in the Red River Delta and North Central regions for the period 2010-2020.

Delegates attending the conference. Photo: Duc Anh

Comrade Vuong Dinh Hue - Member of the Political Bureau, Deputy Prime Minister, Head of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programs - attended and chaired the Conference. Also present were: Comrade Nguyen Xuan Cuong - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programs; Comrade Le Dinh Son - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee; representatives of agencies of the National Assembly, members of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programs, along with leaders of the People's Committees and representatives of 17 provinces and cities in the Red River Delta and North Central regions.

Representing Nghe An province were: Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; Nguyen Xuan Son - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Thai Thanh Quy - Alternate Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and Nguyen Van Thong - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee.

Bringing together the best aspects of new rural development.

Implementing the National Target Program on building new rural areas, the Red River Delta and the North Central region have not only achieved and exceeded the set targets, but the contents of building new rural areas have increasingly gone into depth, aiming for sustainability.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue visits booths showcasing new rural products from various localities. Photo: Duc Anh.

This region also represents the brightest spots in rural development across the country in recent years, and is the starting point for proposing new mechanisms and policies to the Prime Minister.

In his opening remarks at the conference, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong affirmed that the summary of activities in the Red River Delta and the North Central region is of paramount importance for the upcoming national summary of 10 years of implementing the National Target Program for building new rural areas.

Rural development in the Red River Delta and North Central regions has exemplary models that need to be replicated.

(Baonghean.vn) - This was the key point emphasized by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for Target Programs, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, at the conference summarizing 10 years of implementing the new rural development program in the Red River Delta and North Central regions, on the morning of August 17th.

Because this is a very special, distinctive, and unique region. The entire region comprises 11 provinces representing the delta region, 6 provinces in the North Central region, and mountainous areas. The region also includes the largest and smallest provinces in the country, and the capital city, Hanoi. Therefore, summarizing the entire region will contribute to drawing a general picture of the whole country, serving as a basis for national summaries and proposing tasks and solutions for the 2021-2025 period.

Scene from Nam Anh commune, Nam Dan district. Archival photo.

By the end of July 2019, the Red River Delta and North Central regions had 2,402 out of 3,474 communes (69.1%) recognized as meeting the new rural standards, an increase of 48% compared to the end of 2015 (the highest growth rate in the country), significantly higher than the national average (50.26%). Since the beginning of 2018, no commune in the region has failed to meet at least 5 criteria.

On average, the region achieved 17.4 criteria per commune (an increase of 11.5 criteria compared to 2011 and an increase of 2.4 criteria compared to 2015), higher than the national average of 15.26 criteria per commune.

The entire region now has 41 district-level units in 13 provinces and cities that have been recognized by the Prime Minister as having completed the task of building new rural areas, accounting for 48.8% of the district-level units in the country that have met the standards for completing the task of building new rural areas.

In the region, 12 out of 17 provinces and cities have issued criteria for communes to achieve advanced new rural standards; 9 out of 17 provinces and cities have issued criteria for model new rural communes. Many provinces and cities in the region have also issued criteria for model new rural residential areas.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh delivered a speech, sharing the five principles of building new rural areas in Nghe An, and affirmed that after 10 years of implementation, the National Target Program for Building New Rural Areas has brought a new look and new vitality to the rural areas of Nghe An.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh emphasized five principles in building new rural areas in Nghe An.

(Baonghean.vn) - Speaking at the conference summarizing 10 years of building new rural areas in the Red River Delta and North Central region, Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee - emphasized that the province is building new rural areas according to 5 principles.

To date, Nghe An province has 3 district-level units that have achieved the New Rural Area standard; 226 out of 431 communes have achieved the New Rural Area standard, including 4 communes in poor districts under Decree 30a, 2 border communes, and 30 communes with a large ethnic minority population. The average number of criteria met per commune across the province is 15.64; 667 villages/hamlets have achieved the New Rural Area standard according to the provincial criteria.

Since 2015, Nghe An province has selected three communes: Kim Lien (Nam Dan district), Son Thanh (Yen Thanh district), and Quynh Doi (Quynh Luu district) to focus on piloting the construction of model new rural communes. In 2019, Nam Dan district was selected by the Central Steering Committee as one of four districts nationwide to pilot the construction of model new rural communes in the direction of cultural development linked with tourism.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong visit and take a commemorative photo at the booth showcasing new rural products of Nghe An province. Photo: Duc Anh

At the conference, delegates heard a summary of 10 years of implementing the National Target Program for Building New Rural Areas in the Red River Delta and the North Central region; proposals for orientations and solutions to focus on implementation in the period after 2020; reports on research and surveys on the practical implementation of new rural construction throughout the region; and recommendations for some orientations after 2020.

Representatives from ministries, departments, provinces, and cities also presented papers sharing experiences and recommendations in the process of building new rural areas. Among them, the representative from Nam Dan district presented a paper assessing the initial effectiveness of the implementation of the Project to build Nam Dan district, Nghe An province, into a model new rural district focusing on cultural development linked with tourism, for the period 2018-2025.

Vinh City, viewed from Cua Nam ward. Photo: Sach Nguyen

Do not be complacent or satisfied.

Continuing to uphold the viewpoint that "agriculture, farmers, and rural areas are strategic; new rural development is fundamental; restructuring the agricultural sector is key; and farmers are the main actors," the goal is that by 2025, at least 8 out of 17 provinces and cities in the Red River Delta and North Central regions will be recognized by the Prime Minister as having completed the task of building new rural areas.

In the Red River Delta region, at least 60% of district-level units have met the standards/completed the tasks of building new rural areas; in the North Central region, at least 30% of district-level units have met the standards/completed the tasks of building new rural areas.

The entire region has at least 9 model new rural districts. In addition, 85% of communes in the region have met the standards for new rural areas, and about 7.5% of communes have met the standards for model new rural areas…

In his concluding remarks and guidance at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue acknowledged the impressive and comprehensive results of new rural development in the Red River Delta and the North Central regions. The Red River Delta ranked first in the country in terms of new rural development speed, while the North Central region ranked third.

The New Rural Development program has had a positive impact on the production and labor structure in rural areas, contributing to improving people's material and spiritual lives and promoting poverty reduction.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue delivers a speech at the conference. Photo: Duc Anh

Following the regional review conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue requested that each locality in the region review and compare its results with the overall regional summary, as well as those of other provinces, districts, and communes, in order to build on achievements and address shortcomings.

In particular, provinces must assess how to effectively promote the principle of putting the people first, but without over-mobilizing their resources; instead, it must be based on voluntariness and public will. They should also propose other mechanisms to mobilize resources for building new rural areas.

The Deputy Prime Minister also noted that each province, district, and commune must continue to strive for the highest possible results in new rural development in 2020, avoiding complacency and self-satisfaction. At the same time, attention should be paid to the process of reviewing, evaluating, and recognizing new rural development standards, focusing on substance rather than chasing achievements. The measure of achievement should be the level of satisfaction of the people.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, based on summaries from each region, is preparing well for the development of criteria and mechanisms for building new rural areas in the next phase, including: general goals for the whole country and for each region; criteria; mechanisms for inspection, supervision, and evaluation; and mechanisms for motivation and reward…

The Red River Delta and North Central region includes Hanoi and 16 provinces and cities, with a total area of ​​72,371.4 km².²(occupying 21.85% of the country's area), population is approximately 31,685,300 people (accounting for 34.18% of the country's population in 2017).

Thanh Duy