National Order of Agricultural Merit (Vietnam)

The Order of Merit for Agriculture was a decoration in French Indochina. The initiative to establish this order of merit came from the French colonial administrators, and the order was awarded in the Empire of Vietnam and the Kingdom of Laos. It was therefore neither a Vietnamese nor a Laotian order, and can be classed as one of the French colonial orders of chivalry.

The order was instituted in 1936. Formally, this was done by Emperor Bao Dai, who left the administration to the French colonizer.

The order was awarded by the French Governor-General in Hanoi to Vietnamese people and residents of French Indochina and the vice-kingdom of Tonkin. The order had three classes.

The Commander wore the insignia on a ribbon around the neck.

The Officer wore the insignia on a ribbon with a rosette on the left breast.

The Knight wore the insignia on a ribbon on the left breast.

It is not unusual for French colonial and ministerial orders to have these three classes and to lack a Grand Cross.

The patinated bronze insignia is rectangular and has a “Greek border,” a motif that has also traditionally been used in Vietnam. The square central medallion depicts the produce of agriculture.