President hosts agriculture, rural development general council delegation

President Vo Van Thuong (2nd from right) and representatives from the General Council of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam at the reception (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - President Vo Van Thuong hosted a reception for a delegation from the General Council of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam on the occasion of the 10th founding anniversary of the council.

Chairman of the council Ho Xuan Hung said that after 10 years of establishment, the council has attracted more than 230 collective and 10,000 individual members, including businesses, organisations and intellectuals who share the same target of building a modern agricultural sector, rich farmers and smart rural areas.

Over the years, the council has been active in popularising and giving feedback on the Party and State policies regarding agriculture, rural development and farmers, while proposing measures to restructure the sector and promote digital transformation in agriculture, and helping farmers sell their products, he said.

Hung suggested that the State design a law on the council to enhance its operational efficiency, while issuing policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas, supporting the council in engaging in the consultation and criticising process for some national target programme, and forming a fund for the building of new-style rural area in border and island regions.

President Vo Van Thuong speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

President Thuong affirmed that the Party and State consider the development of agriculture, farmers and rural areas as a matter of strategic importance, and highlighted the contributions that the agricultural sector and farmers have made to the country’s achievements so far, especially in ensuring food security and earning a large amount of export revenue.

The State leader expressed his hope that the council will continue to encourage farmers to renew their mindset from self-supply to large-scale production, assisting farmers to become agricultural workers.

Underlining the need to complete policies to facilitate agricultural and rural development, the President asked the council to actively engage in the policy building process.

He said that the council should organise activities to support farmers, including those in vocational training, technology transfer, new-style rural area building and promotion of the role of farmers in production. The council should encourage engagement in the development of circular agricultural economy, while promoting mutual support among farmers in production and product selling, he said.

President Thuong also asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies to create favourable conditions for and support the council to enhance its operational efficiency./.

VNA