Top legislator values water academy’s contributions to agricultural development

Hanoi (VNA) – Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has praised the Vietnam Academy for Water Resources (VAWR) for its contributions to the development of irrigation and agriculture sector in general over the last six decades.

Ngan made the praise at a ceremony to celebrate the VAWR’s 60th founding anniversary (1959 – 2019) in Hanoi on December 3.

Irrigation plays a crucial part in Vietnam where agriculture has a long history, she said.  

Though the irrigation sector does not directly generate profit, it helps foster the development of agriculture and other economic sectors and bring farmers a better life.

She affirmed that the Party and State have always paid attention to the development of the irrigation sector and people in charge of the work.

The top legislator spoke highly of the academy’s contributions to building, restoring, upgrading and protecting irrigation systems across the country, especially dyke systems in the northern region. It has helped develop irrigation works on soft soil in the Mekong Delta to control salinity, making the region a national hub of rice and fruit farming and fishery, she said.

The NA leader urged the VAWR to research and find effective solutions to climate change-related issues in Vietnam and provide scientific grounds for agricultural policy-making.

The academy must apply technology to effectively respond to impacts of climate change which are becoming more extreme and unpredictable, and at the same time, help ensure the water security for sustainable economic development in the long run, Ngan said.

It should also enhance cooperation with other institutes of agriculture studies to produce high-quality studies that help solve issues of the agriculture sector, she added.

The academy must become a pioneer in developing irrigation studies and technologies in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, she said.

Also at the ceremony, the top legislator presented the VAWR the Order of Ho Chi Minh while Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong awarded the second- and third-class Labour Orders to seven individuals of the academy./.