Thua Thien - Hue’s agriculture has many room for development

On April 21^st, the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue had a meeting with economic experts and representatives of international organizations in Vietnam such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) regarding the 2022-2026 orientations for sustainable economic development of the local agriculture, forestry and fishery sector with a vision to 2030.

Mr. Nguyen Dai Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of Thua Thien - Hue Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, “Thua Thien - Hue is a coastal province in the North Central Coast, belonging to the Central Key Economic Region, located on the main North-South traffic axis. These advantages create conditions for the province to develop society and economy in general and the agriculture sector in particular. The province has ample room for development.”

Over the past time, agriculture, forestry and fishery production in this area has developed comprehensively. Agriculture and rural economy have shifted to concentrated production of goods, improving productivity, quality and added value. Thua Thien - Hue focuses on restructuring in the direction of prioritizing the development of three product groups: national key, provincial key, and OCOP.

In 2021, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of the agricultural sector was 3.62%, accounting for approximately 11.7% of the province's GRDP structure. Total agro-forestry-fishery production value was estimated at VND 7,627 billion, up 4.4%. Total grain food production reached over 366,000 tons, up 11.6%. Agro-forestry-fishery products achieved an estimated export turnover of VND 150 million, up 25% compared to 2020.

To improve efficiency and ensure sustainability in agricultural and rural economic development, the locality has increased promotional activities and attracted businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas. Their main focus is to develop non-agricultural values through activities such as tourism associated with agriculture and rural areas, community-based tourism, and eco-tourism based on natural ecosystems. Local leaders also promote digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas as well as reviews to apply appropriate digital technologies to management and production procedures in each field.

Analyzing and evaluating the potentials, advantages, difficulties, and challenges of Thua Thien - Hue province, agricultural economic experts and representatives of international organizations at the meeting consulted and shared many lessons and experiences.

"After witnessing the reality in many localities, we find that Thua Thien - Hue holds comparative advantages that are difficult to obtain in other places from geographical location and natural conditions to cultural space and social environment.

We look forward to introducing, consulting, contributing ideas, and inviting more international cooperation opportunities under domestic and foreign programs. We wish to help realize a number of socio-economic development goals Thua Thien - Hue has set," said Mr. Nguyen. Do Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).

Representatives of FAO and WWF also had presentations on urban and peri-urban agriculture development; sustainable conservation and development; potential forestry cooperation projects in Thua Thien - Hue province.

Delegates discussed and gave many views, opinions and recommendations for the agricultural sector of Thua Thien - Hue province: develop agritourism and landscape tourism; build brands and enhance value for endemic agro-products, OCOP products of Thua Thien - Hue.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue said that the province would gather, evaluate and supplement solutions in the process of implementing sustainable agricultural economic development goals.

“In order to make a drastic change in the process of promoting socio-economic development of the locality, apart from the determination to make full use of internal resources, Thua Thien - Hue looks forward to receiving the attention, companionship and cooperation from international organizations.”