Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien: Science and technology will strengthen the position of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Speaking at the closing session of the morning session of the Conference on the Implementation Plan of Resolution 57 of the Politburo on the development of science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment today, May 10, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized that thanks to science and technology, Vietnam is and will continue to maintain its position as one of the world's leading agricultural exporters.

This morning's session had 1,114 delegates attending in person in Bac Ninh and nearly 10,000 watching online. The reports presented in the morning session were highly appreciated for their focused content, clear presentation methods and emphasis on new technologies being applied in production practices.

However, the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also frankly pointed out the need for innovation. That is, although digital transformation is taking place strongly, science and technology play a key role in development, a series of shortcomings and bottlenecks in institutions, financial mechanisms, organizations, and management thinking are hindering the effective promotion of available potential.

One of the core issues identified by the ministry is the delay in institutional reform, especially regulations related to the mechanism of meritocracy. Currently, there is no legal corridor flexible enough to attract and retain a team of highly qualified scientists, as well as build strong research groups, which are the foundation for any breakthrough development.

Notably, although the agricultural and environmental sector possesses a force of more than 11,400 scientists, along with a network of 21 scientific research organizations and more than 16,000 hectares of land, exploitation efficiency is still very modest.

Part of the reason is the lack of specific, competitive and innovation-encouraging policies. This has been acknowledged by the Ministry and an official recommendation has been sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology to propose amendments and supplements to the Law on Science and Technology in a more practical direction.

In addition, the fragmented and phased investment method also causes many places to have equipment but no operators, and to have laboratories but lack funds to maintain them. Many key laboratories in the industry are only allocated about 3.5 billion VND/year.

Harvesting dragon fruit in Binh Thuan. (Photo: Hong Nhung/VNA)

In addition, administrative procedures are complicated and lengthy. Many scientific topics and tasks take up to 5-6 years from proposal to approval and implementation, making research results no longer relevant to reality. This slows down the pace of technology transfer into production and wastes resources...

To contribute to improving the above situation, within the framework of the conference, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment signed coordination and cooperation programs with scientific and technical organizations, professional associations and pioneering enterprises in the fields of agriculture and environment.

The agreements were signed to promote research, development and application of science and technology, contributing to creating breakthroughs in productivity, quality and added value for the agricultural sector, while improving the efficiency of management and environmental protection in the context of national digital transformation.

At the beginning of the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, representing the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, performed the signing ceremony with the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations and the Vietnam Construction Association. This signing ceremony is an important first step in creating a close coordination network between state management agencies, scientific organizations and professional associations.

Following that, representatives of the Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment signed specific cooperation programs with many leading enterprises in Vietnam. The cooperation commitments include sharing research resources, applying new technologies to agricultural production, developing environmentally friendly products and implementing digital transformation solutions in governance and value chains.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the above signing ceremonies not only demonstrate the determination to accompany specialized State management agencies and enterprises, but also open up opportunities for effective cooperation, contributing to realizing the strategic goals set out in Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thu-truong-phung-duc-tien-khoa-hoc-cong-nghe-se-cung-co-vi-the-nong-san-viet-post1037739.vnp