Dong Nai sets ambitious targets for new-style rural development

Entering the 2026-2030 period, the new-style rural development (NRD) program continues to be refined towards improving quality, focusing on green economic development, digital transformation in agriculture, environmental improvement, and enhancement of the quality of life for rural residents.

A bright, green, clean, and beautiful road in Xuan Thanh commune. Photo: Binh Nguyen

The national new-style rural criteria for the 2026-2030 period includes many newly-issued indicators compared to the previous period, with some setting higher requirements. After the merger, Dong Nai's NRD program faces many challenges, but the province still sets ambitious goals for building new-style rural areas and modern new-style rural areas.

Many new challenges

The national new-style rural criteria set for the 2026-2030 period has 7 new indicators compared to the previous period. In addition, some indicators set higher requirements than those in the 2021–2025 period, such as: the rural residents’ income growth rate reaching 9.5-12% per year (compared to about 7-8% per year in the 2021-2025 period on average); development of smart village model and concentrated agricultural production areas that apply scientific and technological advances in a synchronized manner and are certified for food safety.

After the merger, Dong Nai province's NRD program faces many challenges, such as: an extensive rural transport network, while budget funding is limited and allocation is slow, especially for the maintenance and upkeep of post-investment projects. The mobilization of contributions from people in some areas remains limited, affecting investment progress and the implementation of initiatives to make rural areas bright, green, clean, and beautiful.

Among these, it’s difficult to implement many criteria. Specifically, by the end of 2025, the proportion of centralized clean water in rural areas of the province reached nearly 43.5%. However, through preliminary review, the entire province has 21 communes in group 2 that have not met the criteria, many of which have recorded very low rates of households using water from centralized water supply systems, or none at all. Meanwhile, according to the draft guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the proportion of people using clean water from water supply systems must reach at least 40% for communes in group 2, and must exceed 60% for communes in group 1.

The rate of collection and treatment of solid household waste in the province has reached only 78.8%, of which the rate recorded in communes (in rural areas) is 73%. However, currently, in the northern communes of Dong Nai province, solid household waste is only collected and treated in Dong Phu, Dong Tam, Thuan Loi, Tan Loi, and Minh Duc communes. The remaining communes have not had their waste collected and treated according to regulations; people mainly deal with waste on their own, and solid household waste collected is taken to temporary landfills without treatment; waste sorting at source has not been implemented in the communes.

Some road projects have been registered for cement support under special mechanisms, however, projects have not been implemented due to insufficient counterpart funding from residents as regulated. Some localities have not yet been able to balance and allocate sufficient budget funds to invest in projects under special mechanisms.

In 2026, Dong Nai strives to have 5 communes meeting new-style rural standards, including: Dau Giay commune, which has met 38 out of 47 criteria, Dinh Quan commune with 42 out of 47 criteria met, Phu Vinh commune with 41 out of 47 criteria achieved, and Cam My commune with 45 out of 47 criteria met. Especially, Xuan Loc commune has already fulfiled 47 out of 47 criteria.

Setting ambitious goals

Based on the national criteria set for new-style rural communes for the 2026-2030 period, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has finalized the Draft Decision approving the list of communes in group 1, group 2, and group 3 for NRD in the 2026-2030 period. The list includes  28 communes in group 1, 32 communes in group 2, and 12 communes in group 3.

The classification of new-style rural communes into 3 groups is based on development conditions, terrain, and planning orientation. Specifically, group 1 consists of highland communes, coastal communes, poor communes, and ethnic minority areas. Group 2 consists of agricultural communes with a large proportion of cultivated land. Group 3 consists of communes located within urban development planning areas, adjacent to wards, with high population density. This classification is based on reality, helping localities to apply the criteria more flexibly, avoiding rigid or uniform implementation.

According to the Resolution of the 1st Provincial Party Congress, 2025-2030 term, the entire province strives to have 70% of communes completing NRD standards, of which 10% are modern new-style rural communes; that means the entire province will have at least 50 new-style rural communes and 5 modern new-style rural communes.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment sets a higher target than the resolution. According to Le Thi Anh Tuyet, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the goal of NRD for the 2026-2030 period is that by 2030, the entire province will achieve the goal of 100% of communes meeting new-style rural standards, including 10 modern new-style rural communes. Specifically, in 2026, the entire province eyes 5 communes meeting new-style rural criteria; in 2027, an additional 11 communes are expected to meet new-style rural standards; 2028 will see an addition of 22 communes meeting new-style rural standards; while 2029 and 2030 will hopefully record an addition of 16 communes and 18 communes meeting new-style rural standards, respectively. Regarding the development of modern new-style rural communes, in 2027, one  commune is expected to become the first modern new-style rural commune in the entire province, and by 2030, the entire province will have 10 modern new-style rural communes.

At the recent handover meeting on Dong Nai’s agricultural and rural affairs in the first quarter of 2026, Provincial Party Committee member and Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hoang emphasized: The province will prioritize resources to support 5 communes striving to meet new-style rural standards in 2026. The National Target Program for NRD continues to be identified as a key and continuous political task for the entire 2026-2030 period. Localities need to develop specific roadmaps for each year to focus investment resources. The Department of Agriculture and Environment was requested to consolidate the Steering Committee for NRD and sustainable poverty reduction for the 2026-2030 period. Departments and agencies that are members of the Steering Committee for NRD and sustainable poverty reduction should review the criteria to soon issue a set of criteria for the new period. Departments and agencies were asked to continue to support localities in implementing the criteria, so that localities can achieve the unfulfilled targets.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by Mai Nga, Thu Ha