Thanh Tri District's Advancing New Rural Appearance

Thanh Tri is the first district in Hanoi to be recognized by the Prime Minister as meeting the advanced new rural standards in 2023. With this result, the district has reached the finish line 2 years ahead of schedule. During the implementation process, the district has had many good practices, which are lessons for many other localities to learn and replicate.

Over the past years, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi City has emerged as a bright spot in the new rural construction movement. From a rural district with many difficulties, Thanh Tri has gradually transformed into a modern area, with remarkable changes in infrastructure, economy, and cultural life.

Dramatic change

Coming to Thanh Tri today, it is easy to see that Thanh Tri has not only changed in appearance but also transformed strongly in the thinking and awareness of the people. It is the consensus and contribution of the people that is the foundation for the success of the new rural construction program. The village roads, which used to be muddy in the rainy season, have now been concreted and paved widely. The lighting system, clean water and public works have also been significantly improved. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, a farmer in Dai Ang commune, "Not only has the infrastructure been improved, but we also have many new business opportunities. The clean vegetable growing model has helped my family not only improve their income but also create trust from consumers, bringing our products to large stores in the city".

According to Chairman of Thanh Tri District People's Committee Nguyen Van Phong, after nearly 14 years of launching the new rural construction movement, up to now the whole district has built and replicated many typical and exemplary models in all fields. Typically, the model of "People donating land and contributing working days to build village roads", the movement of "good production and business", "Initiatives and creativity" to improve designs, improve product quality to create competitiveness in the market continues to maintain good development such as: Concentrated aquaculture model in Dong My commune, concentrated orange, kumquat and grapefruit growing model in Van Phuc commune; The model of "high-quality rice production with synchronous mechanization in Vinh Quynh commune; the model of hydroponic vegetable cultivation in Yen My commune, the model of "river in pond" fish farming in Dai Ang commune... have provided the market with clean, high-quality products. In particular, the Van An integrated farm model is a place to raise and supply many animals with high economic value, agricultural products applying high technology. In addition, the model of building smart villages associated with the pilot implementation of 24/7 administrative procedure support helps citizens access online public services, enjoy convenient services, save costs, time, and avoid harassment from civil servants handling administrative procedures. Up to now, the district has established and put into operation 23 points in 16 communes and towns.

In 2015, all communes in Thanh Tri district met the new rural standards. In 2017, Thanh Tri district was one of the first three districts in the city to be recognized as meeting the new rural standards. In 2022, 100% of the district's communes met the advanced new rural standards and in 2023, 15/15 communes met the model new rural standards, Van Dien town met the civilized urban standards. After completing the criteria for new rural communes, advanced new rural communes and 9/9 criteria for advanced new rural districts, the rural appearance of Thanh Tri district has changed dramatically, the economy has grown quite well, and the economic structure has shifted positively.

Maintaining a green and clean environment

Thanh Tri district also identifies the development of agricultural production associated with the development of industry and services to increase people's income as the key content in building new rural areas. The district promotes the restructuring of the agricultural sector associated with building new rural areas. Up to now, the district has effectively implemented two projects to consolidate production, apply high technology, and link chains in agricultural production. The area of ​​agricultural production land in the district is mechanized from land preparation to harvesting, creating high-tech rice, vegetable, and fruit production areas such as: The concentrated commodity rice production area with an area of ​​over 1,000 hectares (both crops) with rice varieties TBR225, Bac Thom, Huong Thom, Dai Thom, and Nep...; the fruit tree production area focuses on grapefruit, banana, orange, guava... with a total planting area of ​​350 hectares in Van Phuc, Duyen Ha, and Yen My communes; safe vegetable production area of ​​140.5 ha according to VietGAP standards...

The district's aquaculture area has also developed strongly, initially forming concentrated farming areas of 253 ha in Dong My and Dai Ang communes; piloting the high-tech intensive fish farming model "river in pond" in Dai Ang with 15 ponds on an area of ​​10 ha of pond, producing about 420 tons of fish/year, 2.5 times higher than traditional farming, with revenue reaching 30 billion VND.

In addition to raising freshwater fish for the market, the cooperative also produces processed fish products that are assessed and confirmed to meet the requirements of HACCP standards for the field of production, processing, and preservation of aquatic products and aquatic products.

The average crop production value reached over 255 million VND/ha; there are 64 cooperatives operating effectively; 6 craft villages and 129 OCOP products have been rated at 3 stars or higher (including 64 products with 4 stars). In 2023, the average income per capita of 15 new rural communes will reach 77.3 million VND/person; the multidimensional poverty rate of 15 new rural communes will decrease to 0.1%. According to Mr. Chu Minh Quan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tan Trieu commune, building a new rural area is a continuous, long-term process with the aim of improving people's lives, and the people are the beneficiaries of all the achievements of this national target program. Therefore, after achieving the standards of an advanced new rural commune, the Party Committee, government and people of the commune always uphold the spirit of constant efforts to maintain the achievements that have been made. With the achievements, in the coming time, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Phong, Thanh Tri will continue to maintain and improve the quality of the criteria for communes and districts meeting the advanced new rural standards in the direction of urban development with the goal of: Promoting economic development, developing trade and services, promoting cultural values, national identity, paying attention to education, health care, quality of living environment, services, tourism, environment, landscape, bright, green, clean, beautiful, civilized rural space. Thanh Tri people are also gradually aware of the importance of maintaining environmental hygiene and protecting natural resources in the development process. Many households actively participate in environmental protection movements, such as not littering, building waste and domestic wastewater treatment tanks. Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan in Ta Thanh Oai commune said: "We not only focus on economic development but also pay great attention to environmental issues. Only by keeping the environment clean and beautiful can life be truly sustainable."

Thanh Tri today is not only a district with a new look, but also a symbol of the will to rise, of the spirit of solidarity and the desire for change of an entire community. The construction of new rural areas here does not stop at material works but also changes in the thinking and awareness of each person. With the joint efforts of both the government and the people, Thanh Tri will certainly go further, becoming an ideal model for many other localities across the country.

The goal in the coming time is that Thanh Tri district will continue to restructure the agricultural sector, develop rural areas, build advanced new rural areas associated with investment, and develop Thanh Tri district into a district. Developing commodity agriculture, applying high technology, chain linkage model associated with developing agricultural and rural tourism to increase the value of agricultural production and income for rural people in order to promote all potentials and advantages of the district, promote economic development, continue to shift the economic structure in the right direction of gradually increasing the proportion of trade and services and gradually reducing the proportion of agriculture. Strive by 2025, the District will complete the task of implementing the Project of developing the district into a district. Chairman Nguyen Van Phong affirmed.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum

The page is coordinated by the Hanoi Coordination Office of the New-Style Rural Development Programme