Phuc Son’s Journey Toward Modern Rural Living

Phuc Son is endowed with rich natural resources. The Day River adds to the commune’s scenic beauty, while Tuy Lai Lake and other large lakes in Thuong Lam hold great potential for eco-tourism and aquaculture. The low hills offer opportunities for integrated agro-forestry development. Most notably, the fertile rice fields spanning all villages have long served as a stable and sustainable livelihood for generations of local residents.

Civil officials in Phuc Son commune enthusiastically guides a resident in completing administrative procedures

Promoting commercialized economic development

Phuc Son commune was officially established by merging five communes, namely My Xuyen, Phuc Lam, Dong Tam, Thuong Lam, and Tuy Lai (previously under the old My Duc district), and began operations on July 1, 2025. The commune has strong advantages in agriculture, with expansive farming areas, fertile soil, and a long-standing tradition of cultivation. Rice, vegetable, and livestock farming are the main economic sectors, which people are actively transforming towards commercially oriented and bio-secure production. Many households have adopted new models such as VietGAP-standard fruit cultivation and closed-loop livestock farming, gradually increasing their income value.

From a purely agricultural countryside where people mainly cultivated rice and vegetables using traditional methods, many households are now boldly applying science and technology and investing in large-scale production. For example, local resident Ngo Duc Manh cultivates nearly 6 ha of farmland following VietGAP standards. His farm, growing chili, sayur manis, and muskmelon, is equipped with a drip irrigation system, water pH control, and electronic farming logs to ensure food safety and traceability. This model currently provides stable employment for over 20 locals with monthly incomes ranging from VND7-10 million each, making his family one of the bright spots in rural economic development in Phuc Son commune.

In addition, local agricultural cooperatives have actively linked with businesses in premium rice production, initially forming stable raw material areas aligned with clean standards and traceability requirements. Previously abandoned or fragmented land plots have now been consolidated and reorganized into concentrated production areas with synchronized mechanization.

Beyond agriculture, Phuc Son also has great potential for eco-tourism and craft village tourism, such as Tuy Lai lake, Mo hill, Tri village and Noi village (part of former Thuong Lam commune) with embroidery, sewing, and fine-art handicraft production. These are the foundations for the commune to build unique tourism products to woo tourists to a land rich in identity.

For instance, seizing opportunities from craft village tourism development, Nguyen Thi Oanh, a villager in Thuong village, opened a traditional hand embroidery workshop and introduced traditional hand embroideries to visitors. Her model not only generates stable income, particularly women, but also helps preserve and promote local identity.

In Phuc Son, many production facilities, garment workshops, small mechanical workshops, and commercial services have been established to meet local needs. The dynamism and adaptability of local people in developing services, especially commercial business services, are contributing to accelerating labor restructuring and increasing people's income.

Boosting advanced new rural development

Believing that new rural development is a long journey, Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Son Commune Tran Xuan Hai, said: “We are integrating, reviewing, and reassessing each criterion of advanced new rural development applied to a commune. On that basis, Phuc Son will develop a specific plan and assign tasks to each unit and village to complete them in a comprehensive manner. According to its goals set for the 2025-2030 period, Phuc Son will become an advanced new rural commune and maintain its status as a comprehensively developed rural area.”

With a synchronously invested social infrastructure system, all villages now have cultural houses for community activities. Schools at all levels, from preschool to junior high school, have been newly built and upgraded to be spacious, with full functional classrooms, playgrounds, and modern teaching equipment. The medical clinic was invested with over VND11 billion to meet national standards for grassroots healthcare, with separate examination rooms and functional areas, and qualified medical workers. These positive infrastructure changes have helped improve the quality of life and create a foundation for socioeconomic development.

The landscape of the new rural areas has improved significantly, reflecting advancements in overall living conditions for local residents

Concurrently, labor shift in Phuc Son is strong. In addition to agriculture, many local residents are stably employed by local businesses like Lichi Garment Company, My Duc Embroidery and Garment Company, and Vinh Lac Woodworking Workshop. These businesses not only provide stable income (VND6-9 million each a month) for thousands of local residents but also facilitate changes in production practices and boost the development of local handicraft, trade, and service industries. Many households have invested in opening stores selling agricultural materials, groceries, and mechanical repair services, thus further enriching the picture of the rural economy.

In the coming time, Phuc Son commune plans to focus on developing commercial agriculture linked with agricultural processing and consumption, sustainable services and tourism, as well as improving the investment environment and attracting resources for local development.  The unity, willpower, and consensus of officials, party members, and people across the commune are creating a new momentum for Phuc Son. With a clear vision and decisive engagement from the outset, the commune is laying the first solid bricks on its journey to form a prosperous, beautiful, and modern new rural area, said Chairman Hai.

By Ngoc Dan, Vietnam Business Forum