Thinking about the two words Inch of Land

'Re-reading the first articles of Tac Dat Newspaper 80 years ago, we see that there are lessons that are still valuable,' historian Duong Trung Quoc commented.

1.

After 80 years since the August Revolution in 1945, our country is talking a lot about a new era, an era of national growth. For me personally, throughout the history of the Ho Chi Minh era, we have only had one era, which is Independence - Freedom - Happiness.

Originating 80 years ago, right after gaining independence, the Vietnamese people embarked on the task of building the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, ending thousands of years of feudal domination and hundreds of years of colonial domination to open a historical turning point, bringing Vietnam and the Vietnamese people to a new page of history.

Historian Duong Trung Quoc. Photo: Tung Dinh.

So, facing that historical turning point, how did the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh think and raise the issue of developing Vietnam?

Perhaps we need to look back at the context of our country at that time. After gaining independence, the young Democratic Republic of Vietnam had to face famine, illiteracy and foreign invaders at the same time. The situation of internal and external enemies was extremely dire, requiring historic decisions. And President Ho Chi Minh demonstrated his stature and outstanding intelligence when he chose to eradicate famine first, with the thought that "the foundation of humankind is to put food first".

If we want to "put food first", we must "put agriculture first". At the beginning of the new era, President Ho Chi Minh's thought was very consistent and thorough, that all policies of the Provisional Government of Vietnam focused on prioritizing agriculture , taking the interests of farmers as the first priority. Although agriculture was still backward and farmers were still poor, but to calculate the sustainability of both the short and long term for the country, with President Ho Chi Minh, "if our farmers are rich, our country is rich, if our agriculture is prosperous, our country is prosperous".

Based on that idea, very early, just over 2 months from the birth of the country, the Ministry of Agriculture was born. On November 14, 1945, the Ministry of Agriculture was established with 2 tasks. One was to implement a rapid production increase program in the North and North Central regions to partially solve the famine that was threatening the people. Two was to prepare a foundation for agricultural revival to pave the way for the development of a national agricultural economy in the future.

Almost immediately after was the birth of the Tac Dat Newspaper (December 4, 1945) - a newspaper named and introduced by Uncle Ho. Engineer Hoang Van Duc, General Director of the Agricultural Department under the Ministry of Agriculture, was assigned to be the first Editor-in-Chief of the Newspaper. Before discussing other important ideological issues, I would like to analyze the meaning of the two words Tac Dat - so subtle and meaningful.

The word “inch” easily makes people think of small and short things, but “inch of land” is compared to “inch of gold”, meaning it can flourish, or as modern people say, it can bring high added value. More deeply, “inch of land” is the source of human life. For a nation that “takes agriculture as its foundation” like Vietnam, “inch of land” is the fundamental meaning for existence and development.

Every inch of land is closely linked to the farmers, the most numerous force, contributing the most to the revolution as well as the development of the country. Putting farmers at the center, caring for them and connecting them to every inch of land is not only his own ingenuity but also a profound lesson of the Provisional Government.

The two words "An Inch of Land" that President Ho Chi Minh gave to the newspaper of the Ministry of Agriculture not only had meaning at that time but also had sustainability and longevity, closely linked to the "agricultural-based" destiny of the country and people of Vietnam.

Second, if we re-read President Ho Chi Minh's articles and many other articles in the first issue of Tac Dat (published on December 7, 1945), we will see the meaning of many lessons that still hold true today.

Specifically, in the article “TO VIETNAMESE FARMERS”, President Ho Chi Minh expressed: “The proverb: “Every inch of land, every inch of gold” today has two meanings:

1 - The Tac Dat Newspaper will instruct farmers on how to rapidly progress agriculture. The guidance of the Tac Dat Newspaper is as precious as an Inch of Gold.

2 - All humans “take food as their first priority” (meaning that they need to eat first). Our country “takes agriculture as its foundation” (meaning that farming is its foundation). If people want to eat their fill, they must plant many seeds. If the country wants to be rich and strong, it must develop agriculture. So we should not abandon any inch of land. We must value every inch of land as an inch of gold…”.

Also in that article, President Ho called on farmers: "Currently we have two most important things: famine relief in the North and resistance in the South", calling on farmers:   “Increase production! Increase production now! Increase production again! That is our slogan today. That is our practical way to maintain our freedom and independence.”

Every time I reread this article by President Ho Chi Minh, I personally always think and wonder, in today's era, when we use concepts and viewpoints such as "agriculture is a national advantage", is it an inheritance of the viewpoint "using agriculture as the foundation" or "our agriculture is prosperous, our country is prosperous"? Just like the idea "our farmers are rich, our country is rich" along with the letter to the Industrial and Commercial sector is the core value of developing the private economy, collective economy...

But one thing is certain, that is, his ideology of "Every Inch of Land - Every Inch of Gold" is fundamental and consistent, fanning the flames of revolution and helping our nation steadfastly go through 9 years of arduous resistance and 30 years of struggle for national independence and unification.

That idea is still very meaningful in today's era, when we clearly see the value of agriculture, farmers, and rural areas in the development process of the country. Seeing agriculture as an export sector that brings material wealth with the highest surplus value. Seeing farmers today, it seems that there is no longer a distance between them and businessmen, intellectuals, and scientists, but they have integrated everything, so that we can be proud that I am a Vietnamese farmer. Seeing the countryside is not only a place to protect the nation from all events but also the cradle of culture of the entire Vietnamese nation.

I believe that all of those values ​​have been inherited and promoted from the original ideas in the Tac Dat Newspaper 80 years ago. Looking back, we can see that the two words Tac Dat, though small, carry the meaning of origin, the source of the country, the culture and strength of the Vietnamese people.

Tac Dat Newspaper published its first issue on December 7, 1945. Photo: Document.

2.

Thinking about the 80 years of Tac Dat Newspaper - now Agriculture and Environment Newspaper, I remember a generation of revolutionary intellectuals who also came from farmers, were attached to agriculture and made enormous contributions to the country's revolutionary cause. They were Minister of Agriculture Cu Huy Can, Engineer Hoang Van Duc, Minister Nghiem Xuan Yem, Professor Bui Huy Dap, Engineer Nguyen Xien...

Remembering them is remembering the early days of the country's founding in the situation of "egg on the end of a stick", "hanging by a thread" with countless hardships. Those people appeared, some were present when the revolution was still in Tan Trao, some were directly assigned important responsibilities by President Ho Chi Minh, but all of them worked together to shoulder the burden and more or less became monuments of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tac Dat Newspaper.

I am also wondering why Engineer Hoang Van Duc is rarely mentioned compared to his contributions? But indeed, he is a person with great contributions to the country, to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tac Dat Newspaper. Originally a member of the Hanoi intellectual delegation, in August 1945, Engineer Hoang Van Duc went to the Viet Bac War Zone to attend the Tan Trao Congress with Poet Cu Huy Can, Lawyer Vu Dinh Hoe, Doctor Nguyen Duong Hong... After that, he returned to Hanoi and was appointed as the General Director of the Agriculture Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. Before being elected to the National Assembly, Engineer Hoang Van Duc was the first editor-in-chief of the Tac Dat Newspaper.

Or other Agriculture - Inch of Land people such as Minister Cu Huy Can, who asked President Ho Chi Minh to establish the Inch of Land Newspaper. Professor Bui Huy Dap, agronomist, General Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. In the first issues, the Inch of Land Newspaper called on the people to participate in the first General Election in the country to elect a legal National Assembly. Vote for candidates such as: Hoang Van Duc, Agricultural Engineer, running in Hanoi; Cu Huy Can, Agricultural Engineer, Minister of Agriculture, running in Ha Dong; Bui Huy Dap, Agricultural Engineer, running in Nam Dinh. The slogan that the Inch of Land Newspaper put forward when voting for the 3 candidates mentioned above was: choose someone who protects farmers' rights and serves agriculture.

Remembering Tac Dat Newspaper is remembering Mr. Nghiem Xuan Yem with his articles encouraging production published in the Agricultural Journal; remembering Engineer Nguyen Xien with his achievements in building dikes to prevent floods and receiving the first certificate of merit from the State of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. And many other intellectuals, people who are not only "children of farmers", intellectuals born in the countryside and contributing to the cause of the Ministry of Agriculture and Tac Dat Newspaper but also laying the foundation to create values ​​that are preserved and passed down to this day.

80 years of Bao Tac Dat is also 80 years of the country's new political regime. I think that, once again, we need to pay special tribute to generations of revolutionary intellectuals who have made great contributions to the cause of agriculture.

Honoring the essence of the concepts of "Farming as the foundation" or "Every inch of land is an inch of gold" in the spirit of today's era is also a way for us to thoroughly prepare ourselves to bring Vietnam and the Vietnamese people into a new stage of development.

Tac Dat Newspaper was established by the Government on December 4, 1945, and was one of the first newspapers established right after the country gained independence.

On December 7, 1945, Tac Dat Newspaper published its first issue and was honored to receive an introduction and assignment from President Ho Chi Minh.

On March 1, 2025, Agriculture and Environment Newspaper was established on the basis of merging Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper and Natural Resources and Environment Newspaper. And the founding date of Tac Dat Newspaper (December 4, 1945) was chosen as the Traditional Day of Agriculture and Environment Newspaper.

The ceremony to honor and express gratitude on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper will take place at 5:30 p.m. on December 4, 2025 at the Hanoi Museum (Pham Hung Street, Hanoi).

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/nghi-ve-hai-chu-tac-dat-d785570.html