Bac Kan Province. This year, the World Food Day celebration takes place in Bac Kan, one of the a mountainous province with populous ethnic minority distribution in northern Viet Nam. Its rural population, especially smallholder family farmers and youth, face considerable difficulties in accessing financial support, services, technologies and markets to improve agricultural productivity. This often leads to unstable incomes, poor health and limited social protection - key push factors for urban migration.

“Rural development must be taken into holistic consideration. Only rural development is not enough, other aspects also need to be considered, for example, social services (education, health, infrastructure...), environment and culture; rural development is a long process that requires specific priorities for each period of development with limited resources; the local people and communities must be empowered and encouraged, and the private sector’s participation in rural development must be strengthened”, Mr. Le Quoc Doanh, Vice Minister of MARD said.

In response, FAO has recently supported Bac Kan to fight rural poverty, food insecurity, inequality, unemployment and natural resource depletion. UN-REDD project, for example, represents a number of forestry and non-forestry interventions to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, improve forest quality and support sustainable livelihoods.

Meanwhile, the “Building Coalition with Youth in Sustainable Development through Agriculture” project, recently implemented by FAO Vietnam, the National Target Program for New Rural Development, the Central Youth Union and Bac Kan Youth Union, will demonstrate the full potential of youth to transform the agricultural sector and sustainable development by applying new technologies and innovative ideas to increase incomes and well-being for farmers and local communities, contributing to the National Target Program for New Rural Development 2016 – 2021.

“FAO is committed to support our partners in Bac Kan to break the cycle that compels people to move by creating business opportunities, building resilient livelihoods and promoting sustainable agriculture among youth as viable career opportunities,” said JongHa Bae.

Globally, about 26.4 million people are displaced by climate change and natural disasters each year between 2008 and 2018. Hunger and poverty also represent important factors contributing to the migration challenge faced by countries.     Three-quarters of the extremely poor base their livelihoods on agriculture or other rural activities.

The day was rounded off with a visit to a demonstration model in Phieng An village, Quang Thuan commune, Bac Kan province, of which the successful livelihood has enhanced fruit growers’ income and this model has been scaled up to other areas.

For more information, please contact

Ms Bui My Binh, International Cooperation Department, MARD at [email protected]
Ms Vu Thi Ngoc Diep, FAO Representation in Viet Nam at [email protected]