The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on every aspect of society for two years, but the agriculture sector has proved its role as a pillar of the economy and guaranteed national food security.

Vietnam is now one of the world’s leading agro-forestry-fishery exporters, with over 48 billion USD in export revenue last year. It has defined green production as the direction for sustainable development of agriculture.

Nguyen Duc Chinh, owner of Gen Xanh farm in Hanoi’s Phuc Tho district, said plant protection products and chemical fertilizers may lead to acute or chronic toxicity, so he decided to switch to organic methods.

Aware of the importance of nutrition and food safety, Hung Vuong General Hospital, based in northern Phu Tho province, has developed a 20ha farm producing clean, safe vegetables, pork, chicken and fish to serve patients, caregivers and hospital staff.

Nguyen Van Hoc, Chairman and General Director of Hung Vuong Hospital, said though the scale of the farm is still modest, its effectiveness has been recognised by other private hospitals, doctors, and patients. Similar models at different levels have come into being in Phu Tho and Tuyen Quang provinces, and also been applied by many hospitals nationwide.

Many traditional craft villages are also changing their mindset and production processes for the sake of public health.

Among hundreds of households producing traditional rice wine in Hong Ha commune in Hanoi’s Dan Phuong district, only a product made by Nguyen Duc Long’s family meet standards of the “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme.

Long said to compete with rivals, it is necessary to comply with food safety requirements.

Strongly reforming agricultural production, developing eco-farming, and boosting the application of scientific and technological advances to improve product quality and value have been identified as a sustainable development direction for Vietnam’s agriculture sector.

Resolution No 19-NQ/TW, recently issued by the Party Central Committee, targets fast, sustainable, and effective development of agriculture, while ensuring national food security, expanding agricultural production, protecting the environment, and adapting to climate change.

In particular, annual industrial and service growth in rural areas is hoped to surpass 10% while rural per capital income up 2.5 – 3 times by 2030 compared to 2020./.