At the working session, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh welcomed MTK delegation to visit and work with VNFU and introduce to them about the organizational structure, functions, tasks and outstanding activities of VNFU.


Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh informed that with a complete organizational system at all 4 levels from the central to grassroots, VNFU had over 10 million farmer members. Its three key tasks included protecting the legitimate rights and interests of farmers; organizing consultancy, supporting, service and vocational training activities in order to enable farmers to develop production and for their livelihood improvement; building and developing collective economic models in agriculture and rural areas.

 
Moreover, VNFU had a system of relevant departments and units such as Vietnam Farmers' Intermediate School with the task of providing vocational training for rural labors; 52 Centers for supporting farmers and rural areas affiliated to provincial and city Farmers’ Union; the Central and provincial, city Supporting Fund for Farmers operated effectively with a total capital of over VND 4.320 billion to lend to farmers according to household group projects to for income increase and living standard improvement.


With these advantages, in the last years, VNFU has focused on promoting service activities to support farmers that bring many practical effects. Thereby, the process of restructuring crops and livestock is accelerated, productivity quality and value of agricultural products are improved and profits for farmers also increase.
 

Mr. Johan Aberg, Head of MTK Agriculture Department affirmed that MTK was an organization representing farmers, forest owners and rural enterprises, established more than 100 years ago in Finland. In addition to its headquarter in Finland, MTK had an office in Belgium.

 
At present, MTK had more than 316.000 members in the local agricultural production organizations and forest management associations. Member-owned enterprises worked on renewable and sustainable natural resources optimized for high economic efficiency.


Mr. Johan Åberg also emphasized: "MTK has been building programs and projects with the desire to find new cooperation opportunities to provide training for farmers". Mr. Johan Åberg affirmed his willingness to cooperate and share with VNFU for mutual interest, especially in the agricultural sectors, based on the trength of each party.

 
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh expressed his delight at the large scale and tight operation of MTK. Based on the strengths of their knowledge and potential, he hoped that in the coming time, a good cooperative relationship between the two parties would be built, towards the goal of providing the best support for the farmers of both countries.

 
Concluding at the working session, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh stated that in the immediate future, the two parties needed to actively share information and exchange cultures to enhance their mutual understanding. He expressed his wish that MTK would support VNFU in training and improving the qualifications of farmers in the field of production management, towards the goal of producing products meeting export standards to the Finnish market; bring a number of outstanding farmer groups to study and share experiences in Finland; strengthen cooperation and information sharing in the forestry sector from MTK's experiences in building cooperative models.