Lesson 2: Changing mindsets and methods
The implementation of Project No. 07-DA/HU by Tuong Duong, a poor district under the 30a program, is identified as one of three breakthroughs aimed at "building the will and aspiration for progress" among the people, towards the goal of "lifting Tuong Duong out of poverty and achieving sustainable development." The project has breathed new life into the area, creating a vibrant emulation movement throughout the entire political system.
ReportersAugust 22, 2024
We (reporters) visited Tam Hop border commune (Tuong Duong district) at the end of summer, but the scorching heat was softened by the green of the rice fields, elephant grass plantations, pineapple hills, red turmeric gardens, sorghum, high-yield cassava, and seven-leaf one-flower ginseng...
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Visiting the farm of Mr. Xong Nhia Ly (60 years old), residing in Pha Lom village in Cha Lat ravine, one can hear the pleasant jingling sound of bells attached to the necks of buffaloes and cows returning to the mountains from afar.
Setting down the basket of elephant grass on his shoulder, this "farmer millionaire" happily shared that his farm currently has more than 20 buffaloes and cows, nearly a dozen goats, 60 poultry, 1 hectare of red turmeric, 1 hectare of cassava, and 2 ponds for raising grass carp and tilapia, generating an average income of about 100 million VND per year.
“When we started building the farm in 2022, my family faced many difficulties, but with the help of the Border Guard and the local authorities in bringing in electricity, providing livestock, and training in science and technology… I was determined to escape poverty,” Mr. Xong Nhia Ly shared.
Now, his sons also follow in their father's footsteps and work on the farm; none of them have had to leave their hometown to find work elsewhere.
In the Mong village of Pha Lom, the villagers also expressed their admiration for the exemplary "old age makes the will grow stronger" of Mr. Xong Ba Co (62 years old), with his model of growing 150 ornamental peach trees, raising 12 cows, plus 8 acres of rice paddies, 6 acres of red turmeric...
Speaking about his determination to escape poverty, Mr. Xong Ba Co confided: "As a soldier of Uncle Ho's army and the head of the Veterans' Association branch in the village, I must 'match words with actions' so that the members and the people will trust and listen! If I remain poor, how can I encourage others to work and escape poverty?"
In a conversation with us, the Party Secretary of Pha Lom village, Xong Ba Giay, excitedly shared: “Previously, the villagers didn't know how to develop household economies. Now, thanks to the persistent guidance and direction from the Party committee and government in developing suitable crops and livestock, the villagers have undergone many changes in their mindset and methods. Life is still difficult, but it has improved significantly. Currently, the village has achieved 11 out of 13 criteria for new rural development.”
Tam Hop is a border commune inhabited by four ethnic groups: Mong, Thai, Tay Poong, and Kinh, where the people still face many difficulties. Recognizing that only through self-reliance and a willingness to think and act boldly can poverty be sustainably reduced, the Tam Hop Commune Party Committee issued Resolution No. 21 on eliminating the mentality of dependence and reliance, and directed the entire political system to focus on effective propaganda and raising public awareness, including emphasizing the pioneering and exemplary role of cadres and Party members.
Mr. Nguyen Phi Thanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune, shared: "First of all, we are focusing on changing the working methods of commune-level officials and civil servants. At the same time, we are establishing working groups directly responsible for villages and hamlets to implement poverty reduction criteria and build new rural areas."
Thanks to this, the entire commune has seen the emergence of many effective "people mobilization" models in economic development, such as: cultivating 7-leaf 1-flower ginseng, growing sorghum under the forest canopy, and cultivating red turmeric; in particular, the model of protecting aquatic resources (catfish) implemented in all 5 villages has been studied and replicated by many localities inside and outside the district... To date, Tam Hop commune has achieved 9 out of 19 criteria for new rural development and has been recognized as a drug-free commune.
In Luong Minh commune, to implement Project 07 of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee on "eliminating conservative, dependent, and complacent thinking among cadres, Party members, and the people," the commune's Party Committee requires each Party committee member to choose and direct a model suitable for each village; combining "skillful mass mobilization" with propaganda and mobilization to promote the leading role of the people in participating in building new rural areas.
As a result, people in the villages actively contributed funds to buy sand and gravel, donated labor, voluntarily cut down trees, dismantled fences, and donated land to expand rural roads. Along with that, the movement to build roads leading to production areas was also enthusiastically supported by the people.
At the end of 2023, the people of La village, Luong Minh commune, worked together to build and expand the production road to Khe La, with a total length of 4.2 km. Mr. Lo Van Hien, head of La village, said: Along with mobilized machinery, the villagers contributed their labor to complete the road within 5 months.
Previously, due to long and arduous transportation routes, farmers' agricultural products were often subjected to price manipulation by traders. Now, however, transportation times have been shortened, products can be sold at higher prices, and everyone is delighted!
Mr. Vi Hong Duong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Luong Minh commune, said: "Previously, before the District Party Committee's Project 07 was implemented, when people mentioned Luong Minh commune, they only thought of poverty and drug hotspots. However, now, with the active involvement of officials and the transformation in the awareness and actions of the people, the face of the commune has changed significantly. Most notably, the people have understood their responsibilities and rights in building new rural areas and proactively contributed their efforts and labor to build public works and open roads to production areas."
As a result, over the past three years, the commune has had 7 villages that have met 7-10 criteria, and 2 villages that have met 10-13 criteria.
Currently, the entire political system is focused on building and bringing Xop Mat village to the finish line of the new rural development program. To date, the village has achieved 14 out of 15 criteria...
Tam Quang commune was the first unit in Tuong Duong district to achieve the new rural development goals, but this did not lead the local Party committee, government, and people to become complacent.
Following the District Party Committee's Project No. 07 on eliminating the mentality of waiting and relying on others, the Commune Party Committee proactively developed Plan No. 67 to implement it, continuing to build an advanced new rural area. In addition to strengthening propaganda work and launching emulation movements on setting examples, matching words with actions, overcoming the mentality of waiting and relying on others, and building self-reliance and self-improvement among Party members, cadres, and the people.
The Party Committee and local government of Tam Quang commune have also implemented programs and plans that are closely aligned with the local situation. In particular, they have focused on leveraging the commune's strengths in forestry cultivation.
Currently, the entire commune has 687 hectares of bamboo and cypress, and 1,300 hectares of acacia, including 266 hectares of newly planted trees. Besides reforestation, the people of Tam Quang commune are promoting buffalo, cattle, and poultry farming, expanding the area of aquaculture ponds to 13.6 hectares.
Tam Quang commune also focuses on directing the people to prevent fields from being left fallow; making full use of hilly land, flat land, and riverside and stream-side land for the production of vegetables and other crops with high economic value that are suitable for the land and soil and easily marketable.
Mr. Ho Xuan Tuyen, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Tam Quang commune, said: "The changes in the implementation of Project No. 07-DA/HU are reflected not only in thinking but also in action, especially the exemplary conduct of officials from the commune and hamlets, which has spread to the people."
Many villages and hamlets have invested in infrastructure development themselves: building sports fields, installing solar power systems, laying drainage pipes, repairing cultural centers, etc., creating a breakthrough in the construction of advanced new rural areas.
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Currently, Tam Quang commune has basically met 11 out of 19 criteria for advanced new rural development; average per capita income has increased from 43.2 million VND to 48.1 million VND; the poverty rate has decreased from 228 households (11.3%) to 195 households (9.6%).
According to the leaders of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee, Project 07-DA/HU is a continuation, inheritance, development, and expansion of Project 07-DA/TU of 2014 by the Provincial Party Standing Committee, as well as addressing several important tasks set out in previous district congresses that had not been thoroughly resolved. The aim is to create a transformation from awareness and thinking to practical action among cadres and Party members, especially leaders at all levels.
Accordingly, the district requires each grassroots Party organization to issue a plan for implementing the project in accordance with the actual situation. This includes strengthening the effective implementation of exemplary conduct, requiring each Party member to participate in the household responsibility model to eliminate the mentality of waiting and relying on others; and using the results of implementation as one of the bases for evaluating the quality of Party members and grassroots Party organizations annually.
To implement the plan, the district first focused on innovating and improving personnel management; strengthening the arrangement and placement of officials and civil servants according to job positions; and continuing to implement the policy of appointing commune-level Party secretaries who are not from the local area.
The Standing Committee of the District Party Committee, the Executive Committee of the District Party Committee, and the District Party Committee strictly implement the regulations of the Party committee with the motto of strengthening "focus on the grassroots" to promptly resolve difficulties, obstacles, and emerging issues in localities.
In the economic field, the district is promoting poverty eradication programs, improving the quality of vocational training, fostering creativity among officials, Party members, and the people in contributing ideas to build new rural areas; building and consolidating infrastructure systems to change the face of mountainous areas, especially in transportation; focusing on developing production, ecotourism, and community tourism to improve the material and spiritual lives of the people.
To date, 100% of villages in Tuong Duong district have access to the national power grid; forest cover has reached 79.26%; average per capita income is estimated at 36.02 million VND/year; and the poverty rate has decreased from 34.03% to 29.51%. Notably, the fact that Tuong Duong district is one of the few districts under Decree 30a nationwide to have communes achieving new rural standards early clearly reflects the determination of the entire political system and the collective efforts and unity of the people.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Hien, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, said: With the goal of soon becoming a leading district in building new rural areas in the mountainous region of the province, Tuong Duong district is stepping up propaganda work with the view of "escaping poverty from within awareness".
At the same time, the responsibilities of each level and sector were clearly defined; which criteria and projects the district would undertake; which criteria and projects the commune would undertake; which criteria and tasks the people would perform; and which tasks the State and the people would jointly undertake, with the motto "Easier criteria first, more difficult ones later." As a result, localities such as Thach Giam, Tam Quang, Tam Thai, Tam Dinh, and Xa Luong all achieved the new rural development goals on schedule.
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To overcome the mentality of dependence and reliance on state policies and the "rather suffer than work" mentality still prevalent among the people, in addition to implementing comprehensive support policies according to the National Assembly's Resolution and the Government's investment in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030, Tuong Duong district has directed its departments and agencies to research, review, and supplement some outdated mechanisms and policies, shifting from "free handouts" to "conditional" support; focusing on supporting product output, connecting product consumption channels, and building product brands. At the same time, it has reviewed, researched, and analyzed the causes of poverty among poor and near-poor households to develop specific and appropriate support mechanisms and policies, helping people to sustainably rise out of poverty.
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The district also directed the entire political system to focus on building effective "mass mobilization" models to create momentum and emulation movements in various fields. Currently, the entire district maintains 129 economic models of various types; and 69 models related to culture, social affairs, security, and order.
In some localities, an increasing number of households in disadvantaged areas are proactively breaking free from dependence and voluntarily submitting applications to be removed from the poverty list. This means they will no longer benefit from preferential policies, but they see it as a challenge to strive for self-improvement and give that support to families in more difficult circumstances. In 2022, 50 households in Tuong Duong district submitted applications to be removed from the poverty list, and this number increased to over 200 in 2023.
Mr. Lu Van May, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee, added: "The applications for poverty alleviation in the district over the past period demonstrate that Project 07-DA/HU is a correct and necessary policy, and has initially changed people's perceptions, arousing self-reliance, confidence, and aspirations to overcome poverty among the people..."
(To be continued)