Thai Hoa Town: Mobilizing the people's strength to serve the people.

(Baonghean)Looking back after half of the term implementing the Resolutions of the Party Congress at all levels, Thai Hoa Town seriously reviewed its leadership and guidance in each specific field. Two areas in the economic sector that the town has performed quite well in are: building new rural areas and developing small-scale industries and traditional craft villages.

In Nghia Thuan commune, traveling along the newly upgraded, wide, and smooth concrete roads, few would guess that the implementation of the New Rural Development Program and the resolutions of the Party Congress at all levels have truly transformed the face of this area. Along the main road from National Highway 48 to the commune center, both sides are lined with new, spacious houses, schools, and the Credit Fund headquarters, all undergoing upgrades, creating a truly renewed rural landscape.

As the largest commune in terms of area among the units under Thai Hoa Town, Nghia Thuan commune, from the commune level to the hamlets, has been deeply concerned about integrating the resolutions and national goals of the New Rural Development Program to transform the rural landscape. This concern has led to Nghia Thuan's approach, which has been a sequential process suited to the commune's specific conditions. It began with focusing on propaganda and mobilization to change the awareness and actions of cadres, Party members, and the people in the commune. "Whatever benefits the people, we do. We put the interests of the vast majority of the people first," said Vu Huu Loi, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee. Therefore, to suit the people's capabilities, Nghia Thuan did not choose many tasks and criteria to implement simultaneously, but instead prioritized building and strengthening the rural transportation system as a "breakthrough" step, and transforming the crop structure, building economic models, and sustainably increasing income for households.

Leading us along the newly upgraded and improved rural roads, built with the contributions of the people, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee Ngo Thi Lieu said: “It’s all thanks to the people’s efforts, comrades. When the people understood that the new rural development program is for their own benefit, they contributed to building the roads. People of all faiths, both Catholic and non-Catholic, united and worked together.” Thanks to the correct policy and implementation methods suited to the local conditions, Nghia Thuan has basically achieved its goal of a “breakthrough” in rural transportation, with 10.7 km of concrete roads completed.

To solve the problem of achieving an average income of 23.7 million VND/person/year by the end of the term (currently at 21 million VND, reaching 84.7%), the Party Committee of Nghia Thuan commune has been deeply concerned. As the Party Secretary of Nghia Thuan commune, Vu Huu Loi, said, "In difficulty, ingenuity emerges." Nghia Thuan encouraged people to change the crop structure, introducing high-economic-value crops, focusing on vocational training and technical instruction, and the people's credit fund facilitating loan disbursement. As a result, many good models and practices have been adopted by people in various hamlets.

Learning from the bitter experience with chili peppers, where the lack of a clear market outlet led to farmers becoming discouraged, the commune has implemented models such as sweet corn cultivation, replacing Khai Phong rice with PHP71 variety, and cultivating other crops like hawthorn. This has ensured stable markets for farmers and maintained the successful cultivation of eggplant, zucchini, and flowers in the area previously converted. Political and social organizations have provided technical and financial support to members: the Veterans Association has developed forest garden models, the Youth Union has implemented livestock farming models, and the Farmers' Association has focused on raising large livestock. Therefore, Nghia Thuan commune considers the target of achieving an average per capita income of 23.7 million VND by the end of the term to be well within reach.

Similar to Nghia Thuan commune, the remaining five communes of Thai Hoa town, implementing the Party Congress Resolution in conjunction with the National Target Program for New Rural Development, have adopted approaches suited to their local conditions. For example, Dong Hieu and Nghia My communes have leveraged support from businesses and local resources to stimulate demand and unleash the collective strength of the people.

Rural communes with specific characteristics or those in agricultural areas, possessing certain advantages under the guidance of the Resolution, have successfully implemented the program's objectives. Since the town and localities launched the "joint efforts to build new rural areas" movement, under the leadership and guidance of the town's Party committees, the people have donated 63,000 cubic meters of land, creating conditions for the steering committee to deploy markers, survey routes, and upgrade the rural transportation system. As a result, nearly 25 km of roads have been completed to standard, with the people contributing nearly 7 billion VND and nearly 28,000 man-days of labor.

As an area with many advantages for developing small-scale handicraft industries, after the Town Party Congress for the 2010-2015 term, Thai Hoa focused on directing the continued implementation of Resolution No. 07-NQ/ThU on "Developing industry - small-scale handicraft and craft villages in Thai Hoa Town until 2015 with consideration to 2020". The two craft villages specializing in civil and fine art woodworking, Tan Quyet Thang and forest product processing, have continuously invested in technological innovation and diversified their product designs.

Several new trades were introduced, creating a new atmosphere for the town, such as the production of molasses, incense, silk threads, and the processing of ornamental stones. Visiting the Thuy Lieu incense production facility during the preparation of incense for the Mid-Autumn Festival revealed the bustling activity of the production site. Although the incense-making business started in 2007, it wasn't until 2011, with the town's support in vocational training for workers and guidance on trademark registration procedures, and with Long Son ward providing space for drying and storing raw materials, that the Thuy Lieu incense production facility truly flourished. Currently, with five types of incense products, the Thuy Lieu incense production facility provides regular employment for 15 workers and is continuing to expand its production scale to meet market demand.

Packaging finished incense products at Thuy Lieu incense production facility.

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Lieu, Director of Phuc Hoa Co., Ltd. and owner of Thuy Lieu incense production facility, said: “Thanks to the support from the town and ward, our production facility is very confident in focusing on product quality and brand reputation. We will continue to expand production scale and market reach with the determination that, although it is a new profession, our products will accompany the aspirations of each person towards a better life.”

Based on the positive results and lessons learned from the leadership and guidance in implementing the National Target Program for New Rural Development and the program for developing small-scale industries and craft villages, from now until the end of the term, Thai Hoa Town will focus on effectively implementing 8 solutions in the fields of economy, society, national defense, and security, and 6 solutions in the work of building the Party, government, Fatherland Front, and mass organizations, and steadfastly pursue the goal of Thai Hoa becoming the socio-economic center of the Northwest region of Nghe An province, based on overcoming the shortcomings and limitations mentioned.

Huu Nghia