Decree No. 61-CP Regarding the Campaign to Reorganize Production and Improve Agricultural and Forestry Management at the Grassroots Level towards Socialist Large-Scale Production

RESOLUTION

On the movement to reorganize production and improve management at the grassroots level in one step

towards socialist large-scale production in agriculture and forestry.

Implementing the resolutions of the 19th, 20th, and 22nd plenary sessions of the Central Committee of the Party on advancing agriculture in the northern part of our country towards socialist large-scale production, over the past few years, the Central Party Secretariat has directed pilot projects to reorganize production and improve management of agriculture at the grassroots level, combined with holding mass meetings of collective farmers at all levels.

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By now, the mass meetings of collective farmers have been completed at cooperatives and districts, and are ongoing at provincial level; the pilot projects to reorganize production and improve management of agriculture at the grassroots level are being implemented in 24 districts and 1,250 cooperatives (including 5 mountainous districts and 161 cooperatives).

After hearing the report from the Minister and Chairman of the Central Committee for Agriculture on the pilot project situation and the supplementary remarks from the Deputy General Director of the Forestry General Department regarding forestry, the Government Council discussed during its full session on March 23 and 24, 1976, and decided:

1. The Government Council affirms that the initial results and experiences gained from the pilot projects are good;

2. The Government Council decides to launch a movement to reorganize production and improve management of agriculture at the grassroots level, moving towards socialist large-scale production. In the midlands, mountains, and coastal plains where forest land areas exist, the movement to reorganize production and improve management must closely integrate agriculture with forestry.

Since the process of collectivization, the agricultural sector in the northern part of our country has undergone significant changes: new production relations have positively influenced many aspects, material and technical foundations have been increasingly strengthened, some concentrated specialized and intensive production areas have been formed, numerous good experiences in organization and management and advancements in science and technology have been applied, and production... From a small, scattered, extensive, self-sufficient economy, the collectivized agricultural sector in the northern part of our country has continuously developed according to plans and is currently in the process of advancing towards socialist large-scale production; forestry, which was previously a secondary occupation of agriculture, has gradually developed in the mountains and midlands into a main industry and a primary business direction for cooperatives, closely linked with agriculture and many other economic sectors (mining industry, paper industry...).

Currently, the restoration and development of the economy and the promotion of socialist industrialization nationwide are placing great demands on agricultural and forestry products (food, raw materials for industry, and export goods), requiring agriculture and forestry to be reorganized in production and improved in management at the grassroots level, moving towards socialist large-scale production.

Given the common characteristics of these industries needing to achieve specialization while maintaining comprehensive business operations, respecting centralized and unified guidance within each industry, ensuring rational distribution across regions and specific production units, and promoting the initiative and creativity of localities and grassroots organizations, agricultural and forestry production in our country must be reorganized under the following conditions:

- Natural land is not abundant, agricultural land is limited and needs to be rationally distributed and utilized effectively; in the mountains and midlands, forest resources have severely declined and need to be preserved and exploited reasonably;

- Climate, weather, topography, water sources..., vary greatly across regions and need to be fully considered;

- Labor is abundant but not well utilized, unevenly distributed, and needs to be rationally arranged and used efficiently;

- Material and technical infrastructure (including road networks) is insufficient, dispersed, and non-uniform, failing to meet the requirements of specific regional and crop production, necessitating review to make better use of existing facilities and actively supplement and strengthen new ones;

- Economic management work of grassroots agricultural and forestry units and various levels and sectors concerning agriculture and forestry still follows an administrative supply model of small-scale production, and needs to be improved, transitioning strongly towards centralized and unified business management in the direction of socialist large-scale production.

Therefore, the reorganization of production and improvement of management of agriculture and forestry at the grassroots level must aim at the following directions:

1. Reorganizing production in cooperatives, agricultural farms, forestry farms, and within district territories to utilize land, water, and other agricultural and forestry resources, labor, and existing material and technical infrastructure effectively, and gradually enhance them; integrating agriculture with forestry, linking agriculture and forestry with handicrafts, light industry, and heavy industry, connecting production and processing with circulation and distribution, linking collective economies and family sideline economies with state-owned economies; forming a progressively advanced agricultural and forestry production structure and concentrated, specialized, and intensive production zones; establishing new relationships within agriculture, between agriculture and forestry, and between agriculture, forestry, and other economic sectors. Overcoming the situation of scattered, fragmented, uncoordinated, imbalanced production, and not rapidly transitioning to concentration, specialization, and intensification.

The reorganization of production in cooperatives and within district territories must align with economic zoning and be carried out within the framework of the national economic planning and the economic planning of each major economic region and province.

The restructuring of production in cooperatives and within the district must align with economic zoning and be carried out within the framework of the national economic planning, of each major economic region, and of each province.

2. Establish and implement principles and systems for socialist economic and social management, particularly the planning system and economic accounting, the economic contract system, encourage production and create conditions for production units to make profits, adhere strictly to the principle of distribution according to labor and vigorously promote the right of self-management of workers. Overcome the phenomenon of arbitrary business operations without plans and calculations, lacking democracy and centralization, and failing to encourage labor and production.

Transform the district level from an intermediate administrative level into a planning level for agriculture (or agriculture-forestry) and small-scale industry and handicrafts, managing both administratively and economically, becoming a center equipped with technology for cooperatives, a stronghold for carrying out three agricultural revolutions in rural areas.

Improve the management of provincial levels and central agencies in accordance with the requirements for reorganizing production and improving agricultural and forestry management from grassroots units and districts as mentioned above.

3. Strengthen the leadership of the Party, the management function of the State, and the collective self-management role of the masses.

It is necessary to vigorously promote the spirit of self-reliance and utilize all potential capabilities of cooperatives and farmers, of agricultural farms and forestry farms, of agricultural and forestry workers, while also enhancing the responsibility of economic sectors and state management, fully utilizing all support capabilities for agriculture and forestry, serving production bases, strengthening the alliance relationship between industry and agriculture in the new phase.

The reorganization of production and improvement of agricultural and forestry management at the grassroots level must strengthen productive forces and consolidate socialist production relations in rural areas, increase the total agricultural and forestry products, raise the volume of commercial products, improve labor productivity, ensure product quality and reduce costs, enrich the soil, green the forests, provide production units with conditions to continuously expand production, fulfill more obligations to the State, and improve the material and cultural life of collective farmers and agricultural and forestry workers.

In view of the tasks, directions, and requirements mentioned above, the Council of Ministers decides.

CONTENT OF THE CAMPAIGN

A. FOR GRASSROOTS PRODUCTION UNITS

1. For agricultural production cooperatives, agricultural-forestry cooperatives.

They must perform the following tasks:

a) Determine the production direction, type, and scale of the cooperative.

Based on regional division, planning, and unified production structure, each cooperative must clearly define its production tasks, adjust and supplement its production direction appropriately, aiming to fully utilize land, labor, and apply advanced technical measures, moving the cooperative's production towards concentration, specialization, and intensive farming.

Cooperatives in midlands and mountainous regions must arrange production suitable to their land conditions, combining crop cultivation and animal husbandry, agriculture and forestry. All cooperatives generally need to intensify specialized production combined with comprehensive business operations, in addition to crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and forestry (if applicable), they should pay attention to expanding other industries.

Based on the production direction, taking specialized production as the main focus, determine the types of cooperatives (rice-pig, rice-peanut, agriculture-forestry, forestry-agriculture...).

From specialized production cooperatives combined with comprehensive business operations, reasonably expand the scale of cooperatives. In plains, midlands, and lowland mountainous areas, the current scale of cooperatives may be expanded to cover the entire commune with about 300 to 500 hectares of cultivated land, and if truly necessary, the commune boundaries may be adjusted to align administrative units with economic units at the grassroots level. For other places in mountainous areas, it is necessary to consider the balance between land and labor, increasing labor for cooperatives or merging cooperatives so that each commune still has around 2-3 cooperatives, and the average scale of a cooperative is approximately 1000 hectares including annual cultivated land and state-owned forest land allocated to cooperatives for business operations. Expanding the scale of cooperatives must go hand in hand with reorganizing production to develop production, requiring thorough preparation, strict review by the provincial level, not carried out hastily or forcibly, ensuring all conditions as stipulated in the Central Committee's Resolution No. 22: "having capable and solid cadres and core leaders, initial material and technical foundations suitable for the activities of a larger-scale cooperative; smaller cooperatives intended for merger have been consolidated, production and living conditions are stable, at least one good cooperative serves as a backbone; commune members clearly recognize the benefits of scale expansion and genuinely agree, and must be decided by the general assembly of cooperative members preparing for merger."

b) Strengthen the collective ownership system over means of production and reorganize production within the cooperative.

Cooperatives need to clearly define the scope and boundaries of land (including forest land) managed by the cooperative, actively consolidate and expand the collective ownership system over farmland and other means of production, and simultaneously recover all illegally occupied farmland... to base this on organizing production and improving management, using the means of production effectively.

Based on the determined production direction and results of soil and water resource surveys, etc., cooperatives need to replan land, clearly define production land and residential land to optimize production layout and facilitate the organization of life within the cooperative.

For agricultural land, it is necessary to classify and grade the land, and within each category and grade, appropriate crop varieties, livestock, timber trees, specialty crops must be arranged, with specific cultivation practices and technical procedures aimed at increasing crop and livestock yields while protecting and enhancing soil quality. By rearranging land and crops, cooperatives should allocate contiguous fields and continuous forest areas to production teams for convenient production and to form specialized teams for certain crops or livestock. Cooperatives need to plan well for locations to build warehouses, animal sheds, nurseries, wood storage areas, and other infrastructure serving production. Efforts should be intensified in land reclamation, afforestation, and combining tractor deployment areas with the improvement of irrigation systems and transportation construction.

In addition to land and water resources, other material and technical facilities within cooperatives such as seeds, fertilizers, machinery, tools, etc., must also be rearranged to suit production directions and requirements for each crop and livestock, facilitating transportation and movement, thereby making full use and promoting existing resources, while gradually building and equipping new ones, emphasizing the increase in machinery but still paying great attention to improved tools and handheld tools, integrating cooperative material and technical facilities with those of the district into a synchronized and effective system.

c) Reorganize labor to fully utilize and enhance all labor capabilities of the cooperative.

Under conditions where machinery and capital are still limited, and production mainly relies on manual labor, the organization and management of labor become even more important. Cooperatives must reorganize labor towards expanding division of labor and cooperation, gradually professionalizing labor, fully utilizing and strongly promoting all labor capabilities to increase cultivated area, develop animal husbandry, forestry, intensive farming, engage in additional industries, construct material and technical facilities, build new rural areas, and increase labor productivity, while meeting all labor demands.

The form of labor organization in cooperatives is production teams and specialized labor teams responsible for specific stages of work (referred to as specialized stages).

It is essential to strengthen and increase production teams (by industry, by crop or livestock, or product) in accordance with the expanded scale of the cooperative and continuously updated technology as stipulated in the cooperative charter: "Production teams are assigned a certain amount of fixed production materials for a relatively long period... As a unit undertaking contracts with the cooperative, implementing internal accounting, production teams have the responsibility to ensure indicators such as output, value of output, labor and material costs allocated by the cooperative." However, it is necessary to address and prevent situations where "all tasks are contracted out to production teams," failing to thoroughly implement the principle of unified business management and distribution throughout the cooperative.

Specialized labor teams (seed production, fertilizer production, water management, irrigation, basic construction, transportation, land preparation, etc.) must be organized well to ensure that all stages of work are carried out with high quality and timely.

The organization of production teams, the allocation of land to production teams, and the organization of specialized labor teams must be adapted to the specific circumstances of each type of cooperative, the technical requirements and workload of each stage, the material and technical conditions, and the management level of cadres in each cooperative, avoiding rigid and mechanical approaches.

Emphasis must be placed on labor responsibility and discipline in cooperatives. The labor responsibility system between the cooperative and teams, and between teams and members is a contractual system: the cooperative contracts with production teams based on plans according to the tasks assigned; the cooperative contracts with specialized labor teams based on quantity, quality of work, completion time, and remuneration; teams contract with members based on group or individual basis. To effectively implement the contractual system, cooperatives must establish economic and technical standards based on increasingly advanced technical procedures, combined with job grading and reasonable remuneration standards, with a system for inspecting work and strict reward and punishment measures. Work inspections and rewards or penalties should be conducted promptly for each stage. At the same time, evaluations for exceeding or falling short of production targets should continue for production teams.

Cooperatives need to have labor regulations and regularly educate and supervise members to comply with these regulations. Cooperative labor regulations must specify that members prioritize working hours for collective activities, fulfill their labor obligations to the cooperative and the State. Attention should be paid to training skills for members and ensuring labor protection. Appropriate remuneration should be provided for skilled workers, technically proficient workers, and heavy laborers, with a system for labor enhancement during busy periods.

d) Improve and enhance management levels in all aspects within the cooperative.

The production-technical-financial plan of the cooperative is the main tool for managing according to the principle of centralized democracy. Therefore, it is necessary to improve and enhance planning work in cooperatives. To build good plans, cooperatives need to:

- Base on the requirements of the State, the cooperative, and its members;

- Fully understand past production results and production factors, economic and technical conditions within the cooperative, while correctly combining the cooperative's capabilities with state support, linking cooperative economy with supplementary family economy of members.

- Establish and effectively apply economic and technical standards;

- Have necessary technical and professional staff...

The plan serves both as the target for the cooperative's efforts to achieve predetermined indicators during the planning period and to create conditions for subsequent plans, and also as an ordinance of the State. The cooperative must ensure the timely submission of sufficient products fulfilling obligations and agricultural or forestry goods sold to the State, while the State, directly at the district level, must ensure the provision of necessary technical materials for the cooperative according to the approved plan.

Financial management and accounting, statistical work in cooperatives must be improved in accordance with the requirements of reorganizing production and economic accounting principles. The Central Committee of Agriculture, the Forestry General Administration, the Ministry of Finance, the General Statistics Office, and the State Bank, under the leadership of the Central Committee of Agriculture, need to promptly study and issue unified accounting and statistical regulations in cooperatives, and guide cooperatives to widely implement them by 1977.

Cooperatives must properly implement asset inventory systems and financial settlements, manage cash flow, have internal rules to protect assets and strictly manage finances.

It is necessary to consolidate a unified accounting system within the cooperative through centralized organization at the cooperative level to handle financial, accounting, and statistical work, meeting the management requirements of the cooperative and providing economic information to the State. The State will strengthen the cadre of chief accountants to assist large-scale business cooperatives, weak cooperatives, and mountainous area cooperatives.

Income distribution in cooperatives must adhere to socialist distribution principles, ensuring cost recovery, increased accumulation, and distribution based on labor, fairness, transparency, and unified distribution throughout the entire cooperative.

e) To improve the management structure of the cooperative and establish reasonable remuneration systems for cooperative cadres.

The member assembly or the representative member assembly is the highest managing body of the cooperative. Cooperatives must convene meetings at the prescribed intervals and fulfill their tasks and powers as stipulated to fully exercise the collective ownership rights of members.

The Management Board must be strengthened to truly become an effective economic management body, centrally and uniformly overseeing the entire cooperative. The Management Board should be streamlined, consisting of capable cadres trusted by the cooperative members. The Management Board operates under the principle of democratic centralism, collective leadership, and individual responsibility. The role of the director in management must be emphasized and vigorously promoted.

To assist the Management Board and the director in managing operations, it is necessary to strengthen technical and professional staff in cooperatives such as crop cultivation technicians, livestock breeding technicians, irrigation technicians, forestry technicians, planning professionals, labor standards professionals, finance professionals, statisticians, accountants... Key cadres and specialized professionals in cooperatives need to be regularly educated, trained, and stabilized in their positions to accumulate experience.

The Supervisory Board's activities must be intensified in accordance with its function as a supervisory body of the cooperative in implementing the charter, internal rules, and resolutions of the member assembly.

To ensure that cooperative cadres are motivated and enthusiastic about their work, appropriate remuneration systems must be established. It is necessary to guarantee that key cadres in cooperatives earn higher incomes than excellent workers in the cooperatives. The Central Committee of Agriculture will provide uniform guidance on remuneration systems for cooperative cadres, which each cooperative's member assembly (or representative member assembly) will apply and enforce.

2. Regarding state-owned farms and agricultural technical service stations.

Based on Resolution No. 19-CP of the Council of Ministers, specific planning and tasks must be determined according to the production and service characteristics of each entity. Depending on the situation of each entity, production should be reorganized, business operations should be restructured, labor should be reasonably allocated, and a combination of specialized production and comprehensive business should be implemented to ensure optimal use of labor, land, equipment, and facilities assigned.

On the basis of planning and reorganizing production, the scale of each farm and station should be further considered, with plans to adjust and supplement material and technical infrastructure, and reasonably address the interwoven land and population issues. It is essential to align the production planning of farms with the overall production planning of the region. It is necessary to intensify the improvement of planning and economic accounting systems, elevating these management practices to a new level.

3. Regarding state-owned forestry farms and forestry technical service stations, nurseries...

The Forestry General Administration and provincial administrative committees in midland, mountainous, and coastal areas with forests need to re-plan state-owned forestry farms based on the principle that each state-owned forestry farm is a business unit with a designated land area, workforce, and capital; the farm must primarily rely on its own workforce, may contract labor from surrounding cooperatives, but cannot consider this as the main business method; forestry farms must play a leading role as models in production, technology, business, and accounting for surrounding cooperatives.

The Forestry General Administration must guide the Provincial Forestry Departments, County Agricultural and Forestry Committees to re-plan timber procurement stations, seedling nurseries, docks, and other facilities to be consistent with the reorganization of agricultural and forestry production in midland and mountainous areas.

The Central Committee of Agriculture and the Forestry General Administration must submit a proposal to the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers for approval to improve the management of state-owned farms and forestry farms by the second quarter of 1976.

B. REGARDING THE PROVINCE LEVEL STATE ADMINISTRATION

Chapter I. On the Position of State Administration at the County Level.

1. State administration at the county level is a level elected by the people within the county, accountable to the people, and simultaneously represents the state to comprehensively manage all state affairs on the county territory.

2. State administration at the county level is directly connected with communes, and simultaneously with cooperatives, serving as a base for the state and the working class to lead the implementation of three revolutions in rural areas, combining industrial and agricultural economies, forestry and agriculture, and strengthening the alliance between the working class and the collective peasant class.

3. State administration at the county level manages both administrative and economic matters.

Chapter II. On the Position, Functions, and Tasks of State Administration at the County Level Regarding Economic Management Generally and Agricultural and Forestry Economic Management in the Current Stage.

1. Regarding general economic management. - The county level is a planning level, currently mainly a planning level for agriculture, forestry, small-scale industry, and handicrafts. - The county level directly leads and manages all production and business activities of grassroots production units, and business units serving production located on the county territory that the county level is authorized to manage; the county level directs grassroots units to conclude and effectively implement economic contracts; - The county level is the center for equipping technology for economic activities on the county territory, currently mainly for agriculture, forestry, and small-scale industry, and handicrafts; - The county level understands the production conditions within the county, based on the central and provincial economic zoning plans, builds economic plans and programs, and organizes their implementation according to the principle of combining sectoral management and planning with territorial management and planning; - The county level implements well the principles of management systems and economic policies according to the general guidelines of the Party and the laws of the state.

2. Regarding agricultural and forestry economic management in the current stage. - The county level builds agricultural and forestry production plans starting from the natural, economic, and social conditions of the county and based on the central and provincial agricultural and forestry production zoning plans; - Based on approved agricultural and forestry production plans, the county level builds five-year and annual plans for agricultural and forestry economic development; - The county level leads the construction of material and technical facilities serving agricultural and forestry production, including common facilities in each area and specific ones in each grassroots unit, forming a coherent system ensuring that all stages from production, processing to circulation and distribution are coordinated; - The county level actively creates conditions to rationally redistribute labor within the county to quickly increase labor productivity; - The county level implements well the principles, management systems, and economic policies suitable for local agricultural and forestry production situations, such as democratic centralism principles in plan building and implementation, socialist distribution principles, remuneration systems, economic contract systems, supervision and urging of production and business activities... - The county level leads agricultural and forestry economics through specialized agencies such as the County Agriculture Committee in plains, the County Agriculture and Forestry Committee in midlands and mountainous regions, and organizes the coordination of related sectors' activities to effectively fulfill agricultural and forestry production tasks.

Chapter III. On the organization of the County Agricultural Committee in the delta, the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee in the midlands and mountainous regions, and some relations aimed at coordinating well the activities between the district level and the provincial level and central sectors.

1. On the organization of the County Agricultural Committee in the delta, and on the organization of the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee in the midlands and mountainous regions. The County Agricultural Committee is a state agency assisting the County Administrative Committee in specialized matters related to agriculture and is part of the organizational system of the agricultural sector, serving as the main management body for agricultural production cooperatives. Under the guidance of the County Administrative Committee and the Provincial Agricultural Committee, the County Agricultural Committee must be responsible comprehensively for agriculture, including planning and directing the implementation of plans, managing cooperatives, directing and inspecting the execution of production processes and technical standards. In accordance with state regulations and provincial division of responsibilities, the County Agricultural Committee directly manages technical facilities and business establishments serving agriculture within the county, responsible for training, nurturing, managing, and utilizing agricultural and technical staff. The structure of the County Agricultural Committee must be organized tightly, efficiently, ensuring good management of key aspects such as crop cultivation, animal husbandry, trades, economic planning, accounting and statistics, labor, land management. The County Agricultural and Forestry Committee, abbreviated as the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee, is a state agency assisting the County Administrative Committee in specialized matters related to agriculture and forestry and is part of the organizational systems of both the agricultural and forestry sectors, serving as the main management body for agricultural and forestry production cooperatives. The County Agricultural and Forestry Committees are established in counties in the midlands and mountainous regions. Under the guidance of the County Administrative Committee, the Provincial Agricultural Committee, and the Provincial Forestry Department, the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee must be responsible comprehensively for agriculture and forestry, including planning and directing the implementation of plans, managing cooperatives, directing and inspecting the execution of production processes and technical standards. In accordance with state regulations and provincial division of responsibilities, the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee directly manages technical facilities and planning establishments serving agriculture and forestry within the county, responsible for training, nurturing, managing, and utilizing agricultural and forestry management staff. The structure of the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee must be organized tightly and efficiently, ensuring good management of key aspects of agricultural and forestry production; it must allocate cadres and departments according to the position of agricultural and forestry production in each county. Regarding the technical facilities of forestry production in each county, they need to be appropriately arranged according to the scale and requirements of forestry production in each specific county, without neglecting forestry production due to the establishment of the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee. It is necessary to recognize that establishing the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee is precisely to closely integrate agriculture and forestry, ensuring that both aspects receive appropriate attention and are strengthened concretely and practically. In terms of vertical leadership, the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee is subject to the guidance of the Provincial Forestry Department on economic and technical forestry issues, and the guidance of the Provincial Agricultural Committee on economic and technical agricultural issues. The Central Committee of Agriculture and the National Forestry Administration must submit the organizational structure and mechanism of the County Agricultural and Forestry Committee for review and approval by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers in the second quarter of 1976.

2. Regarding certain relationships aimed at coordinating the activities between relevant sectors related to agricultural and forestry production at the district level and between the district and provincial levels and central sectors. Under the guidance of the District Administrative Committee and the Provincial Agricultural Committee, and the Provincial Forestry Department, the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee shall carry out the development of the district's agricultural and forestry production plan. After this plan has been integrated into a part of the district’s economic plan and officially reviewed, the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee shall be responsible for directing the parts within their respective sectors according to their functions, and monitoring other sectors in the district to implement parts related to agricultural and forestry production and cooperatives, identifying issues to present to the District Administrative Committee for coordination of sectoral activities in accordance with the approved plan. When sectors have new matters concerning cooperatives, especially during peak seasons, they need to consult and reach consensus beforehand with the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee. For matters that do not align, the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee must proactively discuss with other sectors; only presenting them to the District Administrative Committee when consensus cannot be reached. The District Administrative Committee assigns the District Water Resources Office to develop water resource planning based on the provincial water resource master plan, closely coordinating with the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee. The District Water Resources Office is tasked with directing cooperatives in developing water resource plans and constructing water networks, directly managing and controlling pumping stations and irrigation systems according to specific cooperative requirements, based on signed contracts. The District Administrative Committee assigns the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee to directly manage technical economic facilities such as agricultural machinery repair stations, specialized material supply stations for agriculture and forestry, seed breeding farms and production stations, veterinary and plant protection stations, animal feed processing enterprises, etc.; the economic relationship between these facilities and cooperatives is contractual. For stations and stores providing technical materials brought in by central or provincial sectors and directly managed, such as fuel, steel, coal, cement, wood supply stations, the District Administrative Committee has the right to arrange them according to the district's planning for the convenience of cooperative and local residents' purchases and supervise their service provision according to the district's approved plan. Based on the production and processing plan and the transportation network within the district, the District Administrative Committee has the right to require central or provincial procurement stations or enterprises located in the district to arrange procurement locations according to the district's planning, facilitating cooperative product delivery and sales. The District Administrative Committee has the right to demand that procurement stations (regardless of which authority they belong to) sign specific contracts with cooperatives and urge both parties to fully execute the signed contracts. Upon request from the District Agricultural Committee or the District Agricultural and Forestry Committee, or relevant county sectors, the District Administrative Committee shall adjust the supply plan of materials and capital based on the specific situation of production and the supply of technical materials and capital, as necessary, to ensure the fulfillment of national plan targets assigned to the district.

Chapter IV. In the movement to reorganize production and improve agricultural and forestry management at the grassroots level, the main tasks that the State administrative bodies at the district level must undertake are as follows.

1. Regarding the reorganization of agricultural production (agricultural and forestry production) within the district.

a) Based on the central and provincial planning for production zoning, it is necessary to understand the land situation, climate, hydrology, and agricultural and forestry resources, labor force, technical infrastructure, and other natural, economic, and social conditions to redistribute agricultural and forestry production towards concentration, specialization, intensive farming, and develop good economic and technical plans to create a new advanced production structure, implement new labor distribution, quickly introduce scientific and technological progress into production, gradually expand technical infrastructure, and achieve the highest production results.

b) Based on the overall planning, it is necessary to guide specific production arrangements for each crop, livestock, and industry. From this, establish cultivation systems and technical procedures, care and breeding systems, and unified hygiene and disease prevention measures.

c) Based on the technical and professional guidance from higher-level specialized sectors, it is necessary to concretize standard economic and technical norms for each crop, livestock, and industry according to different regions within the district to guide cooperatives in their implementation; for crops and livestock without regulations or guidance from higher-level specialized sectors, the district must develop and issue standard norms while reporting to higher levels.

d) Rebalance labor within the district according to the new production structure and the requirements of various service sectors. It is necessary to actively utilize all available labor for various jobs and industries. From this, calculate the need for additional or updated tools to increase labor productivity and assess surplus labor that needs to be allocated outside the district's boundaries.

đ) Based on specific production arrangements, review existing technical infrastructure and gradually build and supplement a synchronized economic and technical network within the district, gradually completing it. The construction of the economic and technical network must rely on local strength while effectively absorbing assistance from higher levels. It must meet current production needs while considering long-term suitability. Full utilization of existing resources must be maximized, avoiding repeated demolition and reconstruction, and strictly conserving construction land. The economic and technical network includes: - A complete irrigation system within the district, connected to the larger provincial irrigation system; - A transportation system linking national highways, provincial roads with intra-district roads such as inter-village roads, field access roads, forestry roads for planting and harvesting forest products; - Systems of seed farms, veterinary stations, plant protection stations, agricultural machinery repair stations, etc.; - Systems of agricultural tool repair facilities, agricultural and forestry product processing facilities, feed processing facilities for animal husbandry, dedicated transport facilities, and construction material production facilities; - Systems of supply stations, stores, and warehouses for various materials, agricultural and forestry products, consumer goods. These should be established and arranged reasonably based on the volume of goods, flow patterns, and characteristics of each type of goods, avoiding dispersion while ensuring convenience for production, circulation, and distribution. To concentrate trading activities, agricultural supply stations should operate specialized items such as chemical fertilizers, veterinary medicines and equipment, plant protection chemicals and sprayers, traditional and improved tools, small machinery and parts, draft animals, etc. Agricultural and forestry product purchasing stations should adjust their networks towards unification and concentration.

2. Regarding the planning work for agriculture and forestry at the district level.

a) The district must proactively develop production plans, delivery and purchase plans for agricultural and forestry products, proactively develop plans for material supply and capital provision, proactively develop plans for applying technological progress, plans for improving people's living standards, etc. These plans form a unified and balanced whole: on one hand, they affirm the economic responsibility of the district towards the State and production units, on the other hand, they require all levels and sectors to ensure the necessary means for plan completion.

b) To develop and implement agricultural and forestry plans well, it is necessary to gradually create more favorable conditions. This involves stabilizing district production planning and cooperative production directions and tasks, clearly and accurately defining production targets and purchases, ensuring technical materials and capital for production units, maintaining stable cooperative labor forces, aligning cooperative and service station economic and technical norms with those of the district, establishing dedicated planning organizations from cooperatives to the district, etc. On one hand, subordinate units and the district itself must quickly create conditions that can be created, on the other hand, higher levels and sectors must provide necessary conditions for the district's agricultural and forestry planning work.

c) Must establish a robust and equal two-way responsibility system so that the district level and grassroots units can effectively implement the plan. Specifically: - Production targets and delivery and purchase quotas for major agricultural and forestry products are all statutory targets. Both the cooperative and the purchasing agencies have the obligation to fulfill and exceed these targets. The statutory targets for food obligations and the purchase of agricultural and forestry products are uniformly assigned by the District Administrative Committee to cooperatives. - Technical supply targets, once approved, are statutory targets that relevant departments and technical supply stores must fully and timely meet in terms of quantity, quality, and location with stipulated transportation costs. - Investment and loan targets are statutory targets based on the approved general plan. Financial, banking, and credit institutions at the provincial and district levels are responsible for ensuring various types of capital for cooperatives and economic service bases serving agricultural and forestry production in the district, while striving to improve capital allocation and lending procedures to meet production and business needs. The entities receiving capital and loans must ensure proper use of funds, economic accounting, and timely repayment. - Agricultural machinery stations, repair services, dedicated water management agencies of the district, and other economic technical bases with contracts with cooperatives or production and business units within the district must respect the contracts. Both parties must create favorable conditions to jointly implement the contracts. Any party failing to comply with the contract will be subject to legal proceedings before competent authorities.

d) Planning work must thoroughly implement the principle of centralized democracy to ensure that production, business, and service units at the grassroots level collect extensive public opinions, providing solid grounds for the district and higher levels to build and direct the implementation of plans effectively. Necessary procedures such as inspection, project planning, protection and review of plans, formal assignment and supervision of plan implementation must be respected.

Chapter V. For midland and mountainous districts. Here, land areas are still vast, with many ethnic groups and different regions, and few material and technical foundations have been established. In organizing and improving agricultural and forestry production management from the grassroots level, apart from the common tasks mentioned above, attention should be paid to the following matters:

1. Based on central zoning and provincial planning, it is necessary to investigate and survey, grasp the specific situation of land, water sources, climate, and weather, set general production directions for the district and each small region, develop appropriate agricultural and forestry production structures, and determine the position of each crop and animal within the district's territory.

2. Develop medium-term economic and technical plans as a basis for annual and long-term plans. In planning and schemes, clearly reflect the integration of agriculture with forestry, especially large-scale forestry areas with specialized characteristics (raw materials for paper and fiber), boldly introduce dryland crops into new structures, clearly define the direction to achieve the highest possible food production and leverage the strengths of mountainous centers.

3. Building material and technical foundations and introducing science and technology into agricultural and forestry production must start from reality, consider multiple options, prioritize immediate needs, but primarily aim to maximize land use within the district, particularly barren hill areas, gradually shifting farming and breeding methods towards intensive, specialized socialist large-scale production. To achieve this, it is necessary to make full use of existing labor and actively recruit additional labor from lowland areas; infrastructure and water management must be prioritized, production must be linked with processing and circulation, planting and breeding must have sufficient and good seeds, and seedling nurseries, green manure crops, and cover crops must be given due importance. Particularly, soil erosion prevention, soil protection, and enhancement must be emphasized in various stages of midland and mountainous work.

4. Midland and mountainous districts also have nomadic and semi-nomadic ethnic minorities, or settled but still practicing shifting cultivation. Organizing production and improving agricultural and forestry management from the grassroots level is also to implement Resolution No. 38-CP of the Council of Ministers under new conditions. Where there are fewer nomadic and semi-nomadic people, production organization should address their issues; for highland border districts, the current planning and economic and technical schemes are aimed at settling all residents in the district through permanent settlement, from which progress can be made.

5. Based on Decision No. 129-CP and guidance from central ministries, the District Administrative Committee implements the assignment of land and forests to operating cooperatives as pilot projects to draw lessons. The District Administrative Committee participates with provincial and central sectors in reviewing the directions and planning of farms and forest farms within the district, properly resolving land boundaries between cooperatives and farms, and between cooperatives and family sideline economic lands, creating conditions for production bases to stabilize and promote unity among ethnic groups.

6. To facilitate the smooth conduct of the campaign and to meet the long-term tasks of the midlands and mountainous regions in the new phase, training and enhancing cadres of ethnic minorities is very fundamental: before launching the campaign, it is necessary to enhance the knowledge of most village cadres, cooperative cadres, and district cadres. Central sectors need to supplement mountainous districts with cadres capable of handling sectoral tasks. The Government's organizational body needs to build and submit to the Government for approval by the second quarter of 1976 a cadre policy for the mountainous regions. In the long term, central sectors need to review planning, programs, and training targets for ethnic minority cadres, and adopt practical measures to be submitted to the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers by the third quarter of 1976.

C. REGARDING THE STATE ADMINISTRATION AT THE PROVINCE LEVEL AND CENTRAL SECTORS

1. At the provincial and centrally governed city level. Reorganizing production and improving agricultural and forestry management at the district level is essential to create conditions for provinces and centrally governed cities to fulfill their comprehensive planning tasks over a wide territorial area firmly. For agricultural and forestry production, provinces and centrally governed cities must provide strict guidance, mobilize timely and effective support from relevant sectors for agriculture and forestry, and assist districts in fulfilling their tasks. Provinces and centrally governed cities should undertake the following:

a) Complete the zoning and planning within the province and promptly submit the formal review of the agricultural and forestry production zones of the province to the Council of Ministers for approval by the third quarter of 1976. Improve planning work, starting from the requirement to make the district a planning level and link the national agricultural and forestry development plan through the province to the district and cooperative plans. Fully implement all procedures for reviewing plans for the district and surrounding sectors to link sectoral plans with the provincial level.

b) Create every condition to help districts reorganize production and improve agricultural and forestry management on the district territory. For matters that districts cannot handle, mobilize all capabilities to assist in solving them, such as building transportation, irrigation, technical networks, investment capital, cadre training, etc.

c) Closely monitor the implementation of economic contracts; enhance the legal nature of contract execution and gradually establish and implement responsibility systems for agricultural and forestry production management within the province specifically.

d) Quickly deploy a large number of cadres with quality, technical skills, and economic management expertise to work long-term in districts and cooperatives.

e) Rectify the economic information system from the grassroots to the province to promptly grasp production situations and guide districts and surrounding sectors to quickly resolve difficulties for the grassroots.

g) Direct the implementation of economic policies and management systems already issued and propose amendments and supplements to the Council of Ministers regarding necessary policy and system adjustments.

2. Regarding central sectors. Reorganizing production and improving agricultural and forestry management from the grassroots requires state agencies from the central to local levels to fully address many specific issues.

a) The Central Agricultural Committee together with the Forestry General Administration, which are key bodies for agriculture and forestry, must have comprehensive plans, linking production plans with financial resources, materials, cadres, technical equipment, production plans, product procurement and delivery plans to the State, and people's living requirements.

b) The State Planning Commission, in collaboration with the Central Agricultural Committee and the Forestry General Administration, must study improvements in the construction and implementation of agricultural and forestry plans. Plans must respond to general State requirements and be based on grassroots conditions; they must actively create conditions for each cooperative to be a planning unit and each district to be a planning level.

c) Industrial, small-scale industrial, handicraft, foodstuff, construction, domestic trade, foreign trade, transportation, financial, banking institutions, the State Planning Commission, the State Price Control Committee, etc., according to their functions, solve problems in accordance with the requirements of agricultural and forestry development and cooperative management; assist districts and cooperatives in rapidly forming material and technical bases serving agriculture and forestry, while strengthening organization and improving their own sectoral work at the district level.

d) Mass mobilization, cultural, educational, health, internal security, defense agencies must have plans to serve agriculture and forestry, and promote revolutionary movements in

                                            II IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN

A. REGARDING FUNDAMENTAL MATTERS

1. The Government will examine the report on zoning and planning for agricultural, forestry, and agro-industrial processing regions in May 1976. The Government will approve the production planning and economic-technical schemes for some pilot districts by the second quarter of 1976. Provincial and centrally governed city administrative committees will approve production planning and economic-technical schemes for districts in their respective provinces; district administrative committees will approve planning and production directions for cooperatives in their respective districts.

2. The Central Agricultural Committee, the Forestry General Administration, and the State Planning Commission will jointly study improvements in agricultural and forestry planning to be submitted to the Government for approval to timely serve the preparation of the 1977 State Plan and the 1976-1980 Five-Year Plan.

3. To win the anti-US struggle and save the country, the State has issued many wartime policies. Now that peace has been restored nationwide, it is necessary to gradually amend or supplement these policies to better suit peacetime and economic laws, encouraging production and labor, creating favorable conditions for cooperatives to continuously expand reproduction and supply more products to the national economy. In 1976:

a) The Central Agricultural Committee, together with relevant sectors, shall study and submit to the Government for consideration and issuance of policies to stabilize the obligation of delivering agricultural products; the supply system of State materials to cooperatives according to State planning targets; policies on purchasing agricultural products beyond obligations; preferential policies for economic and technical cadres dispatched by the State to work long-term at cooperatives and other cooperative cadres.

b) The State Price Commission, together with the Central Agricultural Committee and relevant sectors, shall study and submit to the Government for decision on the pricing system in agriculture, including purchase prices for agricultural and forest products, selling prices for production materials and retail prices for consumer goods, aimed at encouraging increased production in both good and poor land areas, particularly for foodstuffs, industrial crops, livestock products, and export products.

c) The Central Agricultural Committee and the Ministry of Finance shall study and pilot the transition from distributing income in cooperatives primarily in kind to distributing it in cash, and the shift from current agricultural tax to income tax.

4. The Central Agricultural Committee, together with the Ministry of Finance, shall study and submit to the Government for decision on training and improving various types of cadres for cooperatives and counties, following the direction that all leading and key technical cadres of cooperatives and county agricultural committees must undergo formal training or refresher courses; the State shall sponsor cooperative cadres' education, and cooperatives must create favorable conditions for cadres to attend training, providing additional support to their families during this period if they face difficulties.

5. Relevant central sectors, along with provincial and centrally-administered city levels, shall promptly determine tasks, organizational structures, and working methods at the county level, strengthen cadres, and build necessary material-technical facilities according to unified regulations at the county level, to actively assist counties and through them promote agricultural and forestry activities, serving cooperatives.

B. REGARDING IMMEDIATE MATTERS

1. The Central Agricultural Committee and the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Machinery and Metallurgy, shall review and equip state tractor stations and small tractors of cooperatives more comprehensively with working machines and trailers to fully utilize tractor capacity, including transportation. Actively address the issue of spare parts replacement, machine repair, and tool improvement for cooperatives.

2. The Central Agricultural Committee, together with the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Electricity and Coal, shall discuss and implement plans to ensure energy availability to fully mobilize pump capacity for flood control during the July-August 1976 flood season.

3. The Central Agricultural Committee, together with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Construction, the General Administration of Chemicals, etc., and the Ministry of Transport, shall review transport plans for chemical fertilizers, lime for fields, etc., to ensure timely delivery to cooperatives for this crop season.

4. The Food and Commodity Sector, the Ministry of Internal Trade, the Central Agricultural Committee shall strictly enforce the State's regulations that cooperatives are not required to transport agricultural products sold beyond a 5km range or technical materials purchased beyond this distance; if the transportation exceeds this limit, appropriate compensation must be provided, and cooperatives should not bear such costs.

5. The Central Agricultural Committee and relevant sectors shall implement the dispatch of economic and technical cadres to counties and some cooperatives. These cadres will still be paid by the State, so they can be dispatched immediately.

6. The State Price Commission shall submit to the Government for immediate issuance of pricing documents for coal sold to cooperatives for use as fuel, and for wood used in producing agricultural tools, based on production prices rather than living prices. The State Price Commission and the Ministry of Finance shall issue formal documents to implement price subsidies for agricultural tools due to increased prices of coal and wood.

7. The Central Agricultural Committee and the General Forestry Administration shall submit to the Government for issuance by May 1976 specific regulations regarding authorities and procedures for allocating land and forests to cooperatives operating in midland and mountainous regions.

8. The Central Agricultural Committee, together with the Central Agriculture Bureau, shall assist the Party Secretariat and the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers in continuing to guide and direct the holding of collective farmer representative congresses at the provincial level, prepare well for the holding of the central-level collective farmer representative congress, and effectively promote the results of collective farmer representative congresses at various levels in places where they have been held.

9. The State Bank, together with the Central Agricultural Committee, shall study and submit to the Government for approval the write-off of debts for agricultural cooperatives with legitimate reasons for debt relief by the State and policies for remaining debts.

10. The State Planning Commission shall closely monitor and enhance the balance of the 1976 agricultural and forestry plan, prepare well for the 1976-1977 winter-spring crop, create favorable conditions for the movement to reorganize production and improve management of agriculture and forestry at the grassroots level.

                                III ORGANIZATION AND GUIDANCE OF THE MOVEMENT

The Council of Ministers decides on the following points regarding the organization and guidance of implementing the movement:

1. It is necessary to closely combine the implementation of this resolution with the implementation of Decrees No. 172-CP, No. 24-CP, and Resolution No. 19-CP to ensure close integration of sectoral management and planning with territorial management and planning.

2. The implementation of this movement must be closely linked with regular production guidance, currently focusing on continued care, harvesting, distribution, and fulfilling obligations to the State in the spring-summer crop, preparing and doing well the 1976 crop, building and implementing well the 1977 plan, promoting afforestation, logging, and transporting forest products, ensuring the needs of the State and the people.

3. During the implementation of the movement, guidance must be concentrated on certain key areas. These include rice and crop production areas, food belt areas, export agricultural product production areas, new economic zones, forest planting areas for industry...

4. Each relevant Ministry and each province must develop a plan to implement this resolution. The plan must be specific and based on the Government Council's resolution, it should outline the tasks to be carried out and the timeframes for completion for each task. The plan must be submitted to the Prime Minister's Office.

5. Each relevant Ministry must assign a leader to oversee the implementation of this resolution. The specialized department assisting in this matter is the department currently aiding in the guidance of implementing Decrees No. 172-CP, No. 24-CP, and Resolution No. 19-CP, which will be strengthened with staff knowledgeable about the issues raised in this resolution. At the provincial, city, and district levels, the Chairman of the Administrative Committee must personally lead this campaign, with close cooperation from the Vice-Chairman responsible for agriculture. The specialized agency assisting the Chairman of the Administrative Committee is the Provincial, City, or District Agriculture Committee, and the agricultural oversight unit of the Administrative Committee.

6. In cooperatives, under the direct guidance of the County Administrative Committee and the County Agriculture Committee, or the County Agriculture and Forestry Committee (and at the commune level in midland and mountainous areas), immediate implementation of the campaign is necessary, closely combining the reorganization of production and improvement of cooperative management with crop care, harvesting, distribution, and fulfilling obligations to the State during the winter-spring season, preparing and doing well the summer-autumn season in 1976, and building and effectively implementing the 1977 plan.

7. At the Government Council: The Standing Committee of the Government Council shall direct the implementation of this resolution and make specific assignments within the Standing Committee to mobilize and coordinate the efforts of various sectors and levels to intensify the campaign. The Central Agriculture Committee has the responsibility to assist the Standing Committee of the Government Council in monitoring and directing the implementation of this resolution.

8. At the Prime Minister's Office, at Ministries, and at Provincial, City, and District Administrative Committees, there must be clearly defined times each week to address issues related to the implementation of this resolution. Monthly reports on the implementation of this resolution must be submitted by relevant Ministries and Provincial, City Administrative Committees to the Prime Minister.

                                                         PRESIDIO OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

                                                      PRIME MINISTER

                                                   VICE PRIME MINISTER

                                                   (Signed)

Nguyễn Duy Trinh