A man uses a smartphone to control the spraying system for a musk melon growing farm in Ha Nam province. (Photo: VNA)
The conference on Cooperation in Training and Human Resource Developmentin Agriculture and Rural Areas organised by the Ministry of Agriculture andRural Development (MARD) drew more than 300 attendees from key ministries,agencies, and enterprises.
It is expected to help foster collaboration agreements betweencorporations, organisations, and training institutes both inside and outsidethe ministry.
Speaking at the event, the minister said the role of training andhuman resources in rural development is an important premise for improvingoutput and labour productivity, as well as competitiveness.
According to the ministry, there are around 50 universities andtraining schools that provide specialist instruction in agriculture, forestry,fisheries, and irrigation.
Human resource training for the agriculture industry currentlyfaces limitations and obstacles as the number of students pursuing this majorhas declined.
Agriculture, forestry, irrigation, and fisheries studentsaccounted for less than 2% of the total number of around 520,000students enrolled nationwide in 2022. This has a direct impact on the qualityof human resources for agricultural research, and the transfer of science andtechnology, as well as agricultural production, processing, and business.
The cause is largely due to the low wages of employees inagriculture, forestry, and fishing, which are only about half of those inmanufacturing, construction, and services.
Furthermore, some colleges continue to have a sponsored attitudeand have lacked in enrolment, while others have aggressively reinvented theiradministration, content, and teaching techniques to satisfy the needs ofstudents and the job market.
Investment in this area is, however, limited and teachingequipment is substandard and outdated.
“There should be policies to encourage students to study in socialfields that are in high demand but difficult to enrol in, such as soil science,agronomy, post-harvest technology, and so on.
"We must assign tasks to institutions that show strength intraining people in industries that are difficult to recruit for but are indemand by society,” said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Director of the VietnamAcademy of Agriculture.
MARD must prioritise investing in training institutions to providequality programmes that are closely connected to market demands.
According to MARD, by 2030, the country aims to accomplish yearlyvocational training for about 1.5 million rural employees, of which trainedagricultural labourers must exceed 70%.
It also aims to have the proportion of agricultural, forestry, andfishing employees with degrees and certifications from the elementary level orhigher rise from 4.6% in 2020 to 10% in 2030.
To achieve these goals, the ministry will mobilise resources fromthe State and society to improve training for high-quality human resources andto research and expand training at college levels according to the Japanesemodel./.
VNA
