VNHN - How to develop a strong agricultural sector – a factor of sustainable development – was an issue under discussion at some workshops held in Hanoi on November 26.
The seminar focuses on measures to develop a strong agricultural sector
The events, organised by the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, were part of a national teleconference and a national exhibition reviewing the 10-year implementation of the resolution on agriculture, farmers and rural areas, issued at the seventh meeting of the 10th Party Central Committee in August 2008.
Vice Chairman of the Economic Commission Cao Duc Phat said in 2017, agriculture contributed 15.3% of total GDP, down 5.1% from 2008. The rate of agricultural labourers fell by 12.4% to 40.2%, while the rate of rural residents decreased by 6% to 65%.
These figures are predicted to drop in an even faster pace by 2030, respectively down to 10%, 25% and 55%, he said, noting that agriculture now contributes only 1% of Ho Chi Minh City’s GDP.
This is an inevitable trend that all countries have to experience on the path to prosperity, Phat said.
To modernise agriculture and improve farmers’ role and living standards, participants called for more conditions for them to change their livelihoods via diverse vocational training programmes.
Additionally, amid global economic integration, it is an urgent need to invest in agriculture and rural development and resolve rural problems so as to industrialise and modernise agriculture and rural areas, they added.
With higher productivity and quality, agricultural products have helped boost the sector’s annual growth rate to 2.66% between 2008 and 2017, and about 3.5-3.6% this year.
At the seminars, participants also discussed experience in forming sustainable agricultural value chains, hi-tech agricultural models, opportunities for Vietnamese farm produce when new-generation free trade agreements take effect, and the State’s support policies for agricultural investment./.
