VietNamNet Bridge – Thirty-nine agricultural products and 40 outstanding companies were honoured at a programme displaying high quality agricultural products by the Viet Nam General Council of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Thirty-nine agricultural products and 40 outstanding companies were honoured at a programme displaying high quality agricultural products by the Viet Nam General Council of Agriculture and Rural Development. — Photo nhandan.com.vn

The programme was launched on July 15 in 63 provinces and cities, with hundreds of agricultural products being nominated.

After five months of selection, the organising committee, in co-ordination with local agencies and agricultural experts, selected 39 high-quality products and 40 outstanding businesses focused on building new-style rural areas in 2016.

Speaking at the awards ceremony on Friday, head of the council, Hồ Xuân Hùng, said that these are individuals and organisations which have made significant contributions to raising the values of products and also promoting sustainable development of these products.

“We believe that this programme will contribute to enhancing the brand value of agricultural products, in general, and especially of agricultural products from Việt Nam in the international market," Hùng emphasised.

Further, the ceremony was a forum for individuals, organisations, and enterprises to exchange and introduce new products and technologies to the community.

The ceremony is also an opportunity to encourage and recognize businessmen and entrepreneurs who are actively supporting farmers in improving productivity, quality, as well as effective product consumption with high value, he added.

The event is seen as a bridge connecting the products of farmers, the State, scientists and enterprises with consumers, and promoting the comprehensive development and modernistion of Vietnamese agriculture.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ emphasised that building new-style rural areas is a strategic policy of the Party and State.

The Party and State will continue to mobilise their resources to develop rural areas, while creating favourable conditions for businesses to invest in socio-economic infrastructure and production in disadvantaged areas, as well as to improve the competitiveness of Việt Nam’s agricultural products and promote agricultural restructuring and the construction of new-style rural areas, he noted.

Additionally, the head of Lam Sơn Sugar Joint Stock Company said that co-operation between enterprises and farmers, and between enterprises and scientists, should be encouraged to seek solutions to current difficulties in the agricultural sector, including capital, scientific and technological knowledge, production and markets.

Participants also said that many products and trademarks have been strongly developed and are familiar to Vietnamese consumers, though fewer agricultural products are available in international markets.

To overcome this problem, improving the quality of agricultural products should receive attention, in a bid to increase exports to international markets, they said.

Source: VNS