Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has demanded the farming sector accelerates its restructuring with a focus on improving added value and sustainable development in line with new rural construction.

“Restructuring agriculture can only succeed when technical advances are applied in production,” said PM Dung as he took centre stage at a conference in Hanoi on December 31 to set farming tasks for next year.
According to him, it is advisable to put farmers at the centre of the process.

He said all mechanisms and policies should be conducive to rural investment, particularly in cultivation, industry and services, while more attention should be paid to agricultural processing and labour-intensive fields so as to generate jobs for rural workers.

The leader also pressed for more investment in rural infrastructure and vocational training.

At the event, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat reported that the sector grew by 2.67 percent this year, closely matching the 2.68 percent rise seen in 2012.

Next year, it looks to a growth of 2.6-3 percent and a 3.1-3.5 percent rise in production value. Agro-forestry-fishery exports are expected to hit 28.5 billion USD while the rate of forest coverage must reach 41.5 percent.

To achieve the targets, the sector will update its development plans, assist in technology transfer, and provide vocational training for farmers. Simultaneously, it will mobilise social resources to build new-style rural areas, improve irrigation, and raise resilience to climate change and natural disasters.-VNA