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Minister Le Minh Hoan: “We must change our mind on agricultural production”

01/ 12/ 2021

According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan the approach that the agricultural industry must rank first or second in the world in terms of production must be changed

The Workshop “General Consultation on Agricultural Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2030. Photo: Nongnghiep.vn

The largest production doesn’t mean the highest growth rate

On November 29, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held the Workshop “General Consultation on Agricultural Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050”

According to Le Minh Hoan, Minister of the MARD, Vietnam’s agricultural industry currently has two big problems. First, the development of the industry has still been based on the separate sectors such as livestock, aquaculture and crop cultivation meanwhile the new approach is the integration of all sectors and multi-value resonance.

Second, the agricultural industry has still required a lot of land and high input costs instead of the applications of technologies, circular agriculture solutions or organic farming.

 “Agricultural Development Strategy for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050 figure out the problems the agricultural sector needs to solve. The old approach that we must rank first or second in the world in terms of production is now out of date. We must change our mind,” Minister Le Minh Hoan said.

According to Minister Le Minh Hoan to reach a goal of sustainable development the agricultural industry must think beyond the production. In terms of economics, the largest production doesn’t mean the highest growth rate.

 “In recent years, GDP from agriculture has increased. However added value has been reduced due to higher input costs. As a result, farmers’ direct income is not as good as expected,” the Minister said.

According to the commander of the agricultural sector the income of the farm producers or added value must be in line with the development of the sector. It’s the added value that needs to be paid attention instead of agricultural production.

Today, the consumers have completely changed the way of choosing products. They no longer buy agricultural products based on prices but they are paying more attention to other factors such as the safety of the products, the nutrient value, and the products with environmental benefits.

 “The strategy must aim at the comprehensive development. It’s not only the growth rate of agriculture industry but also the job creation. In that strategy, every farmer must benefit from the development of the agricultural industry,’ Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized.

Towards ecological agriculture

Vietnam’s agriculture has gained many important achievements over the past years, affirming its role in the country’s economic development and social stability especially in challenging times of the economy. The export of agricultural products has constantly increased making Vietnam become one of the top agricultural producers in the world.  However there are many existing problem in the industry. The development of agricultural sector is unsustainable mainly based on the use of natural resources and depending much on foreign markets

At present, the income of the rural residents remains low. The gap between the city and the countryside remains wide. The rural communities are facing a wide range of problems such as environment pollution, cultural and social issues. Many localities even those with the advantages of agricultural development have rushed for industrial expansion and ignoring agriculture.

To solve the existing problems in the agriculture and rural development, the MARD is developing a strategy on agricultural development for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050. Accordingly the agricultural sector will continue to accelerate the restructuring of agriculture, setting a target of regaining the growth rate through improving production efficiency, adding value to products and expanding markets.

The goal of the strategy is to develop a commodity-based agriculture and adopt advanced technologies to achieve high yields, adaption to climate change and comprehensive development of the rural areas associated with the process of urbanization.

In addition, the strategy also aims at improving the income and living standard for rural residents, ensuring food security and sustainable poverty reduction in the new situation, affirming the position of the rural areas, strengthening and developing rural communities. Along with that is preserving and promoting the national cultural identity, building safe, clean and beautiful rural areas with infrastructure system and services close to those in the urban areas towards developing ecological agriculture, wealthy farmers, civilized and modern rural areas

Source: Nongnghiep.vn