Addressing Challenges to Foster Effective New Rural Development

Between now and 2025, Kien Giang province is determined to achieve full certification of all communes meeting the standards for new rural development. The province is equally committed to advancing comprehensive and sustainable development, with a particular focus on the establishment of advanced and exemplary new rural communes and districts. The targets include having a minimum of 30 advanced new rural communes, 15 exemplary new rural communes, and 7-9 new rural districts.

Kien Giang province is resolutely committed to achieving full certification of all its communes meeting new rural development standards by 2025

To realize these objectives, Kien Giang province will intensify inspection and supervision, providing guidance for localities to assess and enhance the quality of criteria for certified new rural communes, advanced new rural communes, and model new rural communes. This effort will be accompanied by an enhanced communication campaign aimed at raising awareness among public servants and rural residents. Moreover, the province aims to elevate the quality of emulation initiatives for new rural development, incorporating the sharing and dissemination of successful models, innovative practices, and positive experiences in new rural development for wider adoption. Simultaneously, barriers on the path to progress will be addressed.

Currently, the province boasts 108 out of 116 communes recognized for meeting the standards for new rural development, with five communes attaining certification for advanced new rural development standards, and five districts and cities recognized for achieving the new rural development standards. These districts and cities include Ha Tien City, Vinh Thuan, Go Quao, Giong Rieng, and Tan Hiep.

Despite these achievements, the new rural construction program in the province continues to face certain challenges. These include slow progress in building advanced new rural communes, difficulties in establishing model rural communes, disparities in new rural development among localities, uneven investment in socioeconomic infrastructure development, slow improvement in the material and spiritual life of rural residents, and low-income levels. The sustainability of the rural environment is also a concern. The new set of criteria for rural development from 2021 to 2025 features new and revised standards demanding higher levels of completion compared to the previous period, particularly in the areas of income, poverty reduction, production, healthcare, environmental sustainability, and food safety.

As the province seeks to align with the resolution of the Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term, concerted efforts will be required to address the identified hardships and challenges faced by communes as they work towards the established targets. To achieve success, mobilizing the collective strength of the entire political system, society, and the public is imperative.

Local authorities are set to collaborate closely with the Fatherland Front and mass organizations to proactively communicate new rural development policies, regularly reform implementation approaches, enhance the quality of emulation programs, and rally all citizens to join in building new rural and urban areas characterized by civility for all social classes.

Kien Giang is poised to accelerate its agricultural development, facilitate technology transfer, and promote the adoption of advanced technologies in production. The province is determined to foster sustainable value chains through production links and encourage cooperative development. It will continue to allocate resources to expedite the fulfillment of goals and tasks for advanced and model new rural development in various localities. Special attention will be given to regions that are committed to completing the construction of advanced new rural areas and model new rural areas each year and during each planning period. This initiative will be tested in five communes: Tan Hiep A (Tan Hiep district), Thanh Hung (Giong Rieng), Binh Minh (Vinh Thuan), Hon Tre (Kien Hai), and Ganh Dau (Phu Quoc City), with plans for an additional 10 communes to follow suit, in accordance with the Provincial Party Congress resolution.

By Dinh Bao, Vietnam Business Forum