Faced with this reality, at the 22nd Session, the 15th provincial People’s Council will consider and approve a Resolution regulating agricultural production support policies to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters and epidemics - creating a legal basis to help farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises reduce losses, and soon stabilize and recover production.

In the 2018 - 2025 period, the entire province had 125.64ha of crops, 0.13ha of forestry trees, and 8.65ha of aquaculture damaged by natural disasters, and 408 animals and over 1,605 tons of livestock affected by diseases. Faced with this situation, localities proactively used central and local budget reserves to promptly support people in overcoming the damage. The total support funding during this period was over VND 67.2 billion, of which VND 58.8 billion was for production support and VND 8.4 billion was for forces participating in animal disease prevention and control.

According to Chu Thị Thanh Xuân, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, in the 2018 - 2025 period, localities implemented support policies for agricultural production damage according to the Government’s Decree No.02/2017/NĐ-CP and the provincial People’s Committee’s Decision No.21/2018/QĐ-UBND. However, reality showed that this policy had many limitations, such as: the scope of support did not fully cover all subjects; the support level was not close to the actual costs, and was not suitable for each group of crops and livestock.

In addition, the support level for forces directly involved in animal disease prevention and control, according to Decision No.605/QĐ-UBND dated July 12, 2012, of the provincial People’s Committee, is VND 100,000 /person/workday and VND 200,000 /person/day off or holiday, which is now too low compared to the general labor market. This makes mobilizing forces difficult, especially in preventing diseases transmissible from animals to humans. Furthermore, there are no regulations on support regimes for those who directly participate in statistical work and verifying damage caused by natural disasters and epidemics.

Currently, the Government has issued two new Decrees: Decree No.09/2025/NĐ-CP dated January 10, 2025, on policies to support agricultural production in regions damaged by natural disasters and plant pests, and Decree No.116/2025/NĐ-CP dated June 5, 2025, regulating policies to support recovery from animal diseases. These two Decrees provide clearer and more comprehensive regulations on the subjects and levels of support, while also increasing them to match current production realities, completely replacing Decree No.02/2017/NĐ-CP.

Chu Thị Thanh Xuân, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: “Reality poses an urgent requirement to have a support policy suitable for local specifics, to promptly support production facilities, create strong motivation, and help farmers and businesses feel secure in restoring production and proactively responding more effectively to natural disasters and epidemics. On that basis, the Department has organized field surveys, developed, and advised the provincial People’s Committee to submit to the provincial People’s Council the issuance of a policy to support organizations and individuals in agricultural production affected by natural disasters and epidemics.”

The draft Resolution Regulating policies to support agricultural production to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters, plant pests, and animal diseases in Điện Biên province has specified the provisions of Government Decrees No.09/2025/NĐ-CP and No.116/2025/NĐ-CP. A key new feature is the expansion of the scope and beneficiaries. Previously, small and medium-sized enterprises were not eligible for support, but now, this group has been added, making the policy coverage broader and more practical.

The policy also regulates support levels according to the growth stage and damage level of crops and livestock, ensuring suitability with the actual investment costs of production facilities. Notably, the support level for forces directly involved in animal disease prevention and control is significantly increased: Those not receiving a state salary are supported with VND 400,000/workday and VND 500,000 /day off or holiday; state-salaried individuals are supported with VND 150,000 and VND 300,000/day, respectively.

The historic flash flood in early August caused severe damage to the family of Quàng Văn Học, Residential Group 3 (Na Son commune). More than 3,000m² of seasonal rice was completely buried, 2,000m² of fish ponds along with over 7 quintals (700kg) of market-ready fish were washed away, with the total estimated damage at about VND 60 million. According to Học’s calculations, the total cost to reclaim the fish ponds and rice fields to restore production is expected to be from VND 60 - 70 million.

Quàng Văn Học shared: “After the flood, my family’s life became even more difficult. If the province issues a mechanism and policy with a higher support level, households like mine will have more resources to overcome the damage, reclaim our fields and ponds, restore production, and gradually stabilize our lives.”

The Tuấn Thanh livestock farm (team 2, Núa Ngam commune) is implementing a high-tech commercial pig farming model, with a scale of 75 sows and about 400 pigs, operating in a closed-loop process. Trần Thanh Tuấn, the farm owner, shared: “The new support policy will help households and agricultural production facilities feel secure in investing and expanding their farming and cultivation scale. With the government accompanying businesses, it will create motivation to promote sustainable private economic development in the area.”

Lỳ Thị Phương Diện, Head of the Economic-Budget Committee of the provincial People’s Council, noted: “The provincial People’s Committee submitting this Resolution to the provincial People’s Council for consideration and issuance... is a necessary policy, consistent with the province’s current situation. The contents of the resolution, from the applicable subjects, the support levels for production facilities and small and medium-sized enterprises, to the support regime for forces participating in animal disease recovery, are all built to be practical and ensure uniformity with the policies and regulations of the Government.”

The Resolution Regulating policies to support agricultural production to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters, plant pests, and animal diseases in the province, once issued and brought to life, will promptly share the difficulties with the people, production facilities, and businesses, helping to stabilize lives, encourage production and re-production, ensure social security, and create motivation to successfully implement the province’s socio-economic development goals.