Coming to Dong Viet, a purely agricultural commune by the Thuong River, we saw a new face after the locality completed the criteria for an advanced new-style rural area. Walking on the wide concrete roads lined with rows of trees and lighting systems, everyone recognizes changes in the rural landscape and environment.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Yen Dung district hands over money to support the construction of a house for Vu Thi Khoa's family, a near-poor household in Quynh Son commune.

Tran Thi Suc, residing in Be village, is 64 years old this year, but she still does farming work like when she was young. She said working in the field is very leisurely now. In the past, "the buffalo goes first, the plow follows," farmers had to work very hard, but the efficiency was not high. 

Now, thanks to the movement to build new-style rural areas, the village and commune have regrouped farming land areas, canals and intra-field roads have been expanded, and machinery has been used to replace human labor. Therefore, people have free time to go to the cultural house to practice folk dances and do physical exercises together.

From a difficult commune with more than 8,000 people mainly working in agriculture, Dong Viet became a new-style rural area in 2019.

In communes building advanced and model new-style rural areas in the district, many roads have been expanded, with electricity and lighting systems and necessary items to ensure traffic safety. In order to improve people's lives and complete the criteria on income, poverty rate, and production organization, the district has directed communes to promote production development and well implement the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme. The district has zoned off seven high-tech agricultural areas spanning nearly 200 hectares and 33 large-scale model rice fields covering more than 1,100 hectares.

Women in Dong Viet commune join a dancing and sports exchange.

Notably, there are 50 production models in greenhouses and net houses with a total area of 12 hectares. The district has developed many brands for its key and signature products, typically Yen Dung fragrant rice, Tri Yen soy sauce, Yen Dung clean vegetables, and Sao Than Nong potato. The district has actively promoted scientific and technological application, and issued mechanisms and policies to enable businesses and cooperatives to build production and consumption chains.

Thanks to that, agricultural production in the district is increasingly developing, contributing to increasing people's income. People also raise awareness of keeping rural environmental hygiene to fulfill environmental and food safety criteria, as well as maintaining national defense, security, and social order and safety. Cultural and spiritual life improves throughout the villages.

The new-style rural development programme has created a strong transformation, changing the appearance of rural areas. People's lives have gradually improved, with the average income reaching 63.5 million VND (2,600 USD) per person per year; and the poverty rate falling to 2.24%.

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