World Food Day marked in Hanoi
(VOV) - The 32nd anniversary of World Food Day (WFD) has been celebrated in Hanoi’s Me Linh by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Vietnam.
In his speech at the October 12 ceremony, MARD Deputy Minister Bui Ba Bong highlighted the role played by the agricultural sector in ensuring national food security as a contribution to reducing poverty, ensuring social welfare and speeding up the process of national industrialization and modernization.
Vietnam now has 20,000 cooperatives including 9,000 agricultural cooperatives with a total of nearly 7 million members, which have created millions of jobs and helped farmers out of poverty.
Regarding the implementation of the 2011-2020 strategy for socio-economic development, Deputy Minster Bong underlined the need to improve the operational efficiency of agricultural cooperatives and re-organize production chains by strengthening connectivity between farmers and businesses, and between the production sector and the market.
Themed “Agricultural Cooperatives: Key to Feeding the World”, this year’s WFD aims to affirm the crucial role of agricultural cooperatives in ensuring global food security.
FAO Chief Representative in Vietnam Yuriko Shoji praised the governments of FAO member countries for supporting the development of cooperatives and producer organisations through the building of policies and legal frameworks.
The fact shows that strong cooperatives and producer organisations are capable of overcoming obstacles and mitigating the negative impact of the food and economic crisis.
FAO and its partners will continue to support member countries in achieving the common goals of ensuring world food security in the near future, Yuriko Shoji added.