MARD boosts science and technology in agriculture

 

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Quốc Doanh speaks at the conference. — VNA/VNS Photo Bích Hồng

HÀ NỘI — Science and technology is one of the key solutions in implementing agriculture restructuring. In the new context, science and technology research units need to innovate, because the changing mechanisms and policies are associated with the application of science and technology.

The statement was made by Lê Quốc Doanh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) at a conference held in Hà Nội on Thursday.

In order to meet that new requirement, Doanh said the Party Committee of MARD had issued a resolution on continuing to promote science and technology innovation activities in agriculture and rural development in the context of economic integration and approaching the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The resolution aims to create a new step in scientific and technological movements of the agricultural and rural development sector on the basis of renewing mechanisms and policies as well as orienting scientific research and technology transfer activities.

Since then, there will be fundamental and comprehensive innovation of science and technology activities of the ministry in some fields such as management, organisational structure and personnel, investment and financial management, property and land.

According to Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy, MARD’s head of Department of Science, Technology and Environment, recently, a number of new or advanced technologies have been applied effectively in production process. Scientific research institutes and schools have created new plant and animal varieties.

These institutes and schools have collaborated with businesses, cooperatives and localities or through agricultural extension models to quickly transfer scientific and technological advances to production. However, besides the achieved results, scientific and technological activities still face difficulties, Thủy added.

MARD will renovate the entire organisation from personnel, science and technology management, financial and asset management and budget management so that the investment for scientific and research topics are most effective.

In addition, the ministry will also strengthen the autonomy and self-responsibility of science and technology units so that units can implement research and transfer their research in coordination with enterprises, bringing science and technology into practical production faster.

Regarding the application of science and technology, MARD also considers enterprises as a centre to form a close link between scientists.

Via businesses, technology will be applied more widely in production and transferred more quickly to farmers and agricultural products can meet food safety criteria for the domestic market as well as for export markets. — VNS