- In the first 9 months of 2016, the added value of the agricultural sector was 2.1%. The program on building advanced rural areas has also obtained a lot of important results. Therefore, the life of City's farmers has been more and more improved. The income, living and working conditions of farmers are also improved. The City's farmers are very delighted at the City's economic development and the attention from the City's leaders to the agricultural sector, farmers and rural areas.
Especially, the success of the 12th National Party Congress, the election of 14th-term representative election and People Council's representative election at all levels in 2016 – 2021 term. However, the City's farmers also pay a lot of attention and concern about the popularity of poor-quality agricultural materials in the market and the loose management over the food hygiene and safety, which have considerable impacts on the production and income of farmers. Besides, the environmental pollution also causes irritation and a number of farmers have quit their field and do other jobs with higher income.

Returning to the story of food hygiene and safety, this is considered as the issue of top priority of the agricultural sector in 2016. Therefore, what the City's Farmers' Union has done to mobilize farmers to implement the safe production?
- Determining the food hygiene and safety as a hot issue receiving the attention of the whole society, the Union has trigged the campaign "For a clean environment, for the public health, Hanoi's farmers only produce, process and sell safe agricultural products to the market”. This mobilization has been accelerated by all levels of the Union and has been actively responded by many members. To date, most farmers have been aware of the safe production and have the sense of building safe agricultural product brands. At the same time, the City's Farmers' Union also cooperates with sectors and branches to help farmers build collective brands and trademarks for nearly 20 agricultural products, trade villages and support them to promote and introduce products, especially safe products to consumers.

How do you assess on the spreading of safe agricultural production model to the production activities of farmers in the suburb at present?

- From the beginning of the year to present, all the levels of farmers' unions in the City has developed 166 collective economic models and 1,394 models of households' economics. Moreover, they also support farmers to build over 1,122 safe models of cultivation, husbandry and aquaculture. The implementation of the safe production model has brought in a lot of benefits such as stimulating the production, raising income and generating more employment for farmers. In which, we cannot help mentioning typical models such as: Safe vegetable production in Duyen Ha commune (Thanh Tri), Tien Yen (Hoai Duc), Van Duc (Gia Lam); raising of free-roaming hill chicken in Soc Son, Ba Vi; aquaculture in Thanh Tri, Thanh Oai, etc. Through the tested models, the sense of production with the correct procedures and assurance of the food hygiene and safety of farmers in the City has been heightened.
 

Photo for illustration.

For a clean agriculture of the City
Thus, in your opinion, how to better manage the food hygiene and safety in the City's agricultural production?
- At first, the City's Farmers' Union need to propose departments and branches to drastically engage, especially intensify the inspection and direct checking of agricultural material producing establishments to prevent the fake and poor-quality fertilizers, chemicals and feed to be circulated in the market.
Secondly, it is required to strictly control wholesale markets because besides the foods and agricultural products produced in the city, a large volume of agricultural products are delivered from other provinces to Hanoi. In addition, the livestock and poultry slaughterhouses need to be strictly controlled to better manage the meat products. In my opinion, the management of food hygiene and safety must be implemented synchronously from the regulations of the State to the strict deployment and coordination of all levels and branches from the central level to the grassroots level. We must have to acknowledge the current situation that the food hygiene and safety management is still overlapped among ministries and branches. If there is no consent and strict coordination in the management, we still do not have safe foods.
Thirdly, we need to assure the clean water source for the agricultural production. If the water source is polluted, there will be no safe foods. At present, few localities in the City use the water source from the Red River to water vegetables; meanwhile, most localities use water from Nhue River and Day River which are facing the threat of being polluted.
Being an organization associating with farmers, in the coming time, does the City's Farmers' Association have any solutions to continue to support farmers to implement the safe production?
- In the coming time, the Association will continue to boost the propagation activities so that farmers can be aware of and be self-conscious in the safe production for the public health. At the same time, the Association will boost the coordination with the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and maximally exploit the funds from the Farmers' Unions' funds at all levels to offer loans to farmers to develop their production. Also, the Union will act as a bridge to connect enterprises with farmers to develop concentrated production areas and consume agro-products for farmers. Furthermore, the Union will timely propose to the Central level and the City with the farmers' supporting policies and regimes. I believe that if we well implement the four solutions, farmers will feel secured to produce and create safe products. However, to manage the quality and food hygiene & safety for agro-products and trade villages, all levels of the Farmers' Unions must make more efforts to strive for making Hanoi's farmers take the lead in the safe production.
Thank you very much!