Lessons from agriculture in the early days of nation-building

On the occasion of the 80^th anniversary of the agriculture and environment sector accompanying the nation’s development, historian Duong Trung Quoc, former National Assembly Deputy, offered heartfelt reflections to Vietnam Agriculture and Nature Newspaper on the country's 80-year journey and the position of agriculture, farmers, and rural areas.

The nation's roots from the first days of independence

Historian Duong Trung Quoc said, "History has witnessed the struggle for national liberation against French colonial rule and its feudal collaborators, which began as soon as the French fired their first shots of invasion in 1858 and never eased thereafter."

Throughout that historical journey, under whichever banner, Vietnamese farmers remained the main force, making the largest contribution, enduring the greatest suffering, and making the deepest sacrifices.

In the early 20^th century, anti-French organizations, democratic movements, reformist scholars, and political groups all regarded farmers as a vast source of manpower. Yet none had a program that promised the people, of whom the overwhelming majority were farmers, any concrete benefits beyond the ideals of national honor and autonomy.

It was not until the foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1930 that a political organization, arguably the only one, launched the slogan "land to the tillers" as part of its campaign for national liberation.

The August Revolution of 1945 was a historic turning point on a global scale, opening opportunities for many nations to achieve autonomy associated with the end of World War II. In Vietnam, only the Communist Party, with 15 years of testing fire, including bloody setbacks such as the Nghe Tinh Soviets and the Nam Ky Uprising, managed "miraculous" transformations that enabled the mobilization of the entire population under the Viet Minh Front. This united force rose to seize independence from Japanese fascists, standing as a partner of the victorious Allies in the world war.

From the August Revolution of 1945, national independence was firmly established on the resolute principle of "By our own strength, liberate ourselves," with the Declaration affirming "Vietnam has the right to be a free and independent country, and in fact is so already." However, that independence achieved through the Autumn Revolution of 1945 was not merely the regaining of independence after 80 years of French colonial rule and Japanese fascists. Unlike earlier dynasties such as the Ly, Tran, or Le, which reclaimed the nation from foreign invaders or threats only to keep or establish another autonomous dynasty, this new independence put an end to the thousand-year-old monarchy and opened an entirely new era amid a world with numerous fluctuations.

That independence gave birth and was closely tied to the chosen political system of the "Democratic Republic." This national name was in line with the trend of the age, embodying the essence of "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people," as articulated by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the U.S. President Ho Chi Minh also introduced the three slogans "Independence – Freedom – Happiness," originated from the Three Principles of the People of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of Chinese democracy (National Independence, Civil Rights Freedom, and People's Livelihood Happiness).

For Ho Chi Minh, however, these national names and slogans were not mere beautiful words; they were to become driving forces that would change society, tangible realities that people could measure and benefit from.

Thus, from the very first meeting of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 3, 1945, and in subsequent documents, President Ho Chi Minh consistently stressed the principle: "If the country is independent but the people do not enjoy happiness and freedom, then independence is meaningless." In other words, Freedom and Happiness were the true values of Independence.

History shows that in just 15 months, from the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, to December 19, 1946, the fledgling Vietnamese state was compelled to wage the national resistance war against the return of French colonial forces, who sought to reoccupy the country and dismantle its unity. But those same 15 months were enough to lay critical foundations and premises for the nation's long-term development. It can be said that even then, President Ho Chi Minh had already "designed" the fundamental directions for Vietnam's enduring path of nation-building and development.

Therefore, the August Revolution's largest and most visible value was the overthrow of the old regimes, including fascist, colonial, and monarchical. Yet more importantly, it marked the birth of a new political system and a new state, signaling the beginning of an era that would determine how the values of freedom and happiness could be realized.

History shows that in just 15 months, from the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, to December 19, 1946, the fledgling Vietnamese state was compelled to launch the nationwide resistance war against the return of French colonial forces, who sought to strip away independence and divide the unity of the Vietnamese nation. Yet within those same 15 months, solid foundations and vital premises were laid for the country's future nation-building. It can be said that even at that time, President Ho Chi Minh had already "designed" the fundamental directions for Vietnam's long-term development.

The most typical example lies in the agricultural sector, closely aligned with the lives of Vietnamese farmers. Very early on, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed, "Vietnam is a country sustained by agriculture. Our economy is rooted in farming. In the task of nation-building, the Government must rely largely on the farmers and agriculture. If our farmers prosper, our nation prospers. If our agriculture flourishes, our nation flourishes" (April 14, 1946). This viewpoint was expressed in much the same way as his assessment of the "business and industrial class."

That principle was concretely institutionalized with the establishment of the Ministry of Farming on November 14, 1945, within the Provisional Government. The first Minister was Cu Huy Can, a former student of the College of Agriculture.

According to Decree No. 69, dated December 1, 1945, the Ministry of Farming included departments for crop cultivation, veterinary medicines, livestock, fisheries, forestry, and agricultural credit. This structure was remarkably modern for its time. Furthermore, in a letter to the U.S. President in November 1945, President Ho Chi Minh expressed his readiness to send 50 of Vietnam’s most outstanding young people to the U.S. to study technology, particularly in agriculture.

It is worth noting that even long before gaining power, while teaching the first generations of revolutionary fighters about global development, President Ho Chi Minh had already introduced the model of the "cooperative." In the early days of independence, despite numerous works, he still devoted great attention to this vision, urging, "For farmers to prosper, there must be cooperatives. Fellow compatriots, we all wish to have abundance and wealth and wish for a strong and prosperous nation. Then let us quickly pool our capital and strength to establish agricultural cooperatives everywhere. From villages to provinces, cooperatives must exist everywhere" (Letter to Vietnamese Landlords and Farmers, April 11, 1946).

At the same time, land reform was immediately implemented through a circular dated November 13, 1945, aiming to reduce land rent by 25% for tenant farmers and sharecroppers.

Before the Revolution, farmers, who accounted for more than 90% of the population, owned only about 30% of the land. The circular dated November 1945 marked an initial step in alleviating poverty among landless farmers. President Ho Chi Minh explained that this was a revolution to bring fairness, benefiting both landlords and farmers. In parallel, numerous policies were introduced to encourage landlords to contribute more to social welfare while easing the burdens placed on farmers.

Lessons that remain valuable today

At the time of the August Revolution in 1945, the North faced severe flooding and dike breaches, making the consolidation of dike systems an urgent national priority. Amid an empty state treasury, the heavy responsibility fell to engineer Nguyen Xien, Director of the Phu Lien Meteorological Observatory, who was appointed Chairman of the Northern Administrative Committee. He put forward the view that building dikes for flood prevention should not be solely the work of the state but, first and foremost, the responsibility of landowners. Accordingly, resources were to be mobilized through landowner contributions, calculated based on the value of their land (both area and type), while poor, landless farmers would contribute labor as part of the traditional public service obligation.

Moreover, the Chairman of the Northern Administrative Committee even introduced public bidding for projects, aiming both to reduce financial burdens and to improve the quality of works. When this initiative was submitted to the Government, its proponent feared it might be rejected as inconsistent with revolutionary doctrines. Yet, the Head of Government encouraged it, reasoning that while "contracting" could entail elements of exploitation, contracting for dike construction was an act of patriotism. Thanks to this policy, the urgent task of reinforcing dikes in the North was swiftly accomplished, and the very first commendation awarded by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was dedicated to this achievement.

Returning to the land issue, suitable policies with the slogan "land to the tiller" began to take shape, initially by reducing rents and abolishing unreasonable taxes applied to peasants. When the resistance war against French colonialists broke out in December 1946, the rent reduction directive was elevated into a decree (July 14, 1949), while land confiscated from colonial authorities, foreign plantation owners, and traitorous collaborators was gradually redistributed on a temporary basis.

In early 1950, the temporarily allocated land was expanded with plots left uncultivated in the free zones. By 1952, the Government introduced provisional regulations on the distribution of communal land, with priority given to poor peasants lacking fields. As a result, by 1953, before the Land Reform policy was launched, more than 300,000 hectares had been temporarily allocated to farmers, one and a half times greater than the acreage later allocated during the reform.

In the South, where land reform was never implemented, redistribution was supplemented by a vast area of land donated by landlords through campaigns encouraging voluntary land contributions. As a result, more than 560,000 hectares were temporarily allocated to nearly 520,000 working-age farmers. In this way, the means of production gradually reached peasants’ hands without undermining the national solidarity so vital to the resistance war against foreign invasion.

In practice, the issue of "land reform" had been raised within the Government as well as at the Second National Party Congress (March 1951), when Vietnam first began engaging with the views of its "northern comrades." Yet only a minority supported the proposal, so it was not approved.

However, from mid-1953, at a decisive turning point in the resistance war against French colonialism, as the struggle entered the phase of general counter-offensive, the situation changed. The leadership faced the urgent need to mobilize every possible resource at home, with peasants as the "main force," while also securing maximum external aid, particularly weapons from the Soviet Union and China. Both countries demanded that Vietnam carry out land reform as a declaration of class stance, deemed essential for a revolution under proletarian leadership. This created strong pressure on the National Assembly, which passed the Land Reform Law in December 1953 in the midst of war.

What unfolded over five successive campaigns, stretching more than two years beyond the triumphant end of the resistance in 1954, became a historical chapter remembered as a peasant movement so sweeping that contemporary dissemination described it as "earth-shattering." Yet it also carried with it complex and enduring lessons. Mistakes in organization, compounded by the leftist drift of the "rectification of organizations" campaign, inflicted enormous losses and left scars deeply etched into the national memory. “It is impossible to recount all the tragic scenes," wrote poet To Huu in his memoir Remembering a Time.

80 years after the triumph of the August Revolution, Vietnam has firmly established itself as an independent nation. The early lessons of nation-building in agriculture, together with the profound transformation of the farmers' destiny, embody the vitality and creativity of a far-reaching social revolution under the leadership of the Communist Party and President Ho Chi Minh.

From the harsh trials of war to the difficult choices in development pathways that later led to setbacks, history has shown that the core values of sustainable development had already begun to dawn at the very dawn in the earliest stage of national independence. They were always oriented toward the goal of bringing freedom and happiness to the Vietnamese people, above all, to the farmers who stood at the forefront, contributed, and sacrificed the most.