HCMC – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked localities in the Mekong Delta region to foster sustainable agricultural development amid climate change.
Addressing a seminar on “Promoting sustainable agricultural development in the Mekong Delta” organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Kien Giang Province on March 6, the prime minister gave the development directive for the Mekong Delta: “Breakthrough mindset, strategic vision, proactive adaptation, flexible transformation, enhanced value, public-private resources and quality life.”
Chinh suggested that agricultural development must be in parallel with the development of the manufacturing and processing industries, logistics and agriculture-related services.
He asked the Mekong Delta localities to mobilize all the possible resources for agricultural development, strengthen public-private partnerships with public investment as the main driver, and prevent ineffective investments.
The region should diversify its markets, with a focus on North Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Europe, the United States and the Middle East.
According to Chinh, the Mekong Delta region plays a significant role in the country’s economic development, national defense and food security.
The region accounts for over 31% of the national agriculture sector’s gross domestic product, half of the rice production, 65% of aquatic products, 70% of fruits, 95% of rice exports and 60% of fish exports.
However, the region has yet to fully tap its potential due to the impact of climate change, sea-level rise, the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, and the use of the Mekong River’s water by upstream countries.
Prior to the seminar, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the inauguration ceremony of the first phase of the Cai Lon-Cai Be irrigation project in Chau Thanh District, Kien Giang Province, on March 5.
The biggest of its kind in Vietnam, the Cai Lon-Cai Be irrigation system controls salinity for more than 384,000 hectares of land in the five provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Hau Giang and Kien Giang, helping save billions of dong for the State budget.
It will also provide fresh water for the An Minh and An Bien districts of Kien Giang Province during the dry season.
Construction of the first phase began in late 2019, with a total investment of over VND3.3 trillion (US$145 million).
