Breakthroughs in building new rural areas

A view of the center of Loc Thanh border commune, Dong Nai province. Photo: Vu Thuyen

Although many challenges still lie ahead, building upon the outstanding achievements of over 15 years of implementing the New Rural Development program, the newly merged commune will maximize its potential and advantages in terms of space and opportunities to make breakthroughs in the coming period.

"Leverage" for remote villages

The newly formed Loc Quang commune was created by merging three former communes: Loc Quang, Loc Phu, and Loc Hiep. These were all remote and disadvantaged areas with a high percentage of ethnic minority households, so the commune received priority in terms of resources for infrastructure development, creating an increasingly impressive and modern rural landscape with many highlights and positive changes.

According to the new standards, in the period 2026-2030, Dong Nai province aims for 70% of its communes to meet the new rural development standards, and 10% of its communes to meet the modern new rural development standards.

The first highlight is the vital transportation route connecting four remote, disadvantaged ethnic minority communities with the commune center. The road, over 10km long, features a 7m wide asphalt surface and a drainage system on both sides, each 1m wide and fitted with covers for safety. The total investment cost exceeded 90 billion VND. This inter-village/inter-hamlet road is considered the most modern, well-maintained, and high-quality road in this remote area.

Along with the transportation system, Loc Quang has received significant investment in the construction of many projects and facilities serving the people, developing the economy , and improving the living standards of the people. In the two particularly disadvantaged hamlets of Bu Nom and Bu Linh, the majority of the people are engaged in agriculture, including about 30 hectares of rice paddies. However, previously, due to a lack of irrigation water, people could only produce one crop per year, causing significant difficulties in income. To solve this problem, from the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, in 2024, the former Loc Phu commune received nearly 10 billion VND to build 2.5 km of irrigation canals, combined with an irrigation dam and concrete roads within the fields. This not only ensures a regular flow of irrigation water between areas but also provides people with convenient internal roads for transportation of agricultural products.

“Due to a lack of irrigation water, agricultural production has always depended on rainwater, resulting in low yields and output. However, from the end of 2024 until now, thanks to the attention and investment from the Party and the State in building irrigation canals combined with internal field transportation, it has facilitated people's travel and transportation of agricultural products, especially increasing rice production from 1-3 crops/year,” shared Mr. Lam Tha May (residing in Bu Linh hamlet, Loc Quang commune).

Despite receiving investment and attention, due to its low starting point, Loc Quang is currently one of the five communes in Dong Nai province that has not yet met the standards for New Rural Development. Building on the achievements made so far, the Party Committee, government, and people of Loc Quang are determined to bring the commune to the finish line of New Rural Development by the end of the 2025-2030 term.

According to Hoang Thien Son, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Loc Quang commune: To achieve the New Rural Area standard, the commune will focus its resources on investing in criteria that have not yet been met, such as planning, schools, transportation, and electricity; at the same time, it will invest in improving the quality of criteria that have already been met but are still of low quality.

Besides Loc Quang, Dong Nai province has four other localities that have not yet met the standards for New Rural Development: Bu Gia Map, Phu Nghia, Nghia Trung, and Tho Son, due to various reasons. Recognizing that New Rural Development has no end point, in addition to the attention and support from the State, and leveraging the potential and strengths after mergers, the Party committees and authorities of these localities have set specific goals and action programs to strive towards achieving New Rural Development status by the end of the 2025-2030 term with the highest determination.

With the goal of improving the living standards and well-being of the people and moving towards a civilized and modern new rural area, along with communes that have not yet met the standards, even those that have already achieved them are still proposing many breakthrough programs to invest in building rural infrastructure to create a solid foundation for development in the new phase. For example, in the border commune of Loc Thanh, right from the beginning of the 2020-2025 term, the commune has made breakthroughs in building school facilities and focusing resources on investing in transportation infrastructure. Because these are the "links" to create a breakthrough in the socio-economic development of the locality.

Reaching for a breakthrough

In the former Dong Nai province, Dak Lua was once an extremely disadvantaged commune. Thanks to the strong determination of the entire political system, the commune's New Rural Development Program in the initial phase (2011-2020) achieved many positive results. While the average per capita income in the commune was only 18 million VND in 2011, it increased to 45 million VND in 2016 (when it achieved the New Rural Development standard). Not stopping at these achievements, Dak Lua has gradually transformed, progressing and flourishing year after year. In the second phase of the advanced New Rural Development program (2021-2025), Dak Lua continued to strive for the status of an advanced New Rural Development commune.

With the motto of building new rural areas without stopping, and leveraging the potential and strengths after the merger, the 72 communes of Dong Nai province will mobilize resources and continue to develop the program in a comprehensive, effective, and sustainable direction in this era of progress.

“To date, Dak Lua commune has completed 19 out of 19 criteria for New Rural Development and Advanced New Rural Development. Among the 19 criteria, agriculture is one of the indicators that has been achieved and exceeded. Building on the achievements, in the 2025-2030 term, Dak Lua is determined to build and maintain an advanced New Rural Development commune, prioritizing the development of high-tech agriculture, following a sustainable organic direction,” shared Nguyen Thanh Hien, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Lua commune.

During the two key phases of building new rural areas – advanced new rural areas and model new rural areas – the former Dong Nai region has continuously strived to achieve the set plans and goals. Setting the goal of maintaining the status of a model new rural commune for the 2025-2030 term, the Phu Hoa Commune Party Committee focuses on developing agriculture in a green, ecological, and circular direction, linked to value chains. Priority is given to developing service industries that support production and the needs of the people; at the same time, mobilizing, concentrating, allocating, and effectively managing investment resources to build, upgrade, and complete a comprehensive socio-economic infrastructure system.

Before the merger, the former Dong Nai province had 100% of its communes meeting advanced new rural standards, 37% meeting model new rural standards, 5 districts completing advanced new rural construction, and the former Xuan Loc district completing model new rural construction according to the central government's pilot project. All targets were met and exceeded compared to the Resolution of the Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term.

In the former Binh Phuoc province, after converting the results of new rural development in the old communes to new communes, according to the guidance of the Central New Rural Development Coordination Office, the former Binh Phuoc province has 32 communes continuing to build new rural areas; of which 5/32 communes have not yet met the standards, 25/32 communes have met the new rural area standards, 2 communes have met the advanced new rural area standards, and no communes have yet met the model new rural area standards.

According to Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment and Head of the New Rural Development Coordination Office of Dong Nai province: The New Rural Development program for the period 2026-2030 is being implemented in the context of Dong Nai province having just completed the construction of a two-tiered local government and the completion of 15 years of implementing the National Target Program for the period 2010-2025. In the coming time, Dong Nai will continue to closely follow the goals and orientations of the Central Government for New Rural Development in the period 2026-2030; focus on maintaining and upholding the targets and criteria already achieved; and at the same time, prioritize production development to increase people's income, considering this a key issue in building a modern and sustainable New Rural Development program.

Dao Dung - Vu Thuyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202509/but-pha-trong-xay-dung-nong-thon-moi-37e2d8a/