General Secretary To Lam: Exporting agricultural technology to earn foreign currency

General Secretary To Lam directed the agricultural and environmental sectors to continue restructuring towards ecology and value-added agricultural technology exports to bring foreign currency to the country.

Have conditions to export experience and lessons in agriculture

On November 12, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Agriculture and Environment Sector (1945 - 2025) and the 1st Patriotic Emulation Congress. General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders, former leaders of the Party, State and ministries, branches and localities attended.

General Secretary To Lam gave a speech at the 80th anniversary of the Agriculture and Environment Sector.

PHOTO: TRUNG TUNG

Speaking at the ceremony, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that the Agriculture and Environment Sector manages many vital resources of the country such as: land, water, forests, minerals, air, biodiversity, ecological environment. Every inch of land, every river, every forest, every sea is not only a living space, a livelihood development but also a territory, national sovereignty. Therefore, agricultural development and environmental protection are not simply economic development but also political, cultural, social, security and defense tasks.

Over the past 80 years, the Agriculture and Environment Sector has accompanied the nation, become a pillar of the economy and now become an important factor in the national transformation, bringing the country to development in the new era.

In directing and orienting the development of the industry in the coming years, General Secretary To Lam requested that science, technology, and innovation must be consolidated, and data must become the key driving force. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment continues to effectively implement Resolution 57 on developing science, technology, and innovation in the fields of agriculture and environment; build a synchronous data system on land, resources, water, forests, hydrometeorology, biodiversity, etc., and develop it into a database of the industry, unified nationwide.

"Make science and technology the center of agricultural production from plant varieties, livestock, biotechnology, automation, traceability, logistics... Encourage models of scientists, businesses, cooperatives, and farmers participating in the value chain, agricultural extension linked to fields, linked to farmers, and production facilities, not just stopping at calling for movements", General Secretary To Lam noted.

General Secretary To Lam requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to continue restructuring the agricultural sector towards ecology, added value, and export of agricultural technology. According to the General Secretary, we have enough conditions to export experiences and lessons from the agricultural sector abroad to earn foreign currency for the country.

Choose science, technology, and digital transformation as the driving force for breakthroughs

Also at the ceremony, reviewing the past 80 years of history, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang said that during the two resistance wars (1945 - 1975), agriculture maintained production and fought at the same time, creating the miracle of "not a single pound of rice missing, not a single soldier missing".

Minister Tran Duc Thang reviews the contributions of the Agriculture and Environment Sector over the past 80 years

PHOTO: TRUNG TUNG

After the country's reunification (1975), under extremely difficult economic conditions and with infrastructure destroyed, the agricultural sector quickly restored production, consolidated technical facilities, developed cooperatives, state-owned agricultural and forestry farms, and implemented land reclamation, irrigation, field improvement, and afforestation programs. By the end of the 1970s, basic food production capacity was restored.

Entering the renovation process in 1986, Vietnam's agriculture has made great strides, from a country with food shortages and having to import food, Vietnam has ensured food security and become one of the world's leading agricultural exporters. Items such as rice, coffee, cashew nuts, pepper, seafood, vegetables, etc. are among the top 5 largest exporters in the world, bringing in tens of billions of USD each year.

"Agriculture has become a pillar of the economy, contributing to macroeconomic stability, ensuring social security and sustainable poverty reduction. Over the past three decades, the export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products has increased nearly 50 times, reaching more than 62.5 billion USD in 2024, putting Vietnam in the top 15 largest agricultural exporting countries in the world," said Minister Tran Duc Thang.

The Minister of Agriculture and Environment emphasized that entering a new development phase - the era of national growth, the sector will focus on developing ecological agriculture, green and circular economy; effectively and sustainably managing and using national resources, economically exploiting land, water, forests, minerals, and seas to serve long-term development.

The Agriculture and Environment sector will promote science, technology and digital transformation as a driving force for breakthroughs; apply artificial intelligence, big data, sensors, and blockchain in resource monitoring and smart agriculture; promote research on climate-adaptive plant and animal varieties; support startups and innovation ecosystems in rural areas.

At the ceremony, General Secretary To Lam awarded the First Class Labor Medal to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-xuat-khau-cong-nghe-nong-nghiep-de-thu-ve-ngoai-te-185251112124320552.htm