This was the advice given by the Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Jacques Diouf.
He was speaking at a meeting held in northern Phu Tho Province on Monday to mark the 30th anniversary of World Food Day this Saturday.
The head of FAO in Viet Nam, Yuriko Shoji, said the fight against hunger and poverty was very important, particularly for Viet Nam.
She said FAO was committed to working with other organisations to continue assistance in fighting hunger and poverty by ensuring sustainable agricultural production.
She added that FAO had supported sustainable forestry and agricultural production projects in northern mountain regions and that some had been implemented effectively.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said Viet Nam did not face food shortages, but agricultural production had been hindered by natural disasters, diseases and climate change.
He said that together with soaring food prices, this caused difficulties for those living in areas with high rates of poverty.
Figures from the General Statistics Office show that more than 284,000 households containing about 2.6 million people suffered from time to time hunger in Viet Nam in the first nine months of this year, particularly in northern mountainous areas.
Ensuring sustainable agricultural production and balancing food production among regions required long-term plans, Thu said, adding that the ministry and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had agreed on a food security master plan targeting 3.8 million hectares of rice cultivation by 2030 with total food production output of 40 million tonnes per year.
Director of the ministry's Crop Cultivation Department Nguyen Tri Ngoc said it was essential to keep rice growing in line with the increasing population.
He added that, at the same time, there was a decreasing amount of farm land because of industrialisation and urbanisation.
"One of important measures is to increase State investment in infrastructure, supporting farmers with rice varieties, techniques and training and giving priority policies to localities which are specialising in rice production," he said.
FAO estimates that there are now almost one billion malnourished people in the world. This means that almost one-sixth of all humanity is suffering from hunger. — VNS
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