Photo of VNFU Leadership and Participants
The events were attended by representatives from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Central Party Foreign Affairs Committee, PACCPOM, UNFPA, IFAD, IUCN, US embassy, Netherlands embassy, Agriterra, We Effect, ICRAFT, SRD, Recoft, KRC of Korea, Ezyma company... At the Seminar, participants shared the experiences and results of their cooperation with VNFU in implementing projects, programs, and proposed possible areas and solutions for the upcoming cooperation. The participants emphasized that, with over 10.5 millions members, of which 70% are heads of farming households, 30% are women, 79, 28% of farming households have their membership in VNFU, a well organized structure from the grass-roots level upto the national one, recognized in the Constitution of Vietnam, VNFU played an important role in rural and agricultural development, and had a strong position in Vietnam. However, the participation of VNFU in internationally funded development programs is limited. The participants highly appreciated the cooperation with VNFU in implementing the projects, programs and committed to strengthening and expanding their cooperation with VNFU. Representatives of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, US Embassy, Agriterra, ICRAF, We Effect...suggested to soon meet with VNFU to discuss about further cooperation. VNFU are recommended to arrange more and better staffs for international activities.
On this occasion, on behalf of the VNFU leadership, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, VNFU President sincerely thanked government ministries, agencies, organisations, individuals inside and outside the country for their valuable support, close collaboration and funding VNFU to implement activities for benefits of farmers. To recognize and express VNFU’s gratefulness to individuals who have made great contribution to the Vietnamese peasantry, especially the international activities of VNFU, he awarded the Memorial Medals “for the Vietnamese peasantry” to the 9 following individuals:

1. Mr. Tran Kim Long, Director of International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
2. Mrs. Vu Thi Anh Phuong, Vice – Director of People’s Foreign Affair Department, Central Party Foreign Affairs Committee.
3. Mr. Don Tuan Phong, Vice – Chairman cum General Secretary of Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations.
4. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, National IFAD Program Officer.
5. Mrs. Marlene Ramireze, General Secretary, Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA)
6. Mrs. Esther Penuia, General Secretary, Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable rural Development (AFA).
7. Mr. Soren Thorndal Jorsensen, Chairman, Agricultural Development Denmark – Asia (ADDA).
8. Mr. Helmut Born, Former General Secretary, German Farmers’ Association (DBV).
9. Ms. Monika Erath, Director, AgrarKontakte International (AKI) e.V.

Speaking at the events, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong affirmed that, for the last 85 years, VNFU has been gradually developed and grown. The Union has organized many practical activities to defend and take care of legal and legitimate rights and benefits of farmers, bring into full play the key and central role in farmers’ movements and the cause of new rural construction, continuously renewed the contents, working methods, made many proposals and recommendations to the Party and the State in developing mechanisims, policies related to agriculture, farmers and rural areas to solve the difficulties of farmers; to gather, mobilize and support farmers to actively work, produce, study, take care of their life, thus making contribution to creating jobs, increasing income, eradicating hunger, alleviating poverty, improving living conditions of farmers...
However, agricultural production is small, scattered with low competitiveness, low productivity and quality, not yet meet the requirements of commodity production, low added values, limited adaptation and mitigation capacity to climate change... The spiritual and material life of farmers is still low, poverty rate remain high, particularly for farmers in ethnic, remote areas; big gap between the poor and the rich, between rural and urban areas. These have beening causing many pressing social issues. VNFU is the organization representing Vietnamese farmers with its strong postion, well organized structure, good reputation. It is necessary to engage their full participation in development programs because “Supporting VNFU is actually supporting Vietnamese farmers”.
By Nguyen Xuan Dinh
Director of VNFU International Cooperation Department