  Credit: WEF
By Tuan Vuong
IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis
Ho Chi Minh City (IDN) – A public-private task force is being launched by the Government of Vietnam jointly with twelve global companies to advance sustainable agricultural growth.
The task force is a result of discussions at the two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia that concluded in Ho Chi Minh City on June 7. As part of a New Vision for Agriculture Initiative, the task force will take an innovative approach to improve food security and agricultural sustainability nationwide, the Swiss-based WEF said.
"As the first of its kind in Vietnam, the task force will work to coordinate and leverage public and private sector investments in agriculture to increase high-quality production while benefiting farmers," the WEF pointed out.
"The task force will operate both on a strategic level, exchanging best practice and addressing policy issues and on an operational level, working to scale effective initiatives by combining public and private sector capacities," the WEF added.
"Government and business share the same goal: we both want to see strong and sustainable growth in Vietnam's agriculture sector," said Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
"We have identified a number of ways in which we can work together more effectively towards that goal," he added.
"Growing Asian demand for food means we must increase both production and quality to meet that growth while operating within the constraints of climate change. If companies combine efforts with the government and each other, we can operate more effectively along the full value chain," said Frans Muller, Member of the Management Board of METRO Group and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on East Asia.
The task force will work to develop an initial action plan in the coming six months for presentation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
The group’s activities will likely include:
- Undertaking research to identify high leverage opportunities and exchanging best practices
- Undertaking a policy dialogue to build support across key stakeholders and industries
- Fast-tracking and scaling implementation of select initiatives to achieve rapid progress on several "quick wins".
Participating companies include Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, Dupont, METRO Group, Monsanto, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Swiss Re, Syngenta, Unilever and Yara International.
The World Economic Forum's New Vision for Agriculture facilitates partnership-building and action among key stakeholders including business, government, civil society, international organizations and academia. It claims to promote models of agricultural growth that contribute to food security, environmental sustainability and economic opportunity.
The 2010 World Economic Forum on East Asia had given Vietnam a chance to draw lessons for its development through speeches by international experts and scholars, said President Nguyen Minh Triet while hosting a banquet in honour of leaders and delegates to the forum, VietNamNet reported.
Vietnam is determined to integrate into the world’s economy and will do its best to develop itself, contributing to the development of East Asia and Asia, Triet said.
Like other regional countries, Vietnam always pays due attention to the combination of economic development with social, human and environmental issues, President Triet said. As a result, it has fulfilled the UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction and hunger alleviation ahead of schedule, which has been praised by the UN and international organizations, he added.
The country also pays attention to food production to ensure food security for the country and the world at large, the president pointed out.
GROWTH MODEL
At a seminar on the sidelines of the WEF on East Asia, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said Vietnam is pursuing a growth model based on the competitive capacity.
The seminar showed the Vietnamese Government and business community's determination to pursue and consolidate its development model based on competitive capacity, quality, efficiency and sustainability, said Hai.
Addressing the seminar, the president of the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham), Alain Cany, highlighted Vietnam's economic achievements over the past 10 years. However, Alain said Vietnam should make major some decisions to enhance the equitisation of State owned enterprises (SoEs) and change its strategies for attracting foreign investment because the country is past the period of attracting foreign investment to generate more jobs.
BIGGER ROLE
The Forum on East Asia ended June 7 with participants underscoring the need for Asia's leaders to take a bigger role in world affairs, including discussions on a global financial architecture and international trade. The region has recovered swiftly from the global economic crisis, but the challenges remain complex and connected, and Asia is still vulnerable to global risks.
"We talk about the shift of economic gravity towards Asia, but with greater economic reputation should come greater responsibility," Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said.
Six members of the G20 come from Asia, so the issues that matter most to developing countries and the region in particular should be on the table in G20 meetings.
Trade should be among those issues, said Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization. "Looking at Asia, one sees very good examples of trade opening leading to growth," he said. "The countries that are the most open have been doing better during and after the global crisis than countries that were less open."
Summing up the outcomes of the meeting, Robert Greenhill, WEF Managing Director and Chief Business Officer also noted the importance of environmentally responsible economic growth and the equitable distribution of the fruits of development.
We all know what to do, the panellists at the closing plenary said. Let us now focus on how to do it. “We should also continue the conversation,” said Pangestu. Indonesia will host the 20th World Economic Forum on East Asia in June next year
TALENT
At another session of the Forum, business, government and university leaders pointed out that the widening global skills gap and talent shortage must be urgently addressed through collaboration between industry and educational institutions, and between the private and public sectors. The session focused on the outlook for Asia's next generation of talent.
"There is a global crisis in education, not just in Asia," warned David Thai, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Viet Thai International Joint Stock Company, who is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
Said James T. Riady, Chief Executive Officer of Lippo Group in Indonesia: "Nation building is about developing our human resources. The people are the most important. But in human resources development, we are falling behind. We are doing a poor job of addressing the knowledge and skill gaps."
Everyone should have equal access to some level of education, and more people should have the opportunity to enter higher education, Riady argued. "But the government does not have the resources to support them. This is where the private sector must come in."
He called on schools to shift from traditional by-rote learning to focus on teaching young people how to be critical thinkers. Some education systems put so much emphasis on technical skills that when economic or social conditions change, graduates cannot cope, Riady explained. Families should become more involved in the education of children, particularly in the inculcation of values and ethics, he advised.
To close the skills gaps will require countries to work together and ministries within governments to cooperate, said Annie Koh, Associate Professor of Finance and Dean of the Office of Executive and Professional Education at Singapore Management University.
"If ministries work independently, it will not help businesses or the country. There has to be collaboration across agencies. Companies have to build links with schools," she added. "Industry has to take ownership as a partner in developing talent. We cannot just look at universities and say that they are at fault. Industry has to come in as partners in shaping the curricula."
For its part, the education sector should be in tune with the needs of business and industry, reckoned Dang Thanh Tam, Chairman of Saigon Invest Group (SGI). "Universities need to study what business needs. They must study the future of Vietnam and how the economy is growing so students [graduate with skills] that are close to what is demanded."
Vocational schools, meanwhile, should be given the importance they deserve because of the key role they play, said Jeffrey Joerres, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Manpower, the global workforce solutions group. In addition, schools should recognize the impact of media and technology on young people and consider how this should change the way teachers teach.
"There are so many new forces shaping their minds; they are learning in a different way," Joerres observed. To promote change in education and training, schools, teachers, businesses and students should try new things, "break a few rules and get the government to be a bit nervous," he suggested.
Governments certainly have to be sensitive to social conditions and how to implement necessary reforms to ensure that the supply of skills and talent meets demand. South Korea has encountered unexpected challenges that have resulted from its success in developing its human capital, Kwak Seung-Jun, Chairman of the Presidential Council for Future and Vision in the Republic of Korea, explained. Youth unemployment in his country is high because many young people are too well educated for the jobs that are available and are not willing to take the positions that are open. "We need educational reforms." (IDN-InDepthNews/08.06.2010)
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