Honoring the 63 best farmers nationwide

The most outstanding and kind Vietnamese farmer is Dang Quang Huu, from Quang Tri. He has lent about 1.5 billion VND to about 600 poor households to plant forests.

On the evening of October 14, at the Hanoi Opera House, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union chaired and coordinated with the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize the Ceremony to honor and award the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Farmers in 2016.

Attending the Ceremony and awarding the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer were Comrade Tran Dai Quang, Politburo member, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, along with many leaders of the Party, Central Ministries, branches and Hanoi city.

This is the fourth consecutive time that the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union has chaired and coordinated with ministries and branches to organize the Ceremony to award the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer. This is the main activity in the Program of Pride of Vietnamese Farmers.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Tran Dai Quang emphasized that agriculture, farmers and rural areas have a strategic position in the cause of industrialization, modernization, national construction and defense, and are the foundation and important force for sustainable socio-economic development, maintaining political stability, ensuring national defense and security, preserving and promoting national cultural identity and protecting the country's environment and ecology.

In recent years, implementing the renovation policy, under the leadership of the Party and the State, our country's agriculture, farmers and rural areas have achieved great achievements. Agriculture continues to develop in the direction of commodity production, improving productivity, quality and efficiency, firmly ensuring national food security. The rural economy has shifted towards increasing industry, services and occupations, the socio-economic infrastructure has been strengthened, the rural face has changed a lot, and the material and spiritual life of farmers has been increasingly improved.

The political position of the peasant class has been increasingly enhanced. Among those achievements, the role and important contributions of the Vietnam Farmers' Union, especially in agricultural development, new rural construction and the building of the Vietnamese peasant class. The great contributions and dedication of the peasant class - a force accounting for nearly 70% of the population, nearly 50% of the country's labor force - to the cause of building, protecting and developing the country have been recognized, highly appreciated by the Party, the State and the people, and have been awarded many noble awards and titles.

At the award ceremony tonight, 63 farmers will be awarded the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer, representing 63 provinces and cities across the country. According to the criteria of the Program's Organizing Committee, there are 4 groups of typical farmers selected, including: Farmers with outstanding achievements in the production and business of agricultural products (cultivation, livestock, aquaculture, forestry, agricultural services); Farmers with outstanding achievements in the new rural construction movement; Farmers with outstanding achievements in the movement of All People to protect national security and sovereignty; Farmers with scientific initiatives and inventions that have been applied and brought high economic and social efficiency in agricultural production activities.

In this year's election, 63 provinces and cities submitted profiles of 133 candidates. The final selection council, consisting of 10 members from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Central Propaganda Department, Vietnam Television and the Today's Rural Newspaper, carefully researched to find 63 "Outstanding Vietnamese Farmers of 2016".

Among the 63 NDXS in 2016, there were 49 men and 14 women; 9 were ethnic minorities; 51 were good producers and businessmen; 5 had achievements in participating in ensuring national defense and security; 5 had inventions, innovations, and technical solutions; 2 had achievements in building new rural areas; many Excellent Farmers of 2016 were both good producers and businessmen and had achievements in participating in ensuring national defense and security, protecting borders, or were both farmers with innovations and technical solutions and were also farmers with achievements in production and business, or were both good farmers and people with great contributions to building new rural areas in the locality.

Some interesting information about “Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer 2016”:

- The oldest outstanding Vietnamese farmer: Mr. Phu Van Khen (born 1942) from Kien Giang province.

- The youngest outstanding Vietnamese farmer: Mr. Truong Van Phuc (born 1984) from Tien Giang.

- The most outstanding and compassionate Vietnamese farmer: Mr. Dang Quang Huu from Quang Tri. Mr. Huu lent about 1.5 billion VND to about 600 poor households to plant forests.

- The outstanding Vietnamese farmer with the "biggest" revenue: Ms. Le Thi Tha from Quang Ninh. With a business model of safe food, feed, livestock breeds, plants, and aquatic products, Ms. Tha has an annual income of 35 billion VND.

- Outstanding Vietnamese farmer of 2016 with the highest profit margin: Mr. Phan Van Chung from Vinh Long. With 14 hectares of oranges, each year Mr. Chung has a revenue of 20 billion VND, a profit of 6.5 billion VND.

- The Vietnamese farmer who has accumulated the most land is Mr. Huynh Khac Vu from Phu Yen with 104 hectares of sugarcane and cassava. Mr. Huynh Khac Vu is also the one who employs the most people, with 120 workers.

Huu Vinh-Tuan Anh/baotintuc