New Colors of Hung Thong

(Baonghean) - Hung Thong (Hung Nguyen), formerly a purely agricultural commune, has now completed the goals of the New Rural Development program.

In embarking on the New Rural Development program, one of Hung Thong's key solutions is to leverage the State's investment and support to upgrade infrastructure, while simultaneously fostering consensus and agreement throughout the entire political system to unleash the people's potential, enhance production capacity, generate income for the people, and gradually achieve the goal of becoming a New Rural Development area.

Rice harvesting using combine harvesters in Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen district).

Over the past five years, Hung Thong commune has gradually transformed from a poor commune into a relatively prosperous one, maintaining an annual economic growth rate of 18.5%. The commune has also taken advantage of integrating investment projects from higher levels of government for the General Secretary Le Hong Phong Memorial Area to build fairly comprehensive cultural and educational facilities. In addition, it has mobilized community resources and actively supported hamlets in upgrading and repairing cultural centers and transportation systems; focused on improving the quality of the "All People Unite to Build a Culturally Rich Life" movement; and gradually strengthened and improved the effectiveness of the political system in the hamlets.

One of the biggest shortcomings when Hung Thong began building new rural areas was the weak irrigation system. The commune Party Committee developed a thematic resolution, and then the commune People's Committee issued a plan for the commune and hamlet New Rural Area Management Boards to present to the people for discussion and feedback; the first step was to consolidate land plots and invest heavily in the irrigation system to improve production capacity.

Concrete paving of village roads in Hung Thong commune (Hung Nguyen district). Photo: Sy Minh

Along with guiding people to actively transform the crop structure and production seasons, the commune implemented large-scale model fields and high-quality rice seed production; encouraged people to develop family farms and improve the quality of livestock; and took advantage of its proximity to the city to supply various crops and livestock to the market. Within 3 years, the commune invested 18 billion VND to complete the concrete paving of 20 km out of a total of 22.7 km of canals; organized the dredging of dozens of kilometers of irrigation canals for domestic use; and invested in upgrading pumping stations. It mobilized 9.15 billion VND to implement land consolidation and exchange, build internal field roads, and invested nearly 10 billion VND in matching funds to upgrade the village road system according to new standards. As a result, not only has the commune's production capacity increased significantly, but the rural landscape has also undergone a comprehensive transformation.

Currently, Hung Thong commune has nearly 300 workers exported to other countries and thousands of skilled workers within and outside the province. With an increasingly diverse occupational structure, it ensures regular employment for over 90% of the workforce, and people's incomes are constantly increasing, from 18 million VND in 2013 to 25 million VND in 2015, with the poverty rate reduced to only 4.7%...

As one of the communes with a fairly comprehensive education system in the district: both the kindergarten and primary school meet national standards; the secondary school, which serves as the center for the communes in the region, has also met national standards… The system of cultural institutions, from multi-functional cultural centers to the commune's sports center, meets standards; 11 out of 11 hamlets have cultural centers and sports and recreation areas that meet standards; 8 out of 11 hamlets have been awarded the title of Cultural Village; in 2015, the commune achieved national standards in healthcare.

Chili pepper farming model in Hung Thong.

Currently, Hung Thong is one of the "drug-free" communes with no drug addicts. The commune and its hamlets have a daily rule that after the peaceful bell rings at 10:30 PM (winter) and 11:00 PM (summer), residents should not go out unless absolutely necessary, and if they do, they must ensure traffic safety, avoid gathering, and refrain from fighting that disrupts public order.

Thanks to these efforts, starting from just 9 criteria, within 4 years, Hung Thong commune mobilized a total of over 195 billion VND to complete all 19 criteria. According to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, Hoang Xuan Soa: "Since implementing the New Rural Development program, the awareness and responsibility of the people have significantly improved. Along with contributing labor and resources to build roads, the people have become more conscious of maintaining environmental hygiene."

Hung Thong Primary School has met national standards.

The commune's main objective in the coming period is to continue mobilizing and disseminating information to help people understand the purpose and significance of building new rural areas, recognize their responsibilities and obligations linked to their rights, and contribute more actively to improving the quality of the criteria; including actively shifting the economic structure, maintaining unity, and developing increasingly strongly. Comrade Vo Thanh Hai - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: To complete the criteria, in addition to budget support from all levels and other integrated sources, the people of Hung Thong invested and contributed over 108.5 billion VND, accounting for 55.4% of the total investment in building new rural areas. In Hamlet 3, because it is far from the commune center, the average household contributed at least 4 million VND, while households with better means contributed up to 18 million VND to build new rural area projects...

Nguyen Hai