This activity is a part of a series of events of the Special Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF)", taking place in Hue from 4 to 9 August 2019, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Cooperation for development was the aim of the conference
Attending the conference were more than 150 delegates who are senior officials of 10 ASEAN countries, Asean Deputy Secretary General, leaders of relevant agencies from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of ASEAN countries and international organizations. On the Vietnamese side, there were Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Le Quoc Doanh; Chairman of Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Phan Ngoc Tho.
Looking forward to cooperation opportunities
According to the introduction of Chairman Phan Ngoc Tho at the opening ceremony, Thua Thien Hue is located in the central key economic region. In recent years, the provincial socio-economy has seen positive changes. The average economic growth rate in the 2016-2018 period was 7.3%. The economic structure has shifted consistently with the development orientation of the province on the basis of advantages in tourism, cultural services, education, health, science and technology development.
However, in general, the agricultural sector has not developed in line with its potential and is not truly sustainable. The restructuring of the agricultural sector in key fields and products remains slow and there have been no breakthroughs to promote agricultural development.
According to the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, agriculture in Thua Thien Hue has much potential, especially processed products with high added value and technology application products. Accordingly, Thua Thien Hue will prioritize the development of projects on researching advanced scientific and technological application of crop varieties/animal breeding, high-tech farming processes, VietGAP and organic standards, linkage for consumption and processing of high-quality products. The province will also focus on developing husbandry, raising shrimps on sandy area according to farm size, developing high-tech farms; developing large timber plantations with FSC certification ...
Agricultural products participating in the exhibition
The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also expressed his wish that through the conference, the province will attract more investment and technology transfer from ASEAN countries, and China, Japan and Korea, to promote local agricultural development.
Adapting to climate change
Within the framework of AMAF ASEAN + 3, delegates from the countries discussed and approved some of the priority issues in the agricultural sector such as the ASEAN + 3 policy framework related to food, agriculture, and forestry; the cooperation activities of AMAF ASEAN + 3 included food security, sustainable forest management; climate change response and adaptation; disease control and management in crop and livestock. In addition, there were discussions on the preparation for the 19th AMAF ASEAN +3 conference in Darussalam, Brunei in 2020.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Le Quoc Doanh affirmed that ASEAN countries and 3 partner countries have had a long-term friendly cooperative relationship. Vietnam attaches great importance to promoting experience-sharing partnerships in the agriculture and forestry sector in order to enhance common prosperity for the whole region.
Currently, agriculture not only focuses on increasing productivity and output but also seeks solutions to pressing issues. In particular, agriculture is increasingly facing many challenges from epidemics, natural disasters, and climate change which affect production and people's lives. They directly affect food security and pose threats to the attained results of economic development and poverty reduction.
Chairman of the provincial People's Committee introduced to the Deputy Minister the traditional products of Hue
The Deputy Minister highly appreciated the implementation of the ASEAN + 3 Emergency Rice Reserve Fund Agreement, the information and food security system in the region to deal with the consequences of natural disasters in the region. He said that climate change adaptation is the foundation to ensure sustainable agricultural development. Farmers, especially smallholder farmers, need to have access to information technology, market development, and investment to face new challenges.
Accordingly, it is suggested that ASEAN + 3 countries continue to promote cooperation in professional development and science and technology transfer in each country. At the same time, the Deputy Minister congratulated ASEAN + 3 on the important results achieved in the "ASEAN + 3 Cooperation Strategy for the period of 2016 - 2025" with many programs, projects, research and development activities in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fishery. He called for the ASEAN + 3 countries to continue promoting cooperation in professional development, technology transfer and innovation in agriculture in each country.
Story and photos: Hoang Loan