Ten outstanding achievements in agriculture, rural development in 2018

The GDP of agriculture, forestry and fisheries expanded by 3.76 percent in 2018, the highest in the past seven years (Illustrative photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced the 10 most outstanding achievements of the sector in 2018. 

1. The Gross Domestic Product of agriculture, forestry and fisheries expanded by 3.76 percent, the highest in the past seven years, despite disadvantaged weather conditions and unfavourable fluctuations in the market. 

2. Export revenue from agricultural, forestry and fishery products surpassed 40 billion USD, up 9.6 percent from 2017 (the target assigned by the Government was 36-37 billion USD). This is the highest ever export value of the sector. 

3. The National Assembly passed the Law on Cultivation and Law on Animal Husbandry. So far seven laws in the field of agriculture and rural development have been promulgated, which are Law on Cultivation (2018), Law on Animal Husbandry (2018), Law on Irrigation (2017), Law on Forestry (2017), Law on Fishery (2017), Law on Animal Health (2015), Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine (2013). 

4. A total of 2,200 new firms were established in agriculture, up 12.3 percent from 2013, bringing the total number of firms operating in the field to 9,235, the largest number ever. The number of production chains reached 1,096, up 350 from 2017.

5. Half of business conditions (175 out of 345) in the field were cut or simplified, while the number of farm products subject to specialised inspection coded HS was reduced to 1,768 from the previous 7,698 (over 77 percent). Thirteen administrative procedures are now connected to the National Single Window portal.

6. A total of 3,787 communes (42.4 percent of the total number) and 61 districts were recognised as meeting new-style rural area criteria. Average income of rural household reached 130 million VND, up 1.71 times from 2017 and 3.5 times from 2008. 

7. The exploitation of wood in natural forest was ended, wood output from planted forests and scattered trees nationwide reached 27.5 million cubic metres, while forest coverage reached the highest rate since 1975 at 41.65 percent. 

8. Vietnam signed the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT)  and engaged in negotiations on harmonisation of regulations for the early removal of the EU’s yellow card on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

9. Vietnam successfully produced vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. 

10. Damage caused by natural disasters was kept at low level, with fatalities dropping by 43 percent and material losses equal to only 33 percent compared to 2017 figures.