Results exceeding initial targets are establishing large-scale specialized production zones, while creating new imperatives for scientific and technological applications to elevate farming efficiency, lower costs, and progressively modernize agricultural production.

Immediately after the provincial People’s Committee issued Plan No.1850 on organizing the new planting of coffee and macadamia trees and piloting low-altitude economic development models, 43 out of 43 assigned communes and wards formulated detailed plans and mobilized for deployment. Alongside reviewing land reserves, localities mobilized cadres, armed forces, and socio-political organizations to join hands with local farmers in digging holes, preparing ground, planting, and tending trees. Technical guidance, field inspections, and progress monitoring were also rolled out across the grassroots level.

Mường Mùn stands as one of the prominent localities in executing the low-altitude economic model. The commune’s Party Committee and administration assigned cadres to the grassroots to coordinate with villages in reviewing land availability and mobilizing citizen participation, while enlisting support forces to dig planting holes, prepare sites, and tend crops.

The locality identified coffee and macadamia development as a long-term commodity production pathway tied to agricultural restructuring targets. The resolution of the commune Party Congress determined developing 1,500ha of coffee and 1,200ha of macadamia by 2030. In 2026, utilizing resources from national target programs and public participation, the commune newly planted 1,142ha of coffee and 424ha of macadamia, with local households independently planting 176ha of coffee. Compared to provincial targets assigned for the year, coffee reached 1,142 out of 400ha, and macadamia reached 424 out of 400ha. This brought the commune’s total coffee area to 1,823ha and macadamia to 1,294ha. Consequently, shortly after deploying the new planting plan, the acreage of both staple crops in Mường Mùn surpassed the development targets set for the entire 2025 - 2030 tenure.

Nguyen Manh Hung, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Mường Mùn commune, stated that to achieve such results, the locality determined the necessity of maximizing the role of the people while mobilizing support resources for production, ensuring new planting was executed synchronously with land reviews, technical guidance, and on-site progress supervision.

Beyond Mường Mùn, coffee and macadamia planting has been carried out synchronously across localities throughout the province. To date, the entire province has newly planted over 18,780ha of coffee and macadamia, reaching 156.5% of the plan. Among this, newly planted coffee reached 12,126ha, equivalent to 204.49% of the target and exceeding it by 6,196ha. Newly planted macadamia reached 6,654ha, equaling 109.62% of the plan, raising the province’s total macadamia area to 19,015ha.

Alongside expanding cultivation areas, Điện Biên is piloting the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to support agricultural production. The controlled testing scheme (sandbox) for low-altitude economic development utilizing UAVs was promulgated by the Provincial People’s Committee in July 2026. Under this scheme, Điện Biên plans to deploy 3 to 5 specialized UAV application models across agriculture, logistics, healthcare, and digital cartography, encompassing approximately 6,000 flight missions. Specialized agencies and enterprises have conducted field surveys, identifying 8 locations ready for testing, including the Tả Phìn - Tà Pao tea zone in Sính Phình commune, the Mường Thanh field area, and Thanh Nưa, Tuần Giáo, and Mường Ảng communes.

Mường Ảng is the locality selected to pilot the agricultural UAV sandbox. With over 1,800ha of existing coffee situated on hilly terrain with steep slopes, the commune assessed that UAVs could effectively support crop monitoring, growth evaluation, precision spraying, and the transport of agricultural inputs and harvested produce. Experimental foliar fertilizer spraying on 1ha of coffee reduced operational time from approximately 4 hours down to roughly 10 minutes per hectare, achieving a daily fertilizer dispersal capacity of 40 to 64ha. This provides practical grounds for the province to verify technological efficiency under specific local production conditions.

With coffee and macadamia zones expanding rapidly, testing UAV technology in crop care and logistics is opening new practical applications for agricultural production. This serves as a foundation for the province to continue refining operational models, evaluating technological performance, and progressively scaling applications suited to local production conditions and topography.