Deploying the construction of "Effectively operating community agricultural extension teams"

BTO-The Provincial Agricultural Extension Center said that the community agricultural extension team model is a new direction. The purpose is to connect the agricultural extension system with the business community, political -social and professional organizations to better support people in applying technical advances and useful solutions to production, helping to improve livelihoods, increase income, and contribute to building an effective and sustainable agriculture in the direction of ecological agriculture, modern countryside and civilized farmers.

The Provincial Agricultural Extension Center has just organized an online conference to review, contribute ideas and implement the construction of an effective community agricultural extension team. Attending the conference in person and online were more than 80 delegates representing the Provincial New Rural Area Coordination Office; Provincial Farmers' Association; Economic Department, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Agricultural Technical Service Centers of districts, towns and cities; leaders of People's Committees of communes with community agricultural extension teams and leaders of community agricultural extension teams in the province.

*Delegates attending at the Agricultural Extension Center bridge.*

This is one of the contents of implementing the policies and tasks of the National Program on New Rural Development (NTM), in which to successfully complete criterion No. 13 in NTM construction on production organization and rural economic development, the work of guiding, inspecting and appraising Sub-criterion 13.5 with effective community agricultural extension teams is extremely important. At the same time, promoting community agricultural extension activities under the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

At the workshop, the leaders of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center and delegates discussed, reviewed and contributed many ideas. In particular, it was determined that the establishment of community agricultural extension teams must be associated with proactively shifting from a supportive agricultural extension mindset to a connected agricultural extension mindset, integrating multi-values, associated with agricultural economic knowledge and skills. Currently, 67 community agricultural extension teams in the province are established to operate on a part-time basis, so resources and connections are fragmented and still have a movement nature.

*Many agricultural extension models are implemented.*

In the first 6 months of 2024, the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center has systematized and consolidated, with funding sources to promote propaganda and organize 5 training courses on professional skills - agricultural extension methods, community methods for the agricultural extension team at the grassroots level and the leaders of the community agricultural extension groups in the communes. Currently, the application of the software "Binh Thuan digital agriculture" implements traceability and transparency of products, creating value to exploit multi-channel sales. It is expected that with the attention and direction of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will build a community agricultural extension group that is suitable for practice, operates effectively, meets the needs of farmers, and becomes the main force of the agricultural sector at the grassroots level.

Previously in 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved the pilot project "Improving the effectiveness of agricultural extension activities on the basis of perfecting the community agricultural extension team model", implemented in 13 provinces. After 2 years of piloting, the community agricultural extension team model has shown positive signs. In addition to 26 pilot community agricultural extension teams in 13 participating provinces, the project has established an additional 846 expanded community agricultural extension teams, with a total of 7,829 members...

K. HANG

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