The statement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai at the eighth National Farmers’ Forum, themed “Vietnam Farmers’ Association participate in collective economy development”, which took place in Hanoi, on September 12.
The event was held by the Vietnam Farmers’ Union (VFU) Central Committee, in collaboration with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communications and Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The forum also drew the participation of leaders from ministries, agencies, associations and localities, experts, scientists and enterprises, as well as 100 outstanding farmers in 2023 and representatives from 63 cooperatives around the country.
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An overview of the forum. (Photo: KIM LINH) |
Addressing the forum, Deputy PM Le Minh Khai noted, that the Party and State identified and considered the collective economy as one of the four indispensable economic components, which created the superiority of the socialist-oriented market economy in Vietnam.
Thanks to the support from many Farmers’ Associations at all levels, many cooperatives have become profitable and created more jobs with high-quality and safe agricultural products, especially brands under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme, he added.
The Deputy PM also stressed that the cooperatives today still face many difficulties and challenges, in terms of capital, land, agricultural product consumption, management capacity, mechanisms and policies related to the operation of the cooperatives in the agricultural sector.
In that spirit, Deputy PM Khai asked leaders of ministries, agencies, localities, and the Vietnam Farmers' Union to urgently focus on implementing eight key solutions and tasks, to promote the development of the collective economy in agriculture.
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Farmer Nguyen Kim Thanh, Director of Thanh Tam Bamboo Shoot Growing and Production Cooperative in Binh Phuoc Province, delivers his opinions at the forum. (Photo: KIM LINH) |
The participants delivered several reports and presentations, discussing main topics, including the current status of the collective economy in general and the operation of cooperatives that have been supported by the Vietnam Farmers' Union.
In addition, the experiences, lessons, mechanisms and policies to encourage the establishment of cooperatives in agriculture, as well as the measures to promote the collective economy development in agriculture towards creating multi-value chain links, were also highlighted at the forum.
Agricultural Attaché at the US Embassy in Vietnam James Yi said the US always highly values the cooperation from Vietnamese functional agencies, especially the support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade, to carry out the projects and solve important problems. He also noted that the US and Vietnam currently have a strong cooperation in trade, with a total trade and investment turnover between the two countries reaching about 1.6 trillion USD.
In 2022, the trade in agricultural products between the two countries reached 9.8 billion USD, so Vietnam became the 9th largest importer of agricultural products from the US and the US was the No.1 importer of agricultural products from Vietnam. The great growth is the result of the strong and close partnerships, cooperation and commitment among agencies, businesses, farmers and all parties in the agricultural community from the two countries, added James Yi.
Within the framework of the forum, the Network of Outstanding Vietnamese Farmers was officially launched, aiming to connect nearly 800 outstanding farmers who have been honoured over the past 11 years and representatives of typical cooperatives and businesses operating in the agriculture and rural development sector.
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A wide variety of OCOP products are displayed at the forum. (Photo: KIM LINH) |
The Network was formed based on voluntary and autonomous activities with diverse forms. It is expected that the network will have main departments, including an Executive Board, Secretariat and Communications Board. The network will operate mainly on a digital platform and some in-person activities.
According to statistics, Farmers’ Associations nationwide have mobilised to establish nearly 3,800 cooperatives and about 20,000 cooperative groups in the agriculture and rural development sector and other industries.
