Unifying the new rural program and sustainable poverty reduction

TPO - In the next phase, the two National Target Programs (NTPs) of new rural construction and sustainable poverty reduction will be merged to best focus resources.

On the morning of June 20, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a press conference to introduce the results of the implementation of the two National Target Programs (NTPs) on new rural construction and the NTP on sustainable poverty reduction for the 2021-2025 period.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung, in the context of the country and the world being heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and global economic instability, the two programs are still being implemented synchronously and drastically and have achieved many important results.

"These results not only demonstrate efforts to overcome difficulties, but also affirm the pivotal role of the two programs in the Government 's sustainable, inclusive and comprehensive development strategy," said the Deputy Minister.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, after 5 years of implementation, the two National Target Programs on New Rural Areas and Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the 2021-2025 period have achieved many positive and comprehensive results.

For the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction, period 2021 - 2025, the total allocated central budget capital is 44,607.6 billion VND and the local budget is nearly 2,883 billion VND.

After nearly 5 years of implementation, it is expected that by the end of 2025, the number of poor and near-poor households will be reduced to 1,256,000 households, reaching 52.49%, exceeding 2.49% compared to the target of reducing by half the number of poor and near-poor households assigned by the National Assembly and the Government.

Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung shared the results of the National Target Program on New Rural Development and Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the 2021-2025 period.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, these achievements are internationally recognized as “almost unprecedented” and likened to “a revolution”, despite the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic recession.

At the same time, the National Target Program on New Rural Development has also achieved many remarkable results. By the end of May 2025, the total resources mobilized to implement new rural development nationwide in the 2021-2025 period reached about 3.7 million billion VND.

Up to now, the whole country has 6,055/7,669 communes meeting new rural standards; 326/646 district-level units in 60 provinces and centrally run cities have been recognized by the Prime Minister as having completed the task/met new rural standards; 23 provinces and centrally run cities have 100% of their communes meeting new rural standards; 10 provinces have been recognized by the Prime Minister as having completed the task of building new rural areas.

Nationwide, there are 16,543 OCOP products with 3 stars or more, an increase of 12,056 products compared to 2020. It is expected that by the end of 2025, there will be 16,000 OCOP products, exceeding the set target by 1.6 times.

The National Target Program on New Rural Development continues to affirm its role as a key driving force to promote comprehensive development of rural areas, contributing to clearly changing the appearance of rural areas and significantly improving the material and spiritual life of the people.

According to Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung, the above results are not only impressive numbers but also evidence of the spirit of "Leaving no one behind" - a consistent and humane message that the Party and Government always steadfastly pursue. Each house, each infrastructure project, each livelihood model formed is another opportunity for people in difficult areas to access a better life.

However, Deputy Minister Hung also said that it is necessary to look directly at reality, there are still many localities with a poverty rate of over 50%, even exceeding 70% if the new poverty line is applied. Challenges such as urban poverty, lack of basic social services, low-income informal labor, the impact of climate change, population aging, ethnic conflicts and natural disasters are posing new requirements for the next stage of development.

At the press conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment announced an important orientation, merging the New Rural Development and Sustainable Poverty Reduction Program into a unified program for the period 2026 - 2035.

According to Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung, the merger aims to focus on mobilizing maximum resources and joining forces for new rural construction, aiming at hunger eradication, poverty reduction and sustainable development.

The conference to review the two National Target Programs on new rural construction and sustainable poverty reduction will be held at the Government Headquarters at 2:00 p.m. on June 22, 2025, chaired by the Prime Minister.

The conference was also held online with the bridgehead at the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities. Attending the conference were Government leaders, leaders of ministries, branches and localities.

The conference will be an opportunity to summarize and comprehensively evaluate the results achieved, identify limitations, lessons learned and determine directions and key tasks for the next phase.

Nguyen Hoai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/hop-nhat-chuong-trinh-nong-thon-moi-va-giam-ngheo-ben-vung-post1753007.tpo