Empowering farmers to become the center of the agricultural value chain

At the Forum “Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union – Minister of Agriculture and Environment Listening to Farmers Speak in 2025” held on the morning of November 2, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang emphasized the spirit of accompanying farmers in the context of agriculture entering a new stage of development.

The Minister expressed his pleasure at co-chairing this meaningful forum with the Vietnam Farmers’ Union. According to him, this is where farmers can speak up for themselves; where policies must start from real life; and where everyone works together to improve the role, position, income and life of Vietnamese farmers in the new era.

The Minister quoted the speech of General Secretary To Lam at the meeting with 95 outstanding Vietnamese farmers: “We must put farmers at the center of the entire development process; create conditions for farmers to be masters, connect, and get rich legitimately. From each field, we raise the national brand; from each village, we build a strong, prosperous, and happy Vietnam”. The Minister affirmed that this message is the guiding principle for the actions of the Agriculture and Environment sector in the coming period.

Photo caption — Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang.

According to the Minister, to have modern, ecological and sustainable agriculture, farmers must first enjoy happiness, have knowledge, have income and have a worthy social status. In recent times, the Ministry has been implementing many policies and guidelines towards green, efficient and humane agriculture. The policy does not stop at management but must create conditions and empower farmers, cooperatives and enterprises to truly become the center of the national agricultural value chain.

The Minister stated that strong decentralization and delegation of power will help people be more proactive in building new rural areas, reducing poverty and developing sustainable livelihoods. From the commune level, people can participate in planning, monitoring and jointly deciding on investment activities. According to him, new rural areas are not just a program but a movement of belief and change.

At the same time, the industry is promoting the transformation of the green growth model and circular economy. The project “Production of reduced emissions in the crop sector in the period 2025-2030, vision to 2050” is being implemented as an important step to promote low-carbon agriculture, contributing to both reducing emissions and increasing farmers’ income and protecting the ecological environment.

Another key task mentioned by the Minister is to develop rural people, build a team of “professional farmers” with knowledge, digital skills and the desire to get rich legitimately. Vocational training must be linked to digital transformation, science and technology and e-commerce in agriculture.

In addition, the Ministry is vigorously implementing digital transformation and innovation. A database of raw material areas, growing area codes and an origin tracing system are being built to create a “digital identity” for each product. This helps Vietnamese agricultural products to be transparent, traceable and have a strong brand in the global market.

According to the Minister, developing the private economy and rural enterprises, encouraging investment in agriculture, prioritizing green - circular - low-emission agricultural models. The goal is to form a new class of rural entrepreneurs - dynamic, creative, and attached to their homeland.

The Minister also emphasized the work of protecting the agricultural and rural environment. He said that each Vietnamese village should not only have concrete roads and electricity, but also be a livable place, a place to preserve cultural identity, and a place where happiness originates.

Every bright decision is based on farmers

The Minister affirmed that all those policies are only meaningful when they originate from the real needs of farmers and the breath of life in each rural area. No one understands the land, crops, climate and market better than the farmers themselves. Therefore, all decisions of the Ministry take farmers as the root and center of action.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will continue to accompany the Vietnam Farmers' Union and localities, listening, synthesizing and concretizing people's opinions into practical and feasible policies. We hope to join hands with people, cooperatives, businesses and scientists to create new models, from production to market, so that each policy originates from real life and returns to serve the people.

The Minister emphasized that the current mission of the agricultural sector is not only to ensure food security but also to create happiness, prosperity and civilization for rural Vietnam.

“We are entering the green era, the era of innovation, data and knowledge, where farmers are not only good at production, but also master technology, master the market and master their future,” Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang emphasized.

At the end of his speech, Minister Tran Duc Thang expressed his hope that this would be an open dialogue forum, where the Ministry would listen more and more frankly from farmers, Association officials, businesses and cooperatives about difficulties, barriers and aspirations to rise up.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/trao-quyen-de-nong-dan-tro-thanh-trung-tam-chuoi-gia-tri-nong-san-20251102085910729.htm