Dr Vu Trong Binh, Director of the Center for rural development under the Institute of Policy & Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD), made the remarks at a seminar held in Hanoi on May 15 by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) to discuss measures to promote poverty reduction and stablise the macro-economy by boosting agricultural development.

According to Dr. Amarakoon Bandara from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission in Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Asian countries’ agricultural products account for about one-third of the region’s total export volume. As most of these countries now focus on non-petroleum exports, Vietnam should seek out other markets in Africa and Latin America. The country should also loosen up its macro-polices, including fiscal policy and intensify financial supervision in order to ensure macro-economic stability.

Experts at the seminar said that a financial crisis would impact on both society and the economy, thus countries should build a social welfare system and pay more attention to vulnerable people.

Most Vietnamese people earn their living in the agricultural sector so developing the agro-forestry and aquaculture sector will help to curb price rises, control inflation and ensure social welfare, particularly in the current context of global food shortages, they added.