Marking 80 years of the Agriculture and Environment sector’s companionship with the nation, Vietnam Agriculture and Nature News spoke with Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, about the sector’s achievements throughout these eight decades, as well as the breakthrough solutions needed to elevate its role and position in the new era.
Opening the conversation, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien shared: Looking back on the 80 years since the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was founded and nearly 40 years of Doi Moi (Reform), in every period and stage, agriculture and environment have always been areas receiving the special attention of the Party and the State.
Together with the sector’s own efforts, those of the entire people, scientists, the business community, and cooperatives, and by making use of international support and cooperation, agriculture has become one of the nation’s core advantages, while environment has become one of the three pillars of sustainable development.
“It has been a proud journey: from a nation once stricken by hunger, Vietnam has become a major exporter of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, reaching 62.5 billion USD in 2024. This has made an important contribution to ensuring food security not only for more than 100 million people domestically but also in affirming Vietnam’s role, position, and image internationally.
Mineral resource management has been carried out through surveys, exploration, assessment of quality and reserves, and efficient exploitation and use.
The environment has become one of three important pillars, consistently prioritized and safeguarded, thereby contributing to rapid and sustainable national development.
The lives of farmers and the face of rural areas have steadily improved and advanced, with collective contributions made for the prosperity of the nation and a sustainable future,” Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien concluded.
Question: Deputy Minister, history over the past 80 years has shown that, at many revolutionary junctures for the nation, our Party and State always chose agriculture and environment as a pioneering front to create breakthroughs that helped the country overcome difficulties and continue developing. Typical decisions included those right after independence in 1945, with the establishment of the Ministry of Canh nong (the precursor to today’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment); or during Renovation with Directive 100-CT/TW in 1982 and Resolution 10-NQ/TW in 1988, which laid the foundation for Reform; then Resolution 26-NQ/TW in 2008 or Resolution 19 of the 13th Party Congress—all of which became milestones opening new stages of national development. Could you share the significance of these decisions?
Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien: First of all, it must be affirmed that agriculture and environment always hold an extremely special position in the Party’s revolutionary cause and in the socio-economic development of the country. Farmers and rural areas of Vietnam spared no effort or resources, making the greatest contributions to the struggle for national independence as well as to national construction and defense.
In 1945, immediately after independence, the Government Council issued the decision to establish the Ministry of Canh nong, tasked with addressing famine and drafting a comprehensive agricultural development program to serve the resistance.
From a devastated agriculture in 1945, within only one year the “All People Increase Production” movement significantly reduced starvation. In many Red River Delta provinces, winter crop yields increased by 30–40% through intercropping sweet potatoes, maize, and beans on alluvial land and post-transplant paddies. By the end of 1946, large-scale famine did not recur, people’s lives improved, and the army had sufficient rice reserves.
From then, our country endured 30 years of struggle, waging two wars for independence and reunification, drawing on the endogenous strength of agriculture, farmers, and rural areas. The Party’s timely, sound, and flexible decisions, combined with the strength of the entire nation, enabled the defeat of hunger, illiteracy, and foreign invaders. The socialist North both built socialism and supported the southern battlefield, living up to the slogan “not a kilo of rice short, not a single soldier lacking.” Generations of Vietnamese farmers marched to the front, while also building the nation across all fronts: from battlefields to water resources, geology, minerals, and meteorology–hydrology. The decisions and determination of the agriculture and environment sector contributed to the nation’s great Spring Victory of 1975.
After the South was liberated, the entire nation once again embarked on reconstruction. Agriculture and environment were again chosen by the Party and State as the leading front to generate breakthroughs that would help the country overcome embargo, move past the subsidy regime, and continue to break through and rise.
Directive 100-CT/TW of 1982 and Resolution 10-NQ/TW of 1988 unlocked land resources and tapped the nation’s potential advantages, transforming Vietnam from importing 1.58 million tons of food annually into exporting 1.41 million tons of rice in 1989.
At the same time, domestic markets for farm produce and agricultural inputs were liberalized and gradually linked with international markets. Agriculture grew strongly, supplying sufficient food for a rising domestic population while firmly ensuring national food security.
In the period of market opening and global integration, major Party resolutions - Resolution 26-NQ/TW in 2008 and Resolution 19-NQ/TW in 2022, continued to affirm the role and position of agriculture and environment in national development. Vietnam entered a strong transformation: from extensive, output-focused growth to an emphasis on quality, efficiency, and value added.
Over more than two decades, the vision of ecological agriculture - modern rural areas - civilized farmers has been tightly connected to environmental protection throughout the process of industrialization and modernization. Recognizing rural areas as especially vulnerable to global shocks, Vietnam called for investment to restructure agriculture, increase climate resilience, and mitigate disaster risks.
These major policies and international commitments have helped Vietnam affirm the image of a friendly, responsible partner on global issues, building credibility in environment and climate change. Notably, international cooperation has shifted from aid reception to equal partnerships, jointly addressing global challenges.
On March 1, 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment was established through the merger of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Looking ahead to the mid-21st century, Vietnam aims to become a developed, high-income nation, and at the same time, an international model of sustainable development. Ecological agriculture and a healthy environment are considered the core foundation to ensure food security, improve quality of life, and maintain healthy ecosystems for future generations.
Question: From the achievements over the past 80 years, could you analyze the role and position of agriculture and environment for the country in the new era?
Deputy Minister: Entering the new era, when agriculture is identified as a national advantage and environment as one of the three pillars of sustainable development, the role and position of agriculture and environment will certainly continue to be affirmed and receive special attention from the Party, the State, and society.
First, regarding the role and position of agriculture: although it contributes only about 11.9% to the country’s GDP, Vietnamese agriculture is both a strategic advantage and a mainstay ensuring national food security and social welfare. Export value of agro-forestry-fishery products has continuously risen; in 2024, value added reached 17.9 billion USD out of 62.5 billion USD in gross exports, a bright spot for the economy.
In the coming period, with the advantage of seven agro-ecological zones corresponding to seven geographic and climatic regions and seven cultural regions, with both commonalities and differences, there will be connection, convergence, crystallization, and illumination to elevate Vietnamese agriculture’s standing and enhance Vietnam’s image in the eyes of international friends.
Meanwhile, rural Vietnam remains home to more than 60% of the population. Across all periods, our Party has identified the peasantry as a strategic force, and its development line has always been implemented alongside social equity. Agriculture, farmers, and rural areas continue to generate jobs and incomes, directly and indirectly shaping the lives of more than half the population, while ensuring food security, the basis for social stability and the foundation of sustainable development. This confirms the position of agriculture and rural areas alongside the country’s position in the new era.
Second, with agriculture and environment now integrated, the sector directly influences all three pillars of sustainable development: economy, society, and environment. When agriculture and environment are placed on par with the economic and social pillars, achievements will be long-term, not trading away the future for immediate gains.
Specifically, unlike in previous stages, this is now a time when global climate change poses existential challenges: rapidly rising temperatures, sea-level rise, frequent extreme disasters, and increasingly complex plant and animal diseases. At the same time, land, water, forest, and marine resources face severe degradation risks if not protected in time.
Yet opportunities also open from advances in science and technology, renewable energy, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), and comprehensive digital transformation in managing agriculture and environment. The emergence of global green markets, carbon trading, and sustainable product standards creates conditions for Vietnam to become an important link in high-quality, environmentally friendly agricultural value chains.
In the new era, an ecological agriculture and healthy environment in Vietnam will not be a slogan but a reality, where people live in harmony with nature, the economy develops on renewable resource foundations, and production and consumption align with ecological balance.
Third, as Vietnam sets its sights on becoming a developed, high-income country and an international model of sustainable development, the role and position of agriculture and environment are fundamental. The strategy and vision of ecological agriculture and a healthy environment are core foundations to ensure food security, improve living standards, and sustain healthy ecosystems for future generations.
Question: What breakthrough solutions are needed to enhance the role and position of agriculture and environment in this new era?
Deputy Minister: Aiming for wealth and prosperity, our Party has recently issued four important Politburo Resolutions including Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW (December 22, 2024) on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation; Resolution 59-NQ/TW (January 24, 2025) on international integration in the new context; Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW on renewing lawmaking and law-enforcement to meet national development needs in the new era; Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW (May 4, 2025) on private-sector development.
As General Secretary To Lam analyzed, these four resolutions are the “four-pillar set” to help the country take off, aiming toward prosperity and happiness. Immediately after these resolutions were issued, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment promptly organized study sessions, dissemination, and action plans, with firm belief that applying this “four-pillar set” to agriculture and environment will create strong breakthroughs and make major contributions to socio-economic development.
The Ministry has identified four strategic breakthroughs, with the overarching goal of building a modern, efficient, green, and highly competitive agriculture; proactively adapting to climate change; protecting the environment; and rationally exploiting and using resources, all directed toward a green economy and sustainable, environmentally friendly development.
While we have institutional breakthrough including determined to remove “bottlenecks” and “knots” that hinder development; science, technology, and innovation breakthrough as the main driving force, creating new momentum for the sector; infrastructure breakthrough such as focus on investing in infrastructure, from agriculture and rural areas to environmental treatment systems, disaster prevention, water resources, meteorology, and hydrology; human resources breakthrough such as specially high-quality personnel and talent attraction, considered the decisive factor.
The Ministry expects these four breakthroughs to contribute to achieving key targets: sector-wide GDP growth of 4% or more annually; treatment and reuse of 65–70% of wastewater discharged into river basins; a reduction of at least 15.8% in greenhouse-gas emissions; and maintaining forest cover at 42%. The overarching goal is clear: for the prosperity of the nation and a sustainable future.
Question: On the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2), the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is organizing the exhibition “80 Years of Development in Agriculture and Environment – For the Prosperity of the Nation and a Sustainable Future.” Could you share the significance and key highlights of this event?
Deputy Minister: Under the theme Journey of Independence – Freedom – Happiness, the exhibition will highlight the outstanding and comprehensive achievements of agriculture and environment across 80 years of growing together with the nation.
The 80-year exhibition is not merely a showcase of numbers or dry images, but the story of 80 arduous yet proud years of agriculture and environment. From cropping, livestock, and veterinary work to water resources, forestry, and mineral and resource management—all are interwoven in the larger picture of national development. It demonstrates the sector’s imprint in accompanying the nation, helping Vietnam rise from subsistence agriculture to a country with a recognized position in global value chains, as evidenced by billion-dollar export commodities such as seafood, timber, rice, coffee, and pepper.
These great achievements are not only for society to gain a full and comprehensive understanding of the sector, but also a chance for international friends to view, visit, and better understand Vietnam’s agricultural and environmental accomplishments. Alongside this are activities to promote trade, international cooperation, and export expansion of farm products in the time ahead.
Through the exhibition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment wishes to convey the message: the nation’s foundations and advantages are comprehensively reflected in all fields, affirming national role and strengths and highlighting this sector as a crucial pillar contributing to development in the new era.
Thank you H.E. Deputy Minister!
