Resolution 21 provides strength for Lao Cai's agriculture

To create a powerful breakthrough that drives large-scale commodity production and uplifts local incomes, the Lao Cai Provincial People's Council enacted Resolution No. 21/2025 on December 9, 2025, focusing on policies to encourage and support development in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. This resolution plays a strategic role in shifting agricultural production toward sustainable, large-scale commodity lines.

Lingering bottlenecks in Tran Yen

In Tran Yen commune, a locality with significant potential in land and climate, implementing Resolution No. 21 is a top priority. However, as 2026 marks the inaugural year of implementation, execution at the grassroots level has inevitably run into bottlenecks.

To promptly untangle these difficulties, under the direction of the Director of the Lao Cai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, a working delegation from the Department of Crop Production, Plant Protection, Livestock Production, Veterinary Medicine, and Fisheries, in coordination with the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, worked directly with Tran Yen commune.

Ms. Do Thi Dieu Thuy, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Desk of Tran Yen commune, stated that the locality has directed villages to organize deep and widespread communication regarding Resolution 21's policies to enterprises, cooperatives, collaborative groups, and farming households. The majority of residents are highly interested in policies supporting mulberry raw material zones, medicinal plant cultivation under forest canopies, and commercial livestock models.

Based on registration demands, the commune directly visited sites to evaluate production conditions and the capital counterparting capacity of each farming household. Appraisals were executed stringently, focusing on planning alignment, feasibility, and economic efficiency. Thanks to thorough preparations, the financing for the first phase of support in 2026 exceeded 5.7 billion VND (USD 218.466). Within this, capital supporting agriculture, forestry, and fisheries projects accounted for over 4.7 billion VND (USD 180.139), while support for production schemes and the OCOP program stood at 765 million VND (USD 29.319).

To date, Tran Yen commune has approved and implemented one project for mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing, four commercial livestock farming models, and supported two 4-star OCOP products.

According to Ms. Thuy, although positive results have been achieved, the process of transforming policies into effective models is facing many obstacles that need to be overcome.

Firstly, many households are still confused by administrative procedures. The preparation and completion of registration documents and understanding of required technical forms are still limited. Notably, the document management capacity of some cooperatives does not meet the demands of large-scale commodity production. In addition, the limited matching capital from the people slows the progress of projects that require high initial investment.

Secondly, mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing are strengths of Tran Yen, but the current settlement procedures are considered complicated relative to farmers' level of knowledge. Some support levels, especially those for the construction costs of silkworm farms, have not kept pace with rising construction material and labor prices.

Thirdly, there are difficulties in documenting commercial livestock farming because the people of Tran Yen mainly buy breeding stock from small-scale farmers in the area, making it impossible to issue value-added tax invoices. Regarding animal feed, many households utilize agricultural by-products to mix their own feed to reduce costs, leading to a lack of documentation proving origin. Even with vaccination, the facilities only have monitoring reports from veterinary agencies, not official certificates, causing significant difficulties in the disbursement of funds.

Tran Yen commune requests that Lao Cai province review and adjust the support levels for silkworm farms to better reflect market price fluctuations. At the same time, a standardized technical guideline for new models such as sliding tray systems should be issued soon. In particular, the people hope for a more open mechanism and specific guidance on the types of valid documents that can be used to replace red invoices when buying and selling breeding stock and feed within the village, as well as recognition of the value of vaccination monitoring reports in the settlement process.

Avoid delays in processing applications

Ms. Cao Thi Hoa Binh, Director of the Lao Cai Provincial Department of Crop Production, Plant Protection, Livestock Production, Veterinary Medicine, and Fisheries, affirmed that specialized provincial desks have thoroughly studied the commune's proposals and stand ready to accompany them in untangling these difficulties.

According to Ms. Binh, specialized bodies and commune leaders must strictly adhere to Resolution 21 and the Provincial People's Committee's regulations on administrative processes. This remains the absolute foundation to execute the policy.

Regarding paperwork and dossier bottlenecks, while functional representatives sympathize with the hardships facing the villagers, they clarified the underlying principles of financial management. When utilizing state budget funds, complying with legal regulations and ensuring transparent invoicing is mandatory. This does not aim to complicate matters for the people but to ensure legal safety for the beneficiaries themselves, guaranteeing that capital flows to the correct purposes, crops, and livestock.

Ms. Binh urged the commune to step up communication efforts. Integrated service centers and agricultural extension officers must enter the field aggressively, explaining details clearly so farmers understand that rights and benefits must go hand-in-hand with binding conditions.

Furthermore, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has established a specialized task force, assigning officers to oversee each specific commodity line, ensuring that dossier delays do not cause farmers to miss their optimal cultivation seasons.

Ms. Binh revealed that Lao Cai Province plans to allocate approximately 100 billion VND (USD 3.832.740) annually for support policies under Resolution 21. However, to date, the entire province has disbursed less than 50 billion VND (USD 1.916.370) (including 14 billion VND for crop production and 23 billion VND for livestock). This demonstrates that funding is not lacking; the core issue lies in organization, dossier completion, and smooth coordination across all government tiers.

With a receptive spirit at the grassroots level alongside the close accompaniment of specialized provincial bodies, it is hoped that the knots in deploying Resolution No. 21 in Tran Yen in particular, and across Lao Cai Province in general, will soon be untangled. This will steer the resolution on the right track, fostering prosperous and thriving commodity agriculture zones.

$ 1 = VND 26,461 - Source: Vietcombank.