Accelerate the construction of new rural areas.

(Baonghean) - Thanks to the dynamism of the localities and the close guidance of the district, the new rural development movement in Quynh Luu has made a spectacular breakthrough. The target set in 2014 was only for one commune, Quynh Luong, to achieve the goal, but now the district has added four more communes: Quynh Thach, Quynh Doi, Quynh Hau, and Quynh Nghia.

Inspecting the irrigation canal system and rural roads in Quynh Luong. Photo: V.D.

These days, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for New Rural Development and Head of the Agriculture Department of Quynh Luu District, is busier than ever. Besides directing the implementation of the spring crop production throughout the district, he is also preparing for the communes to achieve the new rural development goals this year. According to him, the new rural development movement in Quynh Luu has seen spectacular acceleration. This year, the steering committee is focusing on Quynh Luong commune to fulfill the targets set by the district. After reviewing the communes' targets based on the adjusted criteria (which have been revised to lower the requirements to better suit reality), the steering committee selected four communes with the potential to achieve the goals this year to focus on. Accordingly, the communes of Quynh Thanh, Quynh Hau, Quynh Doi, and Quynh Nghia have successfully reached their targets and are awaiting assessment by the provincial steering committee before being recommended to the Provincial People's Committee for recognition.

In Quynh Hau, we clearly felt the vibrant atmosphere of a commune achieving the new rural standard. The final kilometers of road are being completed at an accelerated pace by the contractor. Village roads and alleys are being cleaned by students of all levels, and the grounds of the commune committee headquarters are being beautified with ornamental plants… The Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, Ho Van Hoa, said: Previously, Quynh Hau was also selected in the group to achieve the 2014 standard along with Quynh Luong and Ngoc Son. But after assessing the capabilities, the district withdrew and only selected Quynh Luong as a pilot area to learn from. After Circular 05 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was issued, adjusting the previous Circular 12 on standards for cultural institutions such as reducing the area of ​​the cultural center grounds from 500 to 300 m2, and the seating capacity from 150 to 100. The sports field can be separated and not located within the cultural center.

Therefore, after the two criteria of culture and transportation, which Quỳnh Hậu had been struggling with, were "lowered," the Party Committee and the local government held meetings to review internal and external resources. Finding sufficient conditions, they determined this was an opportunity for Quỳnh Hậu to "accelerate" towards its 2014 goals. Registration with the district began in August, implementation started in September, and all organizations mobilized their efforts. Over 1,400 tons of cement were transported, nearly 27,000 square meters of land were donated, along with 38 billion VND from mobilized resources. To date, 6.1 km of Class A roads, 2.6 km of Class C roads, 15 km of village roads, and 15.4 km of field roads have been completed. To speed up progress, the commune contracted with four contractors to ensure timely completion. Regarding funding, the commune called on Party members to set an example. Notably, in Hamlet 1, a Party member lent over 50 million VND to needy households to help them meet the deadline.

Quynh Doi commune also strived to achieve the goal of building a new rural area by the end of 2014. The commune has a workforce living away from home that is approximately equal to the local population (4,500 out of 5,000 people), thus leveraging the external resources of successful children living away from home to accelerate the pace of new rural development. Many large-scale projects, totaling tens of billions of dong, such as cultural centers, libraries, and assembly halls, were built with investment from local people living away from home, funded through integrated capital sources. In a discussion with us about the lessons learned from building a new rural area, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Doi commune, Ho Quang Tuan, shared: "Quynh Doi has a small population, so its revenue is lower than other localities. To secure funding, the commune prioritizes mobilizing various sources of capital, including from local people living away from home. After being agreed upon by the Party Committee, all construction projects in the commune are discussed with the hamlets so that residents can choose the location and agree on the scale and structure of the project." From then on, households mobilized their children living away from home to contribute. Over the years, with more than 70 billion VND invested in infrastructure development in the commune, the State only provided 2 billion VND, with the remainder coming from various sources, including contributions from people living away from home of over 20 billion VND. This has helped Quynh Doi accelerate the pace of new rural development.

In Quynh Luu district, the reality shows that each locality striving to achieve the 2014 targets has chosen its own path, suited to its specific characteristics. For Quynh Thach, the focus has been on economic development as the driving force. The entire commune has established three cooperatives, including the Lam Cau Cooperative, which has built a large-scale model rice field covering over 60 hectares, specializing in producing rice for export to the Nghe An Agricultural Materials Corporation. Due to the high value achieved, this has significantly increased the income of the local people. In addition, the commune has also developed three craft villages, attracting 450 workers with regular employment linked to the Phuong Anh enterprise located within the commune… Thanks to this connection with enterprises, the labor structure has clearly shifted in line with the set direction; after achieving the new rural standard, the commune now has less than 35% of its workforce engaged in agriculture.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Anh, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for New Rural Development in Quynh Luu District, in addition to accelerating the construction of criteria, the district has identified the focus as developing production and increasing people's income. Over the past three years, with more than 5.6 billion VND invested in building production models, many successful models have been replicated, such as vegetable and fruit production, shrimp farming in Quynh Luong, Quynh Ninh, Tan Son, and Quynh Bang; and seafood processing in Quynh Nghia… The district has actively converted more than 12,600 hectares of hybrid rice to high-quality rice cultivation, bringing the area of ​​high-quality rice to 70% of the total rice land. Mechanization in agricultural production has increased rapidly. While in 2010, the percentage of land preparation for rice cultivation using machines was 65%, it has now reached over 80%.

Thanks to the dynamism of the localities, along with the close guidance of the District Steering Committee, the new rural development movement in Quynh Luu has achieved very remarkable results.

Mr. Tuan