(VOV) - The 32^nd anniversary of World Food Day, themed “Agricultural Cooperatives: Key to Feeding the World”, has been acknowledged in Hanoi by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization at the United Nations (FAO) in Vietnam.

When speaking at the event, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong highlighted the role of the agricultural sector in ensuring the nation’s food security, which contributes to poverty reduction, ensures social welfare and speeds up the national industrialization and modernization process.

Vietnam now has 20,000 cooperatives including 7 million members in 9,000 agricultural cooperatives, which have created millions of jobs and helped many farmers out of poverty.

Regarding the 2011-2020 strategy for socio-economic development, Deputy Minster Bong underlined the need to improve the efficiency of agricultural cooperatives.

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In order to successfully carry out the strategy, it’s necessary to reform cooperatives and their production techniques by strengthening connectivity between farmers and businesses, and between the production sector and the market.