All strategies fail because they ignore farmers' thoughts

On December 8, the ISG Plenary Conference 2022 on Food system transformation toward transparency, responsibility, and sustainability in Vietnam was held in Hanoi.

Together in action

The event co-hosted by MARD is an annual high-level policy dialogue with the participation of a number of international partners and related parties to share directions, policies, and discussions on issues to promote cooperation and support in realizing the international commitments and development goals of Vietnam in general, and agriculture - rural development in particular.

MARD has coordinated with other Ministries and units, localities, and local and foreign experts to study and draft a National Action Plan on Food system transformation towards transparency, responsibility, and sustainability in order to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals; actively participate in ensuring global food and nutrition security.

The purpose of the 2022 ISG Plenary Meeting was to consult with international partners and stakeholders over the proposed Action Plan.

According to MARD Minister Le Minh Hoan, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) has just concluded with the message "acting together," emphasizing the importance of acting together, transforming statements and commitments into concrete results and actions with themes such as climate finance, science and technology, decarbonization, forestry, water resources, response to climate change, biodiversity, and reforestation.

These contents have varying effects on the agriculture and food systems of nations. As the economic backbone of Vietnam, agriculture faces several difficulties and challenges from both internal issues and external causes such as limited resources and climate change. Global market fluctuations and shifting consumption habits.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Le Minh Hoan emphasized that in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a transformation of the food system towards transparency, responsibility, and sustainability is required to ensure that all people have access to sufficient food and nutrition and that environmental protection remains a top priority alongside natural resource preservation and climate change response.

The Minister felt that with "creative thinking" and "acting together," the relevant ministries, departments, agencies, and foreign partners would collaborate closely to accomplish the Action Plan's proposed tasks effectively. Vietnam will reach its objective of being a transparent, accountable, and sustainable food producer and provider, and "no one will be left behind."

Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Viet Nam, Mr. Rémi Nono Womdim, agreed with Mr. Le Minh Hoan on the aforementioned ideas. FAO and its members have proposed and implemented a number of significant initiatives, such as the Program on Agricultural production toward ecological model applied to crop production and fisheries, the Global program on sustainable livestock management, and the Program on sustainable forest resource management. These are solutions that can help countries achieve food security.

The FAO representative stated that the conference consulted on the National Action Plan on Food System Transformation towards Transparency, Responsibility, and Sustainability by 2030, as part of the Strategy for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development for the period of 2021-2030, Vision to 2050.

Understanding people's thought is a must

Minister Le Minh Hoan stated, "Today, we act not just for ourselves, for Vietnam, but for the entire globe.  Actions that consider not only the present but also the future will undoubtedly bring superior outcomes. Today's sowing resulted in tomorrow's harvest, but we must seed cleanly, "from farm to table," as it is stated in a slogan".

According to the Minister, transformation and change must balance long-term aims, noble ambitions for a more beautiful world, a green planet, and the daily meals of low-income individuals.

"All strategies fail if the farmer's thoughts are not taken into account. "Everyone advocates to place people at the center of all strategic planning, but we don't always comprehend what this means", Mr. Le Minh Hoan remarked.

According to the Minister, it is necessary to comprehend the thoughts and feelings, capabilities, and segmentation of the target group of farmers in order to implement appropriate action plans and awareness-raising communication strategies, so that farmers can better comprehend the necessity of transformation or change.

"We then call on farmers to change since experts, scientists, and sponsors are always there to help, advise, and motivate them. A s a result, people no longer need to be hesitant, as they are aware that a complete ecosystem is behind them, providing support and care", the Commander of the agriculture sector underlined.