Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam ispursuing an ambitious plan to become a global agricultural powerhouse by 2030,according to the Government’s Resolution 53/NQ-CP.

The resolution stipulates that Vietnam mustaim to rank among the world’s top 15 most developed agricultural countries anda global hub for agricultural logistics and processing.

In order to realise these goals, a number ofstrategic objectives must be fulfilled, said Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Nguyen Xuan Cuong.

Firstly, Vietnam must restructure itsagriculture sector with nationwide planning to establish input materialproducing regions and consumption markets. High-producing regions with skilledlabour forces and developed infrastructure and logistics networks should beearmarked for investment to serve as growth drivers for surroundinglocalities.    

The country’s agro-processing sector muststart filtering out products with low add-value and seek ways to add more valueto existing products.

Secondly, the business environment mustcontinue to improve to help facilitate investment, especially in the country’sagriculture, forestry and aquaculture sectors. The country must also build along-term development strategy to fully exploit areas where it enjoyssignificant advantages such as vegetable farming, aquaculture and woodprocessing to attract more investment.

Meanwhile, administrative reforms must targetunnecessary business requirements and conditions and build legal frameworks tohelp localities unleash their potential. For instances, farmland could berented from farmers and merged to allow greater economies of scale and higherdegree of product specialisation.

Thirdly, the country must seek to improve itsproducts to compete by supporting the formation of large enterprisesspecialised in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. Measures must also betaken to help farmers sell their products directly to domestic consumers.

Additional investment must go into thedevelopment of national brands, especially for products that have beenwidely-recognised in the international markets such as tra fish, shrimp,coffee, pepper and ginseng.

The country must also look to adopt advancedtechnology to add more value to its products, improve safety and enforceproduct origin regulations.

Lastly, Vietnam will need significantinvestment in human resources to spearhead the growth in its agriculturalsector. A new generation of workers who can use technological advances willplay a key role in connecting producers to consumers to achieve greater marketefficiency.

Meanwhile, the Government must seek ways toencourage the private sector to invest in production, especially in researchand development. A national database to oversee production, logistics andprocessing activities is also listed as a top priority for agricultureagencies. Vietnam must focus on improving national standards to governagriculture activities and product quality.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperationand Development, demand for agricultural products had been on the rise on aglobal scale and was forecast to continue to rise.

Vietnam is well-poised to take advantage as asignatory to trade deals such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreementfor Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement./.