The representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Vietnam, Andrew Speedy, said that the Southeast Asian nation has already succeeded in achieving the first UN Millennium Development Goal of halving the poverty rate well ahead of the 2015 target.

“Rapid economic growth, combined with direct government action to assist the poorest households and communities, has dramatically reduced poverty and hunger, and improved the living standards of most Vietnamese people,” said Mr Speedy on the occasion of World Food Day (October 16).

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the poverty rate in Vietnam has fallen from more than 58 percent in 1993 to just over 18 percent in 2006 and may drop to 15 percent by the end of this year.

There is still a need to address the numbers of poor and hungry people in remote areas, among ethnic minorities and in the poorer sections of society,” he noted. “Rice exports have contributed to economic growth. However, rural development should not be based on agriculture alone; opportunities for diversification, add much needed value and small industries should be encouraged to raise additional income”.

The UN official said that in the post-war years FAO has had a special relationship with Vietnam and has been involved in the implementation of some 400 projects in sustainable agricultural development, including nutrition, food security, forestry and fisheries.

FAO is heavily involved with other partners such as World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Children Fund (UNICEF) and others in a programme to assist with the control and prevention of the infectious avian influenza and the aftermath of natural disasters.

Mr Speedy hinted that FAO is currently developing its own five-year priority framework together with Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other UN agencies with a view to cooperating and providing high quality technical assistance in the fields of food safety, animal and plant health, as well as general agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

The UN official also spoke highly of Vietnam’s assistance to Laos, Senegal, Benin, Madagascar, the Republic of Congo and Mali in poverty reduction, irrigation, cultivation and livestock breeding.

All the recipient countries have expressed their strong appreciation of Vietnam’s input, said Mr Speedy. (VOV)