Rural and agricultural development plan in 2001
Ha Noi, Feb. 5 (VNA) -- Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan has identified several ways to develop agriculture and rural areas this year.
He told a two-day conference to launch a plan for agriculture and rural development in 2001, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Feb. 5, that the Government must coordinate with the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, provincial People's Committees and enterprises in seeking markets and helping farmers sell all their farm produce, particularly to Russia and China.
The Deputy Prime Minister called for faster agricultural economic re-structuring oriented toward sustainable and effective development, thus generating more jobs and income for farmers. He suggested that farmers should not expand coffee-growing area and should develop aquaculture and other plants and animals of high economic value including maize, cotton and dairy cows.
Regarding the application of new scientific and technological advances in the selection of strains, in production as well as processing, he said the Government is ready to invest in researching and importing new high-yield strains to produce farm products for domestic consumption and export.
He asked the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry to give guidance to its chapters in provinces and cities to effectively devise investment projects and grant loans to farmers to develop production.
The agricultural sector aims to obtain an agricultural growth of between four and 4.5 percent this year, including a rice output of 32.5-33 million tonnes and a maize output of 2.5 million tonnes.
The sector plans to earn USD 3.4 billion from exports, increase forest coverage to 34 percent, and irrigate 50,000 more ha of farm-land in 2001.
The State will invest VND 2,510 billion (USD 173 million) in infrastructural construction for agriculture this year.--VNA
