Prime Minister: Food security is a very important national issue

On the morning of March 18, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Government held a national online conference to review 10 years of implementing the Project "National Food Security to 2020". Photo: VGP

Co-chairing the conference at the Hanoi bridge point were comrades: Nguyen Van Binh - Politburo member, Head of the Central Economic Commission; Trinh Dinh Dung - Party Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister.

Chairing the conference at Nghe An bridge were comrades: Hoang Nghia Hieu - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Van Lap - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The comrades chaired the conference at Nghe An bridge point. Photo: Dao Tuan

Vietnam ranks first in the world in food production and export.

The assessment of 10 years of implementing Conclusion No. 53-KL/TW dated August 5, 2009 of the Politburo on the Project "National Food Security to 2020" shows that in the period 2009 - 2019, rice output increased from 39.17 million tons to 43.4 million tons; average food per capita increased from 497 kg/year to 525 kg/year, putting Vietnam in the top 6 countries in this index and Vietnam's role in supporting food security (ANLT) for other countries is increasing.

Farmers in Nam Dan, Nghe An use mechanization in spring crop production. Illustration photo: Quoc Dan

Compared to the target by 2020 in Conclusion No. 53-KL/TW and Resolution No. 63/NQ-CP, it is expected that 14 targets will be achieved and exceeded, including 3 targets on rice; 2 targets on vegetables; 2 targets on fruit trees; 3 targets on aquaculture; 2 targets on ensuring food capacity.

Vietnam has a diverse food supply that meets nutritional needs. Malnutrition has improved significantly, decreasing from 18.2% in the period 2004 - 2006 to 10.8% at present...

Basic income of rice growers ensures profit of over 30% compared to production cost.

However, there are still 6 targets that have not been achieved or are difficult to achieve, which are 2 targets on corn production, 1 target on livestock; 3 targets on ensuring nutritional needs and food safety.

In addition, there is still instability in land use planning; infrastructure and science and technology are not synchronized; agricultural labor is abundant but of low quality; policies for farmers, localities, and rice production and trading enterprises still have some shortcomings; some limitations in the food circulation and export system; hunger still occurs; balancing the nutritional needs, health, and longevity of the people still faces many difficulties...

Conference scene at Nghe An bridge. Photo: Dao Tuan

In Nghe An, after 10 years of implementing Conclusion No. 53-KL/TW of the Politburo and Resolution No. 63/NQ-CP of the Government, the material and spiritual life of rural people has been constantly improved, the average grain output per capita increased from 397 kg in 2008 to over 417 kg in 2018, the average income per capita in rural areas in 2018 increased 3.7 times compared to 2008 (28.4 million VND/7.65 million VND); the rate of poor and near-poor households decreased rapidly from 28.89% in 2008 to 5.54% in 2018, there were no more hungry households; farmers were excited and confident in the policies of the Party and State, in the cause of industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Nghe An farmers harvest rice. Photo: Hai Vuong

In any conditions and circumstances, food security must be stable.

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that after more than 30 years of innovation and 10 years of implementing the Food Security Project, Vietnam has become the leading country in rice production and export in the world. In 2019, despite being greatly affected by climate and weather, especially in the Mekong Delta region, food output still increased and rice harvests were still good. Vietnam is the country that produces the best rice in the world.

However, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his concern and worry: Vietnam is the world's top rice exporter, but food security ranks 57th out of 113 exporting countries. The lives of agricultural producers are still poor.

Conference scene at Hanoi bridge. Photo: VGP

The Prime Minister emphasized that food security is not only an immediate issue but also a long-term strategy. For nearly 100 million people in our country, this is an essential commodity, necessary for stability in any conditions and circumstances. Giving a specific example, the Prime Minister said that in recent days, after a person was infected with Covid-19, the food market immediately became chaotic, people bought and stocked up on food. The Prime Minister had to direct food businesses to open until midnight to serve the people, thereby affirming that we do not lack food.

"Therefore, the issue of food stability is of special importance and should not be overlooked," Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized. Under any conditions and circumstances, food must be stable for the Vietnamese people, from the lowlands to the highlands.

“We are living in the 4.0 era interacting with the virtual world but we must not be virtual. Food security is always and forever a very important issue for the country, especially when political instability in the world is frequent, climate change is complicated and especially non-traditional security issues and epidemics” - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed and emphasized that the most important issue is still stabilizing people's lives, which is the responsibility of the Party and the State.

On that basis, the Prime Minister said that the prerequisite is to shift the structure of food production, stabilize the area, and improve the efficiency of agricultural production. He suggested that scientists, authorities at all levels, and businesses need to come up with measures and solutions of national significance to solve the problem of food security.

The conference also listened to the contributions of representatives of sectors, localities, managers, scientists, food production and trading enterprises, including proposed solutions to overcome existing problems in agricultural production such as: land management and planning in agriculture; restructuring the rural economy, shifting the structure of crops and livestock towards reducing the area of ​​land for rice production, increasing productivity and quality of agricultural products; issues of land accumulation, investment in agriculture, food export, improving agricultural economic efficiency were also mentioned by delegates...