New rural construction: Towards modern countryside

To date, the country has 7,696 communes; of which, 5,995 communes have met the NTM standards, accounting for 77.9%, an increase of 9.8% compared to the end of 2021. The number of communes meeting the advanced NTM standards is 2,352 communes, equivalent to 39.2%, an increase of 1,249 communes compared to the end of 2021. Notably, 597 communes have met the model NTM standards, accounting for 9.95%, an increase of 554 communes compared to the same period. On average, each commune nationwide meets about 17.5 criteria.

Tan Phuoc district is recognized as meeting NTM standards in 2024.

At the district level, the country has 645 districts, towns and provincial cities; of which, 305 units have met the standards or completed the task of building new rural areas, accounting for 47.2%, an increase of 92 districts compared to the end of 2021.

In addition, 20 districts have met the advanced NTM standards (an increase of 20 districts compared to the end of 2021). At the provincial level, 23 provinces and cities have achieved 100% of their communes meeting the NTM standards, an increase of 10 provinces compared to the end of 2021. Of these, 15 provinces have achieved 100% of their communes and districts meeting the standards or completing the task of building NTM.

In addition, 5 provinces have been recognized by the Prime Minister as having completed the task of building new rural areas, including: Nam Dinh, Dong Nai, Ha Nam, Hung Yen and Hai Duong. Tra Vinh province has also completed the dossier to submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and recognition of the completion of the new rural area task in the coming time.

At the same time, the "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) Program continues to be promoted, with the goal of each commune having at least one OCOP product and the whole country having at least 100 OCOP products meeting 5-star standards.

Regarding people's lives, the average income in rural areas by 2030 will increase at least 1.8 times compared to 2020 and the multidimensional poverty rate will decrease to below 3%.

In particular, 100% of rural household waste will be collected and treated to ensure environmental protection and 95% of rural people will use clean water that meets standards.

In the 2026 - 2030 period, the National Target Program on New Rural Development continues to be oriented towards comprehensive and sustainable development, aiming to improve the material and spiritual quality of life of rural people. The overall goal is to promote the construction of modern, green - clean - beautiful rural areas, flexibly adapting to climate change and urbanization trends; at the same time, narrowing the development gap between regions, between rural and urban areas.

During this phase, the program focuses on perfecting institutions and policies to support rural areas, creating favorable conditions to attract social resources to invest in agriculture, farmers and rural areas. Improving the quality of NTM criteria, especially difficult and essential criteria such as income, environment, education, culture and security and order, will be a top priority. The NTM criteria will also be updated to better suit actual conditions and new development trends.

The program also focuses on developing synchronous infrastructure, connecting rural and urban areas, contributing to building a civilized countryside, closely linked to the urbanization process. Difficult areas, ethnic minorities, mountainous and island areas will be given appropriate support mechanisms to ensure that no one is left behind. Regarding specific goals by 2030, the program sets a target of having at least 80% of communes nationwide meeting NTM standards, of which 35% of communes meet advanced standards and 15% of communes meet model standards.

At the district level, at least 50% of district-level units will meet or complete the task of building new rural areas, of which 20% will meet the advanced new rural standards. At the provincial level, it is expected that at least 20 provinces/cities will complete the task of building new rural areas, of which 10 provinces will meet all standards at both the commune and district levels.

AIMING FOR HIGHER LEVELS

In order to continue to effectively implement the program, on April 4, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a consultation workshop to collect opinions on the implementation orientation of the program for the period 2026 - 2030. The conference was attended by Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MARD), Member of the Central Steering Committee, Deputy Head of the Working Group for the implementation of the program for the period 2021 - 2025, along with representatives of provinces and cities in the Southeast region and the Mekong Delta.

A green - clean - beautiful road in Go Cong Tay rural district.

At the workshop, representatives of provinces and cities in the region gave many comments on building the orientation for implementing the program in the new period. In particular, comrade Pham Van Trong, member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tien Giang province, said that in the new period, the program must organize new criteria to be suitable. The new set of criteria needs to be practical and have a clear orientation, need to be creative and flexible.

The province hopes that through the workshop, the Central Government will take note of the experience that the program must be appropriate for each stage, locality and region, avoiding being mechanical. It is necessary to clearly define the goals, tasks and conditions for implementing the program.

Representatives of provinces and cities in the region said that the implementation of the program in the new phase needs to be inherited. According to Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Kien Giang province Le Huu Toan, the viewpoint of implementing the program in the new phase needs to continue to inherit and maintain to continue developing the local socio-economy. The implementation of the program needs to promote the application of science and technology into life.

Security and defense work and the organization of the grassroots political system must be maintained. The authorities must make it easier for the direct beneficiaries to participate in improving the quality of the new rural areas. At the same time, reduce the concretization of rural areas to maintain a beautiful landscape and environment; the countryside must be kept modern but still green and clean.

It is necessary to arrange a standardized system of human resources for building new rural areas to ensure resources to support new rural construction. In particular, in the new phase, the program needs to invest in key points to build new rural areas more successfully.

Some provinces also believe that the current national target programs should be merged, as suggested by the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Tra Vinh province, Huynh Kim Nhan: Tra Vinh proposed that the Central Government combine 3 national target programs because when implemented, there are overlaps and are not synchronized, but they have the same goal of comprehensive rural development.

The program needs to focus on green transformation and digital transformation to modernize rural areas, clarifying rural development in the new period. The current 5 topics on new rural construction need to include 11 components for easier implementation and evaluation.

Speaking at the workshop, comrade Tran Thanh Nam requested the Central Program Coordination Office to record all opinions from provinces and cities as a basis for developing future orientations. Along with that, he said that the name of the program in the new phase should be changed to suit the development of the country. The program must have a transition to a higher, more modern level, aiming at building a modern countryside, but still preserving traditional values.

Issues that need attention include ensuring security, focusing on cultural development, green economy, circular economy, digital transformation... The specialized sector is researching and building a new framework of criteria in the direction of ensuring 3: Mountainous areas, urban access areas and rural areas suitable for agricultural production, thereby building a plan suitable for the characteristics of each region for development.

C. WIN

Source: https://baoapbac.vn/kinh-te/202504/xay-dung-nong-thon-moi-huong-toi-nong-thon-hien-dai-1039404/