The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will continue to assist Vietnam in boosting agriculture and rural development, said FAO Chief Representative in Vietnam, Yuriko Shoji. The representative made the pledge at the International Support Group (ISG) Conference 2010 opened in Hanoi on Nov 10. Over the past few years, many FAO-funded pilot projects on agriculture and rural development, targeting the management of land and forests, adaption to climate change, food security and nutrition have been carried out effectively in Vietnam to help the country realize the goal of developing new rural areas, Shoji said. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, said the key national program for new rural development in the 2011-2015 period targets to raise the rural population’s incomes in 2015 by 150% compared to 2010 and then 250% in 2020. He said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) estimated the number of poor households will fall to less than 8% by 2015 and 3% by 2020 under the national poor standards in 2007. The program aims to post between 3.5% and 4% growth in agro-forestry and fisheries, 30% of rural workers and more than 50% of trained rural workers, Phat said. To reach the goal, the Vietnamese government is focusing on rural planning, restructuring the rural economy, developing rural infrastructure and giving huge investments in disadvantaged areas. Participants at the conference proposed a framework of cooperation and international support for Vietnam’s key national program on new rural development, coordination and cooperation mechanisms between the MARD and One-UN organization to implement the program. The annual ISG conference is a policy dialogue forum between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and various ministries and sectors, donors, international and non-governmental organizations and researchers as well as domestic and foreign investors. FAO has operated in Vietnam since 1978. So far, FAO has engaged in 400 projects in Vietnam in such areas as sustained agricultural development, food security, nutrition, forestry and fishery. (VOV Nov 10, Nong Thon Ngay Nay – Countryside Today Nov 11)
