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Addressing the opening session on September 3, Viet Nam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, said that the conference will focus on new funding streams, the research and transfer of science and technologies, private investment through public private partnership (PPP) agreements, risk management and other appropriate solutions.

Mr. Hans Hoogeveens, Deputy Minister of Economics, Agriculture and Innovation, for the Dutch Government, stressed the importance of upgrading the agricultural sector and protecting the environment, advocating that changes in agriculture are key to sustainable growth.

Challenges concerning climate change need to be addressed immediately, said the Dutch official, adding that food security cannot be solved by a single nation alone. He stressed that it is essential to make a joint effort and learn from the experience of others and adopt successful models from other countries, including Viet Nam.

Representatives from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank (WB) put forward their views on how to create appropriate strategies, policies and markets. They underlined that the private sector must be encouraged to invest in agriculture, to apply new technologies and provide up to date information, which will help create the right conditions for a sustainable, environmental friendly agricultural sector to thrive.

The three day preliminary meeting will review previous outcomes and discuss adjustments to the plans made at the first AFC, held in the Netherlands in 2010. It will also set priorities and decide on appropriate actions to ensure that an environmental friendly agriculture sector becomes the driving force for green growth around the world.

The second AFC conference will take place on September 6-7, hosted by Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with Holland’s Ministry for Economics, Agriculture and Innovation, the FAO and the WB.