Farmers and their aspiration to build a prosperous agricultural sector

At the 2025 national dialogue with farmers under the theme: “Applying science and technology, fostering innovation and digital transformation among farmers”, held on December 10 in Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the new-generation farmers must embody the qualities of “Intelligence – Creativity – Digital competence – Mastery – Bravery – Pioneering spirit – Aspiration – Dedication.” Farmers are the key actors in building a prosperous Vietnamese agriculture sector, enabling Vietnamese agricultural products to reach higher and farther on the global map, and shaping a more civilized and modern rural ecosystem.

A wide range of the province’s key agricultural products is showcased at the 2025 Dong Nai Agricultural Achievements Exhibition. Photo: Binh Nguyen

With the mandate to unite, disseminate information, educate and mobilize members and farmers to fully exercise their rights as key actors; to actively study and improve their knowledge and capacity in all aspects; to safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of members and farmers; to organize service activities, consultancy and support for farmers in production, business and daily life; and to represent the farming class in participating in the building of the Party, the State and the great national unity bloc, the Dong Nai Farmers’ Association has set out orientations and tasks to further promote the role of farmers as central stakeholders. This aims to contribute to building a greener, wealthier, more civilized and modern Dong Nai province, as adopted at the first Congress of the Dong Nai Farmers’ Association for the 2025–2030 tenure.

Farmers contribute to new-style rural development

Farmers in Dong Nai have increasingly affirmed their role as central actors in agricultural and rural economic development, as well as in building new-style rural areas and civilized urban spaces. This is best reflected through the movement “Farmers emulate in good production and business, unite to help each other prosper and sustainably reduce poverty”. Each year, the Farmers’ Associations at all levels mobilize over 120,000 households to register for the movement, with more than 61,000 achieving the title of excellent production and business households at various levels, exceeding the targets set by the central government.

Beyond supporting production activities, the Farmers’ Associations at all levels have accompanied farmers in promoting agricultural products and connecting distribution channels. Thousands of farmers have received training on how to bring their products onto e-commerce platforms and how to livestream for sales. Thousands of cooperatives and farming households have been supported to open accounts on e-commerce platforms, while hundreds of agricultural products have been listed both inside and outside the province.

Nguyen Minh Quyet, Head of the Farmers’ Sub-association of Hamlet 8B, Loc Thanh commune, said the Sub-association has supported the S’tieng ethnic community in developing a specialized 300-hectare rice farming area using organic methods. A local milling facility is linked to purchase rice from farmers. Loc Thanh Farmers’ Association has also facilitated the participation of local strong-agricultural products in trade promotion events, helping secure more stable markets. Thanks to this, the community’s rice products are now sold not only locally but also in Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City.

Thanks to economic development, farmers have been able to contribute to building new-style rural areas. Le Cong Huynh, a farmer from Xuan Phu commune, recalled that years ago, rural roads leading to production areas were narrow dirt paths. During the rainy season, they became muddy, making it difficult for students to reach schools and for farmers to transport produce and supplies. Therefore, when the new-style rural building movement was launched, local farmers actively participated by donating land and contributing funds for road construction. As a result, roads leading to fields and orchards were concretized, irrigation systems were upgraded, and farmers confidently shifted to fruit cultivation. Today, the entire area is covered with specialty fruit orchards. Farmers have also collaborated to develop garden tourism models, adding value to their production.

Between 2023 and 2025, farmers in the province have contributed over VND 94 billion, more than 25,700 workdays, and nearly 509,000 square meters of land for rural road projects. Farmers also actively participate in building cultural hamlets, villages and residential areas; implementing socio-economic development projects for ethnic minority communities; and gradually improving quality of life. They are the main force behind rural clean-and-green movements such as environmental protection campaigns, eco-friendly trash bins, “Say No to plastic bags”, and the “Green Saturdays and Sundays” model, now expanded to every commune and hamlet. To date, the province has 112 community-led models for environmental protection and climate change adaptation.

Building a new generation of farmers

At the 2025 Prime Minister’s Dialogue with farmers, Luong Quoc Doan, Member of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association, noted that amid the ongoing restructuring of the administrative apparatus and the transition toward a two-level local government model, ministries and sectors have issued or advised on policies to support green transition, digital transformation, agricultural and rural investment, and new-style rural development.

At the dialogue, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed the need to strengthen training and capacity-building for farmers. Ministries and agencies should implement a “three partnerships” approach in applying science and technology, innovation and digital transformation. Specifically, it’s necessary to support farmers through training and technology transfer; through formulating mechanisms and policies that help expand employment and livelihoods; and through market connectivity, product distribution and the development of agricultural brands.

The theme of the 2025 Farmers’ Dialogue – “ Applying science and technology, fostering innovation and digital transformation among farmers” – further affirms the role of farmers in the context of international integration. The dialogue focuses on implementing solutions that support farmers in accelerating the adoption of scientific and technological advances, encouraging innovation and promoting digital transformation in high-quality agricultural production that meets export standards and expands market access.

The Vietnam Farmers’ Association will concentrate on building and effectively implementing a development strategy centered on professional farmers, cooperative-based production, green agriculture and livable rural communities. The strategy places emphasis on green rural livelihoods, digital agriculture and value-chain development.

Also at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that to achieve the goal of becoming a high-income developed country by 2045, Vietnam must rely on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. A key component of this is the development of agriculture, farmers and rural areas in the new era. Farmers must be the center, the owners, the purpose, the resource and the driving force of development, shifting fully to a market-oriented production mindset; accelerating agricultural restructuring toward green, organic, circular and low-emission development; protecting ecological environments; applying high technology; and advancing comprehensive digital transformation. They must also leverage the potential and advantages of each region and locality.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha