Essential and indispensable rural industry

On July 14th, the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development (MARD) has held a conference to review the direction and operation of the first 6 months of the year and the direction of tasks for the remaining 6 months of 2021.

At the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam took an example from the story of labor resources in industrial zones to emphasize that rural industry is essential and indispensable in modern society.

"Currently, the main human resources in industrial zones has working age of 18 to 30 years old, and after 38 - 40 years old, they will be removed. So how will that part of removed workers fare? Only the rural industry, a large field with a lot of room and potential for development, is the future of farmers", said Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam.

Therefore, the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development, as a state management agency, needs to develop rural industries through the construction of a detailed and specific geographical system of craft villages. A locality’s system of books to record, compile, introduce the local geography, history, customs, characters, products, economy, culture... will play an important role in orienting all craft villages in Vietnam.

Along with those things, it is also necessary to build a raw material area for craft villages. The agricultural extension models on craft villages should focus on economic efficiency and production organizational structure associated with raw material areas.

Besides, in addition to rural industries, the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development also needs to coordinate with units inside and outside the MARD to develop core issues such as collective economy, agricultural mechanization, poverty alleviation...

In the remaining 6 months of 2021, the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development will pilot a number of agricultural cooperatives suitable to regional conditions for several commodities such as rice in the Cuu Long Delta; fruits in the Cuu Long Delta and the Northern Midlands; vegetables and industrial plants in the Red River Delta and the Central Highlands; seafood in the Central Coast.

Three criteria to recognize traditional craft villages

Decree 52/2018/ND-CP of the Government on the rural industry development has clarified three criteria to recognize traditional crafts, including:

- The craft has appeared in the locality for over 50 years and is currently in constant development up to the time to apply for recognition.

- The craft has created products that possess national cultural identity.

- The craft is attached to the name of one or more artisans or the name of the craft village.

The three criteria to recognize a craft village include:

- Having at least 20% of the total number of households in the area participating in one of the activities or rural trade activities specified in Article 4 of this Decree.

- Stable production and business activities for at least 2 consecutive years by the time of application for recognition.

- Meet the craft villages’ environmental protection conditions in accordance with current laws.