Revival of land at the edge of sea

According to the historical records of the Party Committee of Tien Hai District, on the morning of March 26, 1962, Nam Cuong was honoured to receive a visit from President Ho Chi Minh. Warmly enquiring about the lives and health of the people pioneering the coastal reclamation effort, the President expressed delight at the achievements made and praised the local residents for their perseverance in overcoming hardship to bring prosperity to their homeland. He also advised the people to unite and devote their efforts to building a strong and prosperous coastal commune.

Hoang Ngoc Sang, Secretary of the Nam Cuong Party Committee, shared: At the beginning of 1961, Tien Hai District established the Nam Cuong Reclamation Battalion and the Nam Cuong Agricultural Cooperative, consisting of 200 households and over 1,300 residents from 26 family lineages across the district. On April 23, 1961, the official campaign to reclaim land from the sea commenced. The battalion organised labour into core teams focusing on salt production, fishing, land clearing, house construction and rice cultivation on newly reclaimed land.

Despite facing a harsh natural environment and relying mainly on human labour and the determination to win, the farmers of Nam Cuong achieved a remarkable feat in just one year: reclaiming over 200 hectares of land, including 90 hectares for rice farming, more than 100 hectares for sedge cultivation and aquaculture. The first rice crop yielded full heads and plump grains, with a total harvest of over 100 tonnes of paddy. Throughout its journey of development, Nam Cuong has repeatedly achieved great successes, becoming not only a model commune in Thai Binh province but also an inspiration across the country.

In recent years, Nam Cuong has paid great attention to and focused on implementing crop restructuring. Initially dedicated to rice cultivation, the land later shifted to sedge farming; in 1992, rice cultivation was reintroduced, but by 2001, 50% of the land was converted to aquaculture. This marked a revolutionary change, as the coastal soil, laden with acidity and salinity, was not conducive to high-yield rice production. During this period, Nam Cuong became the first locality in the province to carry out land accumulation, setting an exemplary model in aquaculture.

After its success in aquaculture, Nam Cuong embarked on building a new-style rural commune. In 2013, despite not being chosen as a pilot in building new-style rural areas, the local Party Committee, authorities and residents pushed forward with their own approach. During this period, officials and residents alike were highly enthusiastic, with commune officials even volunteering to contribute ten days’ worth of basic salary to accelerate the progress. By December 2013, Nam Cuong had fulfilled all 19 criteria for the new-style rural commune, completing the programme’s targets. All roads in the commune were upgraded with standardised drainage systems, resulting in a clean, spacious environment.

In 2023, Nam Cuong met the advanced rural commune criteria, and by 2024, it reached the standards of a model new-style rural commune. The financial resources for the transformation primarily came from voluntary contributions by officials and residents, with partial support from provincial and district authorities.

The commune had already invested in key infrastructure and cultural facilities such as schools, a health station, and village cultural houses. When upgrading to advanced and model status, the commune only needed to supplement a few criteria, such as the “Lighting Up Rural Roads” programme – entirely funded and implemented by the residents at a cost of over 1 billion VND – and widening roads from 3.5 metres to 4–5 metres to improve mobility and facilitate mechanised farming. The community also enhanced environmental sanitation and planted more greenery.

Pham Ngoc Ke, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tien Hai District, shared: Nam Cuong was honoured to welcome President Ho Chi Minh in 1962. The commune has since built a spacious and dignified Memorial Site dedicated to the President. March 26 – the anniversary of his visit – has become a traditional day of culture and sports for the local Party Committee, authorities, and residents.