Dong Thap builds new rural areas: Building ecological agriculture, modern rural areas, and civilized farmers.

Transition from agricultural production to agricultural economy

While previously, agriculture in Dong Thap mainly focused on increasing production volume, the new mindset has shifted towards developing agricultural economics with "quality and value" at its core.

In the first nine months of 2025, the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector grew by 4.19%, continuing to be a solid pillar of the economy. Behind these figures lies a fundamental shift in production methods: organic farming, circular agriculture, and the application of high technology are being implemented on a large scale. Dozens of models such as "1 must, 5 reductions," "rice-fish farming," "closed-loop garden-pond-livestock farming," and "organic waste treatment at source" have yielded clear benefits in terms of environment and income.

Many agricultural cooperatives and enterprises in the province have switched to production processes that meet VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, and have been granted planting area codes and electronic traceability. This is the foundation for Dong Thap to build ecological agriculture associated with green growth and a circular economy - an inevitable trend in the coming period.

Modern infrastructure, green environment

Along with production innovation, the appearance of rural Dong Thap is increasingly improving. According to a report by the Department of Agriculture and Environment, by 2025, 100% of communes will meet the standards of New Rural Development, 52% will achieve advanced standards, 19% will achieve model standards, and the province has been recognized by the Prime Minister as having completed the task of building New Rural Development in 2024.

Rural infrastructure projects have been invested in comprehensively: 5,000km of roads have been upgraded, 100% of households have access to the national power grid and clean, hygienic water, the urban waste collection rate has reached 97.15%, and the rural environment has improved significantly. The rural landscape is becoming increasingly bright, green, clean, and beautiful, with hundreds of flower-lined roads and models of "greening residential areas" and "clean houses and beautiful gardens" voluntarily implemented by the people.

Beyond focusing on material development, the province also aims to build civilized rural areas – where people are at the center of development. Self-governing community models and "Three Clean Farmers' Associations" have spread a spirit of self-awareness and responsibility, contributing to the formation of a new way of life in each rural area.

Civilized farmers - the central actors in development.

Dong Thap province clearly recognizes that farmers are the central focus and the driving force behind agricultural and rural development. Therefore, along with policies supporting production, the province places special emphasis on improving the skills, knowledge, and economic mindset of its farmers.

During the period 2021-2025, the entire province organized more than 250 training courses and workshops on the transfer of science and technology, providing training to over 10,000 farmers on economic management, digital transformation, and agricultural product marketing. The "Farmers Starting Businesses - Innovating from Agriculture" movement was strongly encouraged, attracting dynamic young farmers who dared to think and act, bringing a spirit of innovation to every field and garden.

z6982716568663_92016ec1fd5be117c67978b17bd6e206-151337_978-061407.jpg — *Dong Thap province clearly recognizes that farmers are the central focus and the main actors in the process of agricultural and rural development. (Photo: TB)*

According to the plan, the province aims to increase the average per capita income in rural areas by 2.5 times compared to 2020 by 2030, reduce the proportion of agricultural labor to below 30%, and move towards the model of "intellectual farmers" - those who know how to apply science, technology, and management to production.

Developing ecological agriculture in conjunction with resource conservation and climate change adaptation.

As a province located upstream of the Tien River, Dong Thap is heavily impacted by climate change, saltwater intrusion, and landslides. Therefore, the province places special emphasis on developing ecological agriculture linked to environmental protection and natural resource conservation.

Currently, the province's forest area covers over 8,000 hectares, with a survival rate of 95% for planted trees, including more than 100 hectares of new forest planted each year. The "Tree Planting Festival in memory of President Ho Chi Minh" has become a beautiful tradition, with hundreds of thousands of new trees planted annually.

The province has also implemented programs for groundwater management, reuse of agricultural by-products, and organic waste collection, while strengthening the application of renewable energy in production, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These comprehensive solutions are helping Dong Thap gradually form a sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural ecosystem.

From a purely agricultural province, Dong Thap is gradually transforming into a high-tech, ecological, and civilized agricultural center of the Mekong Delta. The new development mindset goes beyond simply "building new rural areas," moving towards "improving the quality of rural areas"—where people, the environment, and technology are harmoniously integrated into a single value system.

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