Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR), the global largest agriculture innovation network, has implementedmore than 100 projects in 40 provinces in Vietnam in the last five years withan investment of 24 million USD, benefitting more than 24 million people.

“Research byCGIAR has brought about impacts in many fields of sustainable farming andlivestock production, adapting agriculture to climate change, transforming foodsystems sustainably and improving human and animal health using a One Healthapproach,” said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le QuocDoanh.

Speaking atthe third coordination meeting of the ministry and the CGIAR on December 10,Doanh said that despite rapid growth, Vietnam still confronted numerousimportant challenges that could hinder it from the pathway to sustainabledevelopment.

“Theagriculture sector relies on resource-intensive use, many production inputsdependent on the import market, low quality preservation and processing ofagricultural products, high post-harvest losses, limited linkages along thevalue chains and unstable market price, degradation of natural resources andthe environment and precarious livelihood of farmers,” he said.

To enter a newphase of development with many difficulties and challenges, Vietnam appreciatedand looked forward to continuing to receiving support from donors andinternational organisations, especially CGIAR, Doanh said.

CGIAR is aglobal strategic partnership to advance agricultural scientific research toaddress issues such as alleviating rural poverty, enhancing food security,improving nutrition and health, sustaining management of natural resources, andits works are carried out by 15 agricultural research centres globally.

After 50 yearsof presence in Vietnam, up to now, eight centres under CGIAR have establishedoffices or implemented projects in  the country.

The thirdcoordination meeting comes as CGIAR transforming to One CGIAR to respond to today'sglobal challenges, including optimising its contribution to many SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs).

In themeantime, MARD is developing the Strategy for Sustainable AgriculturalDevelopment for the 2021-2030 period.

The meetingprovided a unique opportunity to help bring those strands together andcontribute to the development of a holistic and comprehensive approach in thefollow up of MARD-CGIAR/One CGIAR partnership and collaboration, according toJean Balie, regional director of One CGIAR Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Balie saidthat Vietnam had achieved commendable growth, especially in agriculturedevelopment.

In the2016-2020 period, the sector's total export turnover was 190.32 billion USD.

Notably, in2020, despite being greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the export ofagricultural, forestry and fishery products still reached a record number of 41billion USD.

In the first11 months of 2021, the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery productsreached nearly 43.5 billion USD, up 14.2 percent over the same period last yearand is forecast to reach and exceed the whole year target.

“Challengesraise the question of how Vietnam can develop more sustainably, making thisSoutheast Asian country a focus for CGIAR work,” he said.

Tran Cong Thang,Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said that to promote the partnership between CGIAR and Vietnam insustainable agricultural development, joint efforts should be made fordeveloping green agriculture, ecological agriculture, responsible agriculture,and multi-valued agriculture.

“Vietnam needsto restructure, maintain and restore growth along three axis and by fields. Thethree axis building specialized farming areas for large commodities, developinglocal products in ecological agriculture; and strengthening processing and theapplication of science and technology,” he said.

It is alsonecessary to improve input systems for efficient and sustainable production,including the system of research for better seedling/breeding, veterinarymedicine, plant protection, agricultural extension, management and developmentof input materials, and the infrastructure system, especially the irrigationsystem.

“It isnecessary to develop sustainable agricultural product value chains through keyagricultural product chains, specialised farming areas and processingclusters,” he said.

Otherimportant goals were climate change adaptation, reduction of greenhouse gasemissions, digital transformation in agriculture and market expansion, Thangsaid, adding that there was also a need to form a system of enterprises thatinvest in strategic commodities, linking with farmers through cooperativeeconomy./.