PM highlights significance of agriculture, farmers, rural areas

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addesses the ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Addressing a ceremony in Hanoi on October 11 to mark the 90th anniversary of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union (VNFU), the Government leader lauded and highly valued the great efforts and contributions of the union and farmers across the nation to the Party’s revolutionary cause throughout the past 90 years.

During 35 years of renewal and international integration, the VNFU has showed strong performance in connecting the Party and State with the farmer class, while protecting the legitimate rights and interests of farmers, said the PM.

He said that the union has given various proposals and advice to the Party and State on orientations and policies for agricultural development and the building of the farmer class as well as rural areas, while engaging in social supervision and critics as well as Party and government building.

He affirmed that the Government has exerted efforts to seek new export markets for Vietnamese farm produce, along with efforts in the settlement of issues related to inputs for the agricultural sector such as fertilisers and pesticides and problems affecting interests of Vietnamese farmers. Therefore, Vietnam has become one of the top exporters of agricultural products in the world, he added.

He highlighted that important achievements of the agricultural sector has helped ensure national food security and boost rural development, contributing to ensuring political stability, social order and safety and enhancing Vietnam’s position in the world arena.

However, he also pointed to a number of problems facing the sector, including shortcomings in trademark building. The investment in agriculture in mountainous and remote areas has remained difficult, while the rich-poor gap between urban and rural areas is still an existing problem, he added.

He noted that many Vietnamese products are facing fierce competition at home, while natural disasters and epidemics are posing great impacts on agricultural sector as well as the living conditions of farmers.

In this context, the PM asked farmers and the union to reform their operation to promote their role and position, meeting requirements of the revolution in the new stage.

Along with maintaining close contact with farmers to report their aspirations to the Party and State, the VNFU should optimise resources of the farmer class to boost the sector’s growth, he asked.

He also stressed the need to strengthen vocational training to enhance the quality of Vietnamese farmers, while multiplying effective models in poverty reduction and business development.

At the event, Chairman of the VNFU Central Committee Thao Xuan Sung said that the union comprises nearly 10.2 million members at four levels of central, provincial, district and communal levels.

Over the years, the farmers’ production development movements have been responded by farmers with fruitful results.

Rice export volume had risen to 6.37 million tonnes in 2019 from 1.4 million in 1989, making Vietnam the world top country in rice export volume. Meanwhile, per capita income of farmers rose to 40 million VND per year in 2019 from 10 million VND in 2009, while the ratio of poor households was reduced to 4.7 percent.

Sung attributed the success of the restructuring of agriculture in line with the development of rural economy and new-style rural area building to farmers' thinking change from traditional production practices to cooperation with other sectors.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented Ho Chi Minh Order of the State President to the VNFU Central Committee. Fourteen outstanding farmers were also honoured with the Labour Order, third class.

Source: VNA