One member works three times as hard to handle all the responsibilities

Work hard to ensure a successful harvest and favorable prices

The road to the border district of Giang Thanh (Kien Giang Province) was made more challenging by the prolonged rainfall caused by Typhoon No. 2 on the final Friday afternoon of July. When I arrived at the Vinh Dieu commune's People's Committee office, the community agricultural extension team was meeting briefly to allocate duties to its members. Not all members attended the meeting, as many were still engaged in fieldwork.

Vinh Dieu, a border commune adjacent to Cambodia, encompasses more than 10,000 hectares, including 9,350 hectares of agricultural land, where three rice harvests are cultivated annually. Local producers also pursue vegetable cultivation, animal husbandry, and freshwater aquaculture.

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According to Dang Manh Hung, the team leader of the Vinh Dieu community agricultural extension team, the team is responsible for a variety of duties that contribute to the commune's socio-economic advancement, including the development of production models and the transfer of techniques. Consequently, each individual exerts three times as much effort to manage all of the responsibilities.

Giang Thanh district is one of the two districts in Kien Giang Province that is implementing the pilot project "Improving the effectiveness of agricultural extension activities based on consolidating the community agricultural extension team model" during the first phase from 2021 to 2023, as per the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's decision. The district chose Vinh Dieu to participate in the project because the commune's objective in 2022 was to complete the construction of new rural areas. This necessitated the completion of numerous tasks, including the organization of production development and the increase in residents' revenues.

Tran Phuoc Hong, the Vice Chairman of the Vinh Dieu commune People's Committee and the deputy leader of the community agricultural extension team, stated that the community agricultural extension team is comprised of local leaders accountable for production, land-agriculture officials, and agricultural cooperative managers, in addition to the core members of the agricultural extension team and technical-economic staff. Consequently, the community agricultural extension team offers professional assistance, including technical training and the development of production models, as well as support for collective economic development, the establishment of cooperatives, market consulting, and the linkage of agricultural product consumption.

When Vinh Dieu commune implemented the prototype community agricultural extension team model, Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, a technical-economic officer, became a member. Thùy Dung, who pursued a degree in aquaculture at Can Tho University and worked for a business for more than two years, was enthusiastic about the role of an agricultural extension officer and applied for the position during a recruitment campaign. Living at a considerable distance, she only returns home on weekends after traveling from Kien Luong district to work in Giang Thanh.

Thuy Dung, employed in agricultural extension in a commune with a vast area, frequently rides a motorcycle through narrow field roads. She maintains a positive attitude: "The job brings me a lot of joy, especially when the models succeed and farmers receive a good harvest at good prices."

Economic development in agriculture

Following the two-year implementation of the pilot project "Improving the Effectiveness of Agricultural Extension Activities Based on Consolidating the Community Agricultural Extension Team Model," Vinh Dieu commune has observed significant improvements in production and has adopted a mindset that prioritizes agricultural economic development.

The team has obtained numerous noteworthy results in the past two years, as per team leader Dang Manh Hung. The organization has facilitated the transfer of scientific and technological advancements to farmers and cooperatives, including techniques such as "Three Reductions, Three Gains," "One Must, Five Reductions," IPM pest management, Integrated Plant Health Management (IPHM), and "No Date, No Number" fertilization techniques. Additionally, they have coordinated mechanization in production and guided farmers and cooperatives on the establishment of rice-growing areas that adhere to SRP production standards to establish connections with export enterprises.

Furthermore, the team has guided 750 members of peasant organizations regarding market linkages. Community agricultural extension team members have consistently collaborated with farmers and cooperatives to coordinate field visits, report pest and disease conditions in livestock and poultry, and provide information on agricultural product market prices.

The Steering Committee for Innovation and Collective Economic Development has partnered with the Vinh Dieu community agricultural extension team to guide and assist in forming six new cooperatives, each of which has 108 members. Additionally, they have collaborated with the People's Committee of the commune to execute the Livelihood Diversification Project, which is designed to create poverty reduction models following the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction.

The community agricultural extension team model is one of the important innovations in agricultural extension activities today, according to Cao Thuong, the head of the Agricultural Extension Station in Giang Thanh district. This pilot model restructures agricultural extension organizations at the commune level, diversifying activities to meet production requirements.

An effective community agricultural extension team serves as a fundamental connection between farmers, cooperatives, agricultural production groups, and enterprises, fostering the development of agricultural production by a sustainable value chain.

The community agricultural extension team has improved the efficacy of the grassroots agricultural extension system. Additionally, the model has effectively addressed the development requirements of agriculture, farmers, and rural areas through various activities, including technical consulting, technology transfer, market development, production linkages, and advice on digital transformation in cooperatives. These activities have been instrumental in the formation of agricultural cooperatives.

In this regard, community agricultural extension teams in Giang Thanh district have collaborated with corporations and companies to directly consult farmers, select raw material areas, and sign product consumption contracts in the district. They have facilitated the implementation of nearly 13,000 hectares of rice product consumption contracts in cooperatives, spanning multiple crops, in 2023 alone.