(VOVworld) – The 6^th Congress of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union under the theme “Solidarity, renovation, activeness, integration and sustainable development” concluded in Hanoi on Wednesday. The Congress has reflected the determination, aspiration, and intellect of Vietnamese farmers in promoting the revolutionary tradition and contributing to national industrialization and modernization.

The 6^th Congress of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union for the 2013-2018 tenure took place at a time when Vietnam is focusing resources on building new rural areas and boosting agricultural production and the lives of people in the countryside are facing new difficulties. The Farmers’ Union is being forced to find new ways to rally farmers and improve their living conditions, productivity, and sense of responsibility. Leu Vu Dieu, Vice Chairman of the Farmers’ Union, says that in the next tenure the Union emphasized its central role in farmers’ campaigns, building new rural areas, boosting performance, and getting involved in setting policy for agriculture and rural development. Mr. Dieu says: "The 6^th Congress will continue to fine-tune its operation and improve the quality of staff at all levels so it can carry out the tasks assigned by the Party and State. First, it will engage in policymaking and social criticism and supervise the implementation of Party and State policies. Second, it will study and work out criteria and action plans to develop farmers’ role models in the industrialization and modernization process. In that way, the Union will have a theoretical and practical basis for making recommendations to the Party and State to develop the farmer class in the new period."

In order to achieve the targets, delegates attending the Congress agreed that the Union should embrace its key role in farmers’ campaigns in new rural development nationwide. The Union’s activities should target localities and residential communities in each period to gain visible results. The Union should cooperate with ministries and sectors to increase the quality of consultancy, assist farmers in capital, legal and scientific knowledge, build trademarks for agricultural products, connect markets, restructure the rural economy, offer training, generate jobs, raise incomes, and reduce poverty. Vu Van Tham is Chairman of Quang Nam province’s Farmers’ Union. "The Farmers’ Union should study and propose policies that reflect reality and support farmers’ interests. These should include investment policies for agricultural development in both plantation and husbandry. It’s necessary to work out policies to support production, such as capital, technology transfer to farmers, and encouraging enterprises to invest in agriculture."

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong told the Congress that the 2013-2018 period is of great importance in building a farmer class for national industrialization, modernization, and international integration. It’s crucial to promote the role of the Union to protect the legitimate rights and interests of farmers in the market economy. Trong said in the resolution of the 11^th National Party Congress and the resolution of the 7^th session of the 10^th Party Central Committee on agriculture, farmers, and the countryside, that the State will increase capital, protect the domestic market, and promote the export market for agricultural products to improve farmers’ living standards and sustainably develop Vietnam’s economy. Trong said: "A major feature of the alliance of workers, farmers, and intellectuals is economic cooperation, which is the basis for political alliance. The exchange of goods between the industrial and agricultural sectors and rural and urban areas is a form of economic cooperation that encourages farmers to engage in production, connects markets and labor, and increases scientific and technological applications for higher productivity, quality, and efficiency. The Farmers’ Union should instruct farmers how to better produce, process, and sell products. The Union should have resolute determination and effective measures to help farmers in production and trading."