More investment needed in agriculture

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has called for more investment in agriculture and the promotion of rice production to ensure food security.

At a press conference in Hanoi on Nov. 9 following a ministerial round-table meeting on rice issues and food security within the framework of the third International Rice Congress, Minister Phat said the common challenges to countries are food security in the context of climate change, increasing population and shrinking areas of productive land.

Vietnam has more than 9 million hectares of agricultural land, including 4.1 million ha for rice cultivation, said the minister.

Phat said Vietnam has created a series of solutions to ensure food security by deeply reforming market mechanisms, handing land use rights to farmers and investing in irrigation systems.

In addition, Vietnam has paid attention to breeding research programmes, to create high-yield varieties, and is developing agricultural services, supplying processing equipment, exporting farm products and renovating cooperatives, he added.

At the meeting, Asian agriculture ministers focused their discussions on challenges to the development of the rice sector, putting forward measures to handle these challenges in their own countries and promote international cooperation on a global scale.

Asia is the fastest developing and largest rice production region but has the highest poverty rate, making up two-thirds of the world’s hunger population, said the conference.

Investment in agriculture and rice production remains low due to its high risk and rice diseases have developed on a larger scale.

The countries emphasised the necessity to have a new revolution in breeds and technology to increase rice yield on a global scale.

Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Robert S. Zeigler said climate change has become more severe and it has affected many nations.

Unpredictable rainfall has caused difficulties, along with storm and drought, he said.

However, the IRRI leader said he is confident that during the next 10-20 years, nations will have enough time to prepare suitable solutions to cope with climate change and have better rice management methods.

Furthermore scientific and technological development will help countries to minimise the consequences of disasters in rice production, he said./.

Related Articles

• IFC: Vietnam needs to increase PPP to support economy
• North should ensure sustainable growth
• Gov’t orders check on Guang Lian steel project
• Prime Minister discusses relations, co-operation with Lao counterpart
• Logging at hydropower, road projects to be put in check

Stable land tenure urged for farmers

PHU THO — World governments should pass laws stabilising land tenure so farmers felt secure and developed ways of producing needed food with a long term perspective.

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

Related Articles

• Holland Village Coming To Town
• Blue seas and unspoiled beaches
• Thousands await relocation
• ASEAN role sought to resolve temple conflict
• High rice price cuts exports

FAO pledges more assistance to Vietnam

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will continue to assist Vietnam in poverty reduction and sustainable agriculture production, FAO Representative in Vietnam Yuriko Shoji said.

Currently, apart from helping Vietnam to assure food security in remote areas and those affected by the impact of climate change, FAO has been helping Vietnam to establish food security law, she said.

Praising Vietnam’s efforts in reaching the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in poverty reduction and food security, especially graduating from being a recipient of food assistance to the solid position of a food exporting country, the FAO official also said she believed that with sound planning, investment and programme management, Vietnam would succeed in ensuring food security for all its people.

At a ceremony to mark 30 years of World Food Day (Oct. 16) in the midland province of Phu Tho on Oct. 11, Yuriko Shoji said this year’s topic is “United against hunger” and she called for joint efforts from individuals, agencies and countries throughout the world towards hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

FAO has reported that about one billion people, or one sixth of the world’s population, are starving.

Natural disasters and diseases, together with financial crisis, have pushed world food prices up, leading to the increasing number of starving people, according to FAO.

In the context that cultivated land is becoming more scarce, food production will have to increase by 75 percent in order to meet food demand for nine billion people in 2050, the organisation warned.

As a result, FAO General Director Jacques Diouf stressed the necessity of expanding food production to meet future demand.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Vietnam, a country with 70 percent of its population living in rural areas, has made efforts to ensure an adequate food supply for the population which is increasing by one million people every year.

Being a rice export country, Vietnam does not have to cope with food shortages. However, its agricultural production in recent years is facing hardship due to natural disasters, diseases, climate change and a reduced area of agricultural land, Thu said.

Increasing food prices also lead to higher vulnerability among particular groups of people, especially in the areas of high poverty and malnutrition rate, she added.

The General Statistics Office reported that in the first nine months of the year, more than 2.65 million people, living mainly in the northern midland and mountainous areas, are starving.

Vietnam seeks further FAO assistance in agriculture production, especially in a new rural development programme in the future, Thu said.

To develop sustainable agriculture, a food security plan developed by the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Natural Resources and Environment put forward a target of maintaining 3.8 million ha of land for agricultural production by 2030.

The ministries also help farmers develop food production cooperatives, with priority given to rice growing areas, together with increasing investment in infrastructure./.

Related Articles

• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights
• Vietnam, Australia to boost military ties
• Government vows to bail out insolvent shipbuilder Vinashin
• Ford rewards employee’s technician skills in contest
• Poor rural children blaze education trail