VietNamNet Bridge – Priority will be given to the restructuring of agriculture next year to ensure higher growth for the sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement.

A big rice field in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang. Priority will be given to the restructuring of agriculture next year to ensure higher growth for the sector

The statement came out after a conference held in Hanoi on December 26 to review the agriculture sector’s performance in 2016 and discuss development plans for next year.

Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the sector had made three important achievements this year: growth of 1.2%, export revenue of US$32.1 billion, up 6% against last year, and higher food safety.

The export turnover spike has resulted from a significant rise in exports of major products, including coffee with a 25.5% year-on-year increase, cashew nuts with an 18% improvement, pepper with a 13% surge and seafood with a 6.3% uptick.

As for next year, the ministry will focus on developing 10 major products which can register export revenue of over US$1 billion each and key products of each province.

After major and signature products are determined, the ministry will develop specialized cultivation areas and choose key enterprises while the State agencies assigned to manage the production of those products will make financial and technology preparations.

The targets which the ministry set for next year include growth of 2.5-2.8% and export revenue of US$32-32.5 billion.

Attending the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed the need to further improve the quality of agricultural products, add more value to them, instead of focusing only on quantity, apply advanced technology to production, and strengthen the capacity to respond to natural disasters.

The policies which obstruct the development of agriculture should be revoked, he was quoted by a Government news website report.

He told the agriculture ministry to work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other relevant agencies to make recommendations for amending the Land Law in a way that facilitates the implementation of large-scale farming projects.

The central bank should take policy steps that encourage banks to lend to agricultural…

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