NA Chairman: Rural development a strategic task

The chief legislator made the remark at a conference of the Steering Committee for the review of the five-year implementation of the Party's resolution on agriculture, farmers and rural areas in Hanoi on January 6.

The event aims to collect opinions for the committee's report and draft a conclusion of the Political Bureau regarding the implementation of the resolution.

NA Chairman Hung, who is also head of the committee, highlighted the need to consider the market and economic efficiency as orientations during the process.

Regarding the Political Bureau's draft conclusion, the top lawmaker said it is necessary to identify areas and targets for growth, especially the industrialisation of rural areas and rural personnel training.

Delegates at the conference agreed that the country's farming sector is developing comprehensively and slowly developing its advantageous products, helping ensure national food security and reduce poverty.

The resolution has significantly contributed to economic development, and political and social stability whilst enhancing the Party's leadership in rural areas, the conference heard.

However, the report also pointed to a range of bottlenecks during the process, particularly the widening gap between the rich and the poor, rural and urban areas as well as lowland and mountainous areas.

Nguyen Quoc Cuong, President of the Vietnam Farmers' Association, proposed the issuance of a special policy towards rice growers and rice growing areas in order to raise farmers' living standards and ensure national food security.

(Source: Nhandan Newspaper Online)