The main conference point is at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in Hanoi. (Photo: HNV)

On the morning of October 17, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held an information conference on Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BNNMT dated October 14, 2025 guiding the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of public service units performing agricultural extension work at the provincial and commune levels.

The conference took place online with 34 connecting points of 34 provinces and cities and the main connecting point at the Ministry's headquarters in Hanoi . Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam chaired.

After the whole country implemented the two-level local government model, the agricultural extension system also faced the need to reorganize to adapt to the new organizational structure and tasks, and improve capacity to accompany farmers.

Implementing the most recent direction of General Secretary To Lam, identifying agricultural extension as an important task of the commune-level government, agricultural extension must be linked to the grassroots and the fields, the consolidation of agricultural extension organizations in the area from the provincial to the commune level, ensuring connectivity, synchronization, unity, regular and effective operations is an urgent issue.

Accordingly, implementing the direction of the General Secretary, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government Party Committee to urgently develop and issue Circular 60/2025/TT-BNNMT. This Circular was officially issued on October 14, 2025, providing detailed guidance on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of public service units performing agricultural extension work at the provincial and commune levels.

In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam said that the issuance of this Circular is an important step to perfect and standardize Vietnam's agricultural extension system according to a streamlined, interconnected, synchronous, and unified model from the provincial to communal levels, meeting new requirements in the context of implementing a two-level local government model.

According to Deputy Minister Nam, previously, in order to carry out the assigned tasks, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment actively and urgently developed a draft Circular guiding the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of public service units performing agricultural extension work at the provincial and communal levels, and sent it to ministries, branches and localities for comments.

In a very short time, ministries, branches, localities and agricultural extension systems of provinces and cities have contributed opinions to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to complete and issue Circular No. 60/2025/TT-BNNMT dated October 14, 2025 guiding the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of public service units performing agricultural extension work at the provincial and commune levels on time.

Statistics show that the total number of agricultural extension officers at the provincial and municipal levels is currently 1,763. The total number of agricultural extension stations and regional agricultural service centers nationwide is 324 with a total of 4,518 agricultural extension officers working.

Introducing information about Circular 60/2025/TT-BNNMT, Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Pham Tan Tuyen stated that, according to the new spirit, provincial agricultural extension (Provincial Agricultural Extension Center) will be a public service unit under the Department of Agriculture and Environment, with the main function of organizing and implementing agricultural extension activities at the provincial level and guiding, coordinating, urging, inspecting, and supporting the commune level in implementing agricultural extension work.

Meanwhile, the commune-level agricultural extension unit (a public service unit under the People's Committee at the commune level) will be a public service unit under the People's Committee at the commune level (commune, ward, special zone) assigned to perform agricultural extension tasks.

Delegates attending the conference all agreed that Circular 60/2025/TT-BNNMT is a solid legal basis for the agricultural extension system to strengthen its capacity to support farmers in solving production problems right at the commune level; contribute to training and improving the capacity of commune-level agricultural extension officers, civil servants and officials, especially the community agricultural extension force, to meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation, gradually standardizing the team in the direction of both understanding techniques and understanding farmers, truly being a "knowledge bridge" between science and technology, the market and farmers.

In particular, focus on strengthening and promoting the leading role of the community agricultural extension force/Community agricultural extension team at the commune level, considering this a pioneering force, directly following the locality, accompanying farmers in production, accessing technology and markets.

At the conference, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quoc Thanh, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, gave a general report on the National Agricultural Extension Strategy to 2030 and vision to 2050, emphasizing the factor of synchronous implementation to meet the requirements of tasks in the new situation and implementing the strategy in localities to effectively contribute to agricultural restructuring, new rural development, affirming the position of "agriculture as a pillar" in the national socio-economy.

The conference also listened to the sharing and exchanges from representatives of the leaders of the People's Committees of Can Tho city, Lai Chau province, Phu Tho province; representatives of the leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Son La, Dak Lak, An Giang, Lang Son, Thanh Hoa provinces, representatives of the Agricultural Extension Center of Da Nang city, ... basically expressed their agreement and high appreciation for the contents of the Circular and Strategy, but generally expressed concerns about some difficulties in implementation regarding specific human resource arrangements, related policies and regimes, and contents on digital transformation, public service price list, etc., in order to effectively promote the role of grassroots agricultural extension in agriculture and rural areas in particular and the socio-economy in general.

According to nhandan.vn

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/nong-nghiep-nong-thon/kien-toan-he-thong-khuyen-nong-quoc-gia-theo-mo-hinh-chinh-quyen-2-cap-158895.html