Efforts to build Trieu Phong district to meet the standards of a new rural area.

These days, the Party Committee, the government, and the people of Trieu Phong district are delighted to hear that on August 15, 2024, the Prime Minister signed the Certificate recognizing Trieu Phong district as having achieved the New Rural Area (NRA) standard. This is the result of Trieu Phong district's efforts after 13 years of implementing the national target program for building new rural areas.

A view of Ai Tu town today - Photo: NV

Implementing the New Rural Development program with high determination.

Over the past period, closely following the directives from the central and provincial authorities on building new rural areas, Trieu Phong district has promptly issued many resolutions, projects, and plans, including Resolution No. 04 dated May 10, 2011, of the District Party Committee on building new rural areas in Trieu Phong district for the period 2011-2015; Conclusion No. 02 dated April 28, 2016, of the XIXth term of the District Party Committee on continuing to implement Resolution No. 04 of the XVIIIth term of the District Party Committee on building new rural areas in Trieu Phong district...

To achieve the set goals, the Triệu Phong District Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee focused on leading and directing specialized agencies to inspect, supervise, and guide communes in reviewing and assessing the current situation according to the National Criteria for New Rural Development, and developing rural commune planning and projects as prescribed, serving as a basis for implementation.

Therefore, it is required that Party committees and authorities at all levels concretize the tasks of building new rural areas into their monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, and annual work plans, as well as integrate them into the activity plans of the district's departments, agencies, and mass organizations for implementation.

During the implementation process, Trieu Phong district regularly organizes preliminary and final reviews, evaluations, and lessons learned, promptly addressing difficulties and obstacles at the grassroots level. The district has also established a Steering Committee for the National Target Program on New Rural Development and has strengthened it over the years. To provide advice and support to the steering committee, Trieu Phong district has established a Coordination Office for the National Target Program on New Rural Development.

At the commune level, a management board for the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the period 2021-2025 has been established; 100% of villages have established development boards to implement the program. The district steering committee and the commune management board promptly issued resolutions, programs, and specialized plans for the period and annually, as well as operational regulations and task assignments. From there, the Party committees, their leaders, and the government strengthened their leadership and guidance roles in implementing the program with appropriate roadmaps and solutions for new rural development.

Alongside this, attention has been paid to propaganda, training, and resource mobilization. From 2011 to the present, the District Steering Committee and the District Office for Coordinating the National Target Program on New Rural Development have chaired and coordinated with the Provincial Office for Coordinating New Rural Development to organize training courses and send delegations to study and learn from the experiences of new rural development in many localities nationwide, in order to research and select good models and innovative approaches to apply to their own localities.

By the end of 2023, Trieu Phong district had mobilized 1,608,131.8 million VND for rural development; of which 181,265.1 million VND (11.3%) came from the central government budget, 47,237.7 million VND (2.9%) from the provincial budget, 67,827 million VND (4.2%) from the local community, and the remainder from district and commune budgets, businesses, integrated programs, and credit.

It is also noteworthy that during the implementation of the New Rural Development program, Trieu Phong district invested in many infrastructure projects serving economic , cultural, and social development in the area without incurring any outstanding construction debts.

The socio-economic situation has seen many positive developments.

At the time of the New Rural Development program's implementation, the average number of criteria met per commune in the entire district was only 4.6. The district faced numerous difficulties in carrying out its socio-economic development tasks, with low economic growth, weak socio-economic infrastructure, and an average per capita income of only 10.2 million VND per year, and a poverty rate of 23.11%. Particularly, despite being a predominantly agricultural district, agricultural production was small-scale, limiting its competitiveness in the market. Meanwhile, some cooperatives and cooperative groups were weak and slow to be strengthened.

Industry and services have developed slowly, with average growth only reaching 10.8-11% per year. The industrial and service sectors account for a small proportion (46.6%), failing to strongly promote economic and labor restructuring. Production is not well linked to the market, industries are underdeveloped, and the issues of creating more jobs, increasing income, and improving the living standards of rural people have not been adequately addressed.

In addition, some schools lack adequate facilities, the quality of education, although improved, is not uniform, vocational training does not meet the requirements of employers, and basic healthcare does not meet the needs of the people.

The political security situation and social order are stable, but at times and in some places, there are still complex developments. A segment of the population, due to a lack of deep understanding of the meaning and importance of building new rural areas, has not actively participated or played a leading role in this process. Some communes still have a mentality of waiting and relying on investment from the budget, and there is overlapping responsibility between different levels and sectors...

To expedite the completion of the New Rural Area (NRA) criteria, Trieu Phong district has identified agriculture as playing a crucial role in the economy. Therefore, priority is given to allocating resources to restructure the agricultural sector towards sustainable development, ensuring food security and market access. During implementation, localities are focusing on improving the quality and value of key agricultural products in conjunction with the New Rural Area development program.

Accordingly, the hilly areas are developing industrial crops and timber trees in combination with growing vegetables, food crops, and developing farm-based economies. The lowland areas and Ai Tu town are focusing on increasing rice productivity and output, with the development of high-quality rice varieties accounting for over 80% of the cultivated area. The eastern communes of the district, located within the Southeast Quang Tri Economic Zone, are implementing solutions to develop industry, handicrafts, services, tourism, aquaculture, and fisheries.

On the district's side, investment has focused on infrastructure for two industrial clusters: the Dong Ai Tu Industrial Cluster and the Ai Tu Industrial Cluster and Craft Village. To date, the Dong Ai Tu Industrial Cluster has attracted 22 businesses investing in industries such as garment manufacturing, processing of plantation timber, production of electrical and electronic equipment, and industrial gas production. The occupancy rate of the industrial clusters has reached 100%, providing regular employment for thousands of local workers.

In the fields of healthcare, culture, and education, development is continuous. To date, 40 out of 42 schools in the district have met national standards, accounting for 95.2%. The healthcare network has been established from the district to the commune level, including the District Health Center with 2 facilities and 18 commune and town health stations. Rural transportation and irrigation systems have been invested in comprehensively, meeting the needs of the people...

With this approach, in recent years, the district's economy has achieved considerable growth, with an average growth rate of 10% per year during the 2011-2020 period, including 8.5% per year during 2011-2015 and 11.5% per year during 2016-2020. The district's economic growth rate in 2023 reached 13.2%, and per capita income reached 68.44 million VND. The rate of trained labor reached 63.2%, of which 29.8% held degrees or certificates, creating 3,250 new jobs, including 431 through labor export. The poverty rate at the end of 2023 was 3.34%, and the near-poverty rate was 3.84%.

Nguyen Vinh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/no-luc-xay-dung-huyen-trieu-phong-dat-chuan-nong-thon-moi-188403.htm