Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) issued a series of personnel decisions in August and September 2026 that reshaped the leadership of its Plant Protection and Quarantine Department (Cục Trồng trọt và Bảo vệ thực vật).
On 12 August 2026, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development signed a decree transferring the incumbent director, Huỳnh Tấn Đạt, to a research team within the ministry. The decree requires Đạt to hand over all duties, files, documents and assets before assuming his new assignment. Đạt, a career plant‑protection official, previously served as Deputy Head of Plant Quarantine, Head of Food Safety and Environment, Head of the Plant Protection Pesticides Division, and Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department.
A second decision, No. 3559 dated 11 September 2026, appointed Dương Đức Huy, a 55‑year‑old member of the Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and former Head of the Provincial Propaganda Committee, as the new director. The appointment was formally presented on 15 September 2026 by Deputy Minister Nguyễn Hoàng Hiệp. Hiệp urged Huy to swiftly stabilise the department, review its organisational structure, and strengthen personnel management across subordinate units. He also called for the revision of Decree 38 and a broader review of related legal frameworks, as well as the development of commodity‑specific strategies that align state regulation with production growth and market expansion.
In his acceptance speech, Huy pledged to translate ministry directives into concrete action programmes, maintain ideological cohesion among staff, and improve the quality of institutional and technical advice. He highlighted priority areas such as the management and development of key crops, research into new high‑potential varieties, and coordinated efforts with ministry and local agencies to enhance the regulation of fertilizers and plant‑protection chemicals.