Ky Son Commune (Tan Ky): Building new rural areas, improving people's living standards

To mobilize the entire population to effectively implement the new rural construction movement, the commune has promoted propaganda work, raised awareness of new rural construction, and developed production models among the people. With the motto of implementing easy and suitable criteria first, taking advantage of the support of superiors to focus on implementing difficult criteria when favorable conditions arise, the leaders and people of Ky Son commune have succeeded in their own way.

Mr. Le Van Dinh - Chairman of Ky Son Commune People's Committee said that when starting to build a new rural area, the commune only achieved 8/19 criteria. The determination of the roadmap, methods, and ways to mobilize social resources were considered and implemented scientifically by the Commune Steering Committee, suitable to local circumstances. Thanks to that, by 2015, after 2 years of implementation, the commune had completed 7 more criteria, bringing the total number of criteria the commune achieved to 15. "This is the basis and premise for Ky Son to set goals and register to reach the finish line in 2017" - said Mr. Le Van Dinh - Chairman of Ky Son Commune People's Committee.

To achieve that goal, along with the support of superiors, the commune mobilized resources and contributions from the people to complete the remaining criteria. With the high consensus of the people, the people of Ky Son commune contributed more than 210 billion VND (including investment in building houses, building models, auxiliary works worth over 183 billion VND, direct contribution of money, value of working days and land donation worth over 30 billion VND).

Seedling nursery model of Ky Son Cooperative (Tan Ky). Photo: Nguyen Hai

From socialized resources, Ky Son has asphalted over 8km of roads; hardened 31.28/39.83km of village roads; ensured 18.2/18.2km of alley roads are clean and not muddy in the rainy season; upgraded and hardened 21.8km of intra-field roads to ensure convenience for production and transportation of goods.

The fields of education, culture and environmental sanitation are also focused on investment. Within 6 years, the commune invested nearly 28 billion VND, of which 12 billion VND upgraded school facilities; nearly 15 billion VND built and upgraded the system of cultural institutions in the commune center and the environment in hamlets. Thanks to that, the commune has 2/3 schools meeting national standards in education, 13/17 hamlets achieving the title of cultural village, administrative headquarters and cultural and sports institutions meeting standards; People's awareness of environmental sanitation has been raised; the commune built a concentrated livestock slaughterhouse and moved farms away from residential areas, built separate garbage collection pits, and processed them daily...

To encourage people to produce and increase income, the commune has mobilized people from all walks of life to boldly invest in transforming crop and livestock structures and building effective economic models. Along with investing in improving commercial infrastructure by upgrading the central market, the commune also encourages people to borrow credit to do business, develop production, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty. Over the past 6 years, people have borrowed over 57 billion VND to build economic models, and mobilized over 4 billion VND to support sustainable hunger and poverty reduction models.

Thanks to that, up to now, Ky Son commune not only has quite developed trade and service activities but also has bright models in linking production with product consumption at the district level such as: Mushroom growing model, sugarcane growing model, production of organic microbial fertilizer, forestry seedling nursery cooperative or opening livestock farms...

Up to now, the economic structure of Ky Son commune has gradually changed, the proportion of agriculture is 27.8%, industry, small industry, basic construction accounts for 33% and services - trade reaches 40%. Average income per capita in 2011 increased from 20 million VND to 31.1 million VND; the poverty rate is only 3.7% (in 2015 it was 10.1%).

Ky Son today has a new rural appearance. In addition to the commune center with administrative headquarters, schools and medical stations that have been invested in synchronously and modernly, residential areas have also been built one after another. The rough, dusty roads in the hot season and muddy, slippery roads in the rainy season in the past have now been replaced by smooth asphalt and concrete roads winding along the hillsides. The new rural construction movement has breathed new life into the material and spiritual lives of the people of Ky Son.

Map of Ky Son commune. Photo from Google map.

Discussing the orientation to effectively promote the NTM criteria in the coming time, comrade Vo Van Quyet - Secretary of the Party Committee of Ky Son commune said: Although the commune has reached the NTM finish line, the tasks ahead are still heavy. Because the criteria set is constantly adjusted according to new requirements, along with continuing to maintain, consolidate and perfect 19/19 achieved criteria, the commune must continuously build and perfect the NTM infrastructure according to new criteria, with sustainability. Specifically, the locality continues to build an increasingly strong political system, promote production development, improve people's lives and incomes, and at the same time focus on developing the cultural and spiritual life of the people.