Tien Giang: Innovation for sustainable development of new rural areas

(ABO) After more than a decade of implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development (NTM), Tien Giang has made a strong transformation, not only in infrastructure and income, but also in thinking and working methods.

From a province with a low starting point, with an average rural income of only 18.7 million VND/year in 2010, and a poverty rate of more than 10%, up to now, all 135 communes of the province have met the NTM standards, of which more than half have met the advanced NTM standards. This result does not come from mere investment but is formed on the foundation of comprehensive innovation and creativity in production organization, technology application and especially in the way of mobilizing and leading people to participate.

To achieve the above results, right from the beginning of the National Target Program on New Rural Development, Tien Giang has chosen a different direction in organizing production. The province does not pursue large-scale production but prioritizes quality, efficiency and sustainability. Large-scale agricultural production areas have been formed, focusing on key crops with high economic value such as coconut, rice, and dragon fruit. On the other hand, people have formed the "habit" of linking up in production to help increase the value of goods and agricultural products with 276 cooperatives (HTX), with a total charter capital of more than 1,498 billion VND.

Not only expanding the area, the province also provides codes for growing areas, invests in technology and links with businesses to bring agricultural products to the international market. This organization helps farmers no longer produce spontaneously but participate in a closed value chain, from production to consumption.

OCOP products contribute to innovation of economic production in rural areas.

In addition, the province pays special attention to developing the One Commune One Product Program - OCOP, considering this an important direction to enhance the value of local agricultural products. Currently, the province has more than 140 OCOP products recognized, not only with title significance, but also contributing to changing people's production thinking, linking production with brands, with markets, with tourism . Thanks to that, by 2024, economic development solutions have contributed to raising the average income in rural areas to more than 76 million VND/person/year.

In the context of digital transformation becoming an inevitable trend, Tien Giang is not left out. The application of information technology in the management of new rural construction is deployed synchronously from the province to the commune. Many communes have begun to deploy the smart new rural commune model, using security camera systems, natural disaster warning, administrative management via digital platforms, connecting with people via Zalo and Facebook.

In addition, the most profound innovation comes from the way Tien Giang mobilizes and mobilizes people. Not only mobilizing by words, the province is also creative in communication. Accordingly, reformed opera, stage scripts, DVDs, billboards, leaflets... are flexibly used to convey messages that are close, easy to understand, and easy to remember. Over 438,000 propaganda sessions have been organized in 13 years, nearly 12,000 radio and television news articles, hundreds of reformed opera scripts have been written specifically for each locality. Those forms have truly changed people's awareness, from being passive to being proactive in participating and promoting the role of mastery.

Processing dragon fruit at My Tinh An Dragon Fruit Cooperative, Cho Gao District. Photo: MINH THANH

Since then, the people themselves have proposed projects, voluntarily donated land, contributed working days, money to build roads, schools, cultural houses, lighting systems, waste disposal, etc. Notably, the model "People donate land, people build roads" has been widely deployed in districts such as Cai Be, Cai Lay, Cho Gao, Go Cong Dong. Since then, by 2024, the province has mobilized a total of more than 167,000 billion VND, of which people and businesses contributed more than 8,500 billion VND - a figure that clearly shows the trust and support from the community.

It can be said that the journey of building a new rural area in Tien Giang is not only a story of completing the criteria, but also a story of changes in management thinking, creative ways of doing things, the maturity of the grassroots cadres and especially the role of the people as masters. That is a solid foundation for Tien Giang to continue to enter a new stage of development - more modern, civilized and sustainable.

C.WIN

Source: https://baoapbac.vn/kinh-te/202506/tien-giang-doi-moi-sang-tao-de-nong-thon-moi-phat-trien-ben-vung-1046069/