Jong Ha Bae, FAO Chief Representative, was speaking at a meeting in Hanoi on October 14 announcing the 2012-2016 Vietnam-FAO cooperation programme.

According to Jong, an agriculture-based country like Vietnam needs to restructure its farming system to address macroeconomic instability, including slow growth recovery and big trade deficit.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu emphasised that agriculture plays an important role in ensuring food security and social welfare and contributing to poverty reduction in Vietnam.

She pointed out the fact that the country’s agriculture will find it difficult to develop sustainably if it only relies on exploiting natural resources, excessively using input materials, and exporting unprocessed products.

It’s time to apply a new sustainable production model focusing on product quality, efficiency and added values, she said.

The 2012-16 programme identifies UN support for Vietnam in the next five years to meet national socio-economic development targets in the 2011-2015 and 2011-2020 periods.

It will support Vietnam’s policy and legal framework on livelihood, nutrition and food security, and accelerate institutional restructuring to boost the development of the agricultural market. It will assist Vietnam with climate change adaptation and mitigation, including coping with and managing disasters, building early warning systems and minimising the effects of global warming.

The programme will also help improve the sustainable supply of agricultural goods and services, raise value and reduce losses post-harvest, and encourage vulnerable farmers to take part in effective food and agriculture systems.

Thu acknowledged assistance from FAO, international organisations and donors and expressed her hope to receive more technical and financial support from the international community.

International assistance help Vietnam successfully restructure agriculture and implement a national target programme on agriculture, farmers, and rural areas to develop a green agriculture, and raise added value and competitive edge of agro-forestry and fisheries products.

Source: VOV