Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Sinh Hung has stressed that agriculture is Vietnam ’s key economic sector, and therefore boosting production in this field will help the country achieve international economic integration.

Chairman Hung made the statement in Hanoi on September 21 at a national conference which was held to review the use of science-technology in agricultural development based on a resolution by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The NA Chairman, who is Head of the Steering Committee reviewing the resolution’s five-year implementation, said that the meeting offered a good chance for participants, including researchers, to share their experiences and contribute to science-technology development serving the nation’s task of building agricultural and rural areas more effectively.

The conference also featured important recommendations on raising farmers’ incomes utilising newly-developed technology.

The country’s agricultural economic sector has not yet proved its required effectiveness, Chairman Hung said, citing the low competitive edge of agricultural products as an example.

He argued that as a result, science and technology play a vital role in improving the situation. He said that scientists should take responsibility for doing research repairing and improving the quality of agricultural production, building rural areas and improving farmers’ living conditions.

Since 2008, the State has spent more than 2.1 trillion VND implementing projects to build laboratories. Technological production steps have already helped to increase productivity and quality while lowering prices, helping Vietnamese products become more competitive on the world market.-VNA