Ben Tre province now has all 24 of its communes involved in the national new rural development program. 5 of them have completed all 19 of the program’s criteria. Ben Tre intends to have 9 more communes fulfilling the program’s criteria by next year. Ben Tre’s success is a result of the engagement of both the local government and the public, thanks to local authorities promoting rural development activities as a key task in local socio-economic and cultural development. Ben Tre has done a good job of getting businesses and social organizations involved in the program. Ben Tre has raised more than 560 million USD for the program this year alone.

Ben Tre City’s Phu Nhuan commune is one of the province’s 4 leading localities in new rural development. Phu Nhuan has completed all of the program’s 19 criteria. Vo Minh Hung, Deputy President of the Phu Nhuan communal War Veteran’s Association, said: "Other association members and I always do our best to contribute to the commune’s new rural development program. We’ve encouraged our members to donate land, money, and labor to upgrade the local infrastructure and complete other criteria of the program."

Public consensus has enabled the rapid upgrading of Ben Tre’s infrastructure. Le Van Thao who lives in Dai Dien commune, Thach Phu district said: "I was very willing to respond to the local authorities’ appeal to build new roads to make it easier for local people to travel and transport goods. It is now much easier for the local children to go to school."

Dang Tuy Phong, Secretary of Chau Thanh district’s Huu Dinh communal Party Committee, told VOV: "It’s important to make people understand that they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the national new rural development program. People are put at the center of the program, which increases their incomes and improves local traffic and environment."

In 4 years, Ben Tre’s economy has grown 7%. 80% of the province’s communes have completed the program’s traffic criteria, 90% of local households are now connected to the national grid, and 83% of them have access to clean water. Ho Van Thiet, a member of Ben Tre’s New Rural Development Program’s Steering Committee, told VOV: "Ben Tre hopes to have 4 more communes complete the program’s criteria by the end of this year. Relevant agencies will soon visit these communes to assess the situation there and promote the program’s implementation role model."