(HBO) – Smoother roads, busy trading activities and services, and prosperous villages with better economic conditions were our impression as we visited mountainous areas in Tan Lac in early Autumn when locals were busy preparing for the National Day festival.
In the summer-autumn crop this year,
farmers in mountainous communes of Tan Lac enjoyed bumper rice, maze and
chayote harvests. Their rice production was estimated at 0.56 tonne per
hectare. Maze farms, mostly in Quyet Chien, Lung Van, Ngo Luong and Bac Son
communes, also produced 0.55 tonne per hectares.
Chayote hub Quyet Chien, thanks to the
reform of cultivation technique and the application of VietGap standards, as
well as the formation of a cooperative, has developed its trademark and created
a sustainable agricultural value chain.
Tan Lac chayote vines have been put on
sale at big markets, and accessed restaurants and supermarkets in Hanoi and
some other provinces and cities. Therefore, economic conditions in Tan Lac have
been improved, increasing locals’ income and raising their living conditions,
especially among ethnic minority groups.

Farmers in Bieng village of Quyet Tien
commune in Tan Lac enjoy a bumper chayote crop with high prices
Improvement in infrastructure, health
care, socio-cultural system as well as stable security and order in mountainous
communes was another positive sign of the area. Statistics from the district’s
Office of Ethnic Affairs show that in 2017, 35 infrastructure works and
projects were built in the area at a cost of 17 billion VND, along with 19
other projects to assist the production with a total investment of nearly 3.5
billion VND.
In 2018, the district proposed to the
provincial People’s Committee 25 infrastructure projects with a total capital
of nearly 20 billion VND.
Efforts of mountainous communes in Tan Lac
in maintaining political security and social safety and order have been
recognised, as there were no complicated cases related to land conflicts,
compensation and ground clearance. The movement of community-based national
security protection has proved efficient, along with models of order-security self-management
in localities.
Once a mountainous province facing many challenges, Hoa Binh has, after more than a decade of implementing the national target programme on new-style rural area development, emerged as a bright spot in Vietnam’s northern midland and mountainous region. In the first quarter of 2025, the province recorded positive results, paving the way for Hoa Binh to enter a phase of accelerated growth with a proactive and confident mindset.
Hoa Binh province is steadily advancing its agricultural sector through the adoption of high-tech solutions, seen as a sustainable path for long-term development.
The steering committee for key projects of Hoa Binh province convened on May 14 to assess the progress of major ongoing developments
A delegation of Hoa Binh province has attended the "Meet Korea 2025" event, recently held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and the People's Committee of Hung Yen province.
Hoa Binh province joined Vietnam’s national "One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme in 2019, not simply as a mountainous region following central policy, but with a clear vision to revive the cultural and agricultural values in its villages and crops.
From just 16 certified products in its inaugural year to 158 by early 2025, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme in Hoa Binh province has followed a steady and strategic path. But beyond the numbers, it has reawakened local heritage, turning oranges, bamboo shoots, brocade, and herbal remedies into branded, market-ready goods - and, more profoundly, transformed how local communities value and present their own cultural identity.