Utilizing Rural Labour Resources

Currently, Vietnam has 15.5 million households in rural areas, accounting for 69.4 % in the country. As many as people 37.96 million people of working age are living in the countryside, accounting for 69 % of the national workforce. 51.9 % of the workforce is working in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

 

Since 1986, the number of agricultural workers decreased by 21 %age points, from 72.9 % in 1985 to 51.9 % now.

 

In fact, Vietnam now has 39,414 enterprises operating in rural areas, of which only 1,454 enterprises are involved in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, accounted for 3.7 % in the region.

 

Under the plan set for 2020, per capita incomes of rural residents will increase 2.5 times from the current average of US$400. At present, 2,000 out of the 9,800 poorest communes in the country have more than 50 % of residents living below the poverty line. The income gap between rural and urban areas is ballooning, while agricultural land is shrinking. As agricultural production is exposed to high risks, the probability of re-impoverishment is very high.

 

According to Decision No. 1958/QD-TTg approved by the Prime Minister on November 27, 2009 on the training programme for rural workers, Vietnam will annually provide professional training for 700,000 - 800,000 people and 300,000 farmers to continue their farming practices. The key to shifting workers out of agriculture is to improve professional qualifications. However, the training for this targeted force is not as favourable as expected. Although the size of vocational training has increased rapidly in recent years, averaging 20 % a year, the body of students trained in agriculture, forestry and fisheries accounts for only 5 % of the total student body.

 

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ho Xuan Hung, said there are not enough training facilities to meet the demand, while the labour market presently concentrates on provinces and cities having many industrial parks and export processing zones and lying in the three key economic zones. In rural and remote areas, the labour market has not developed, leading to a serious imbalance in labour supply.

 

He said the restructuring of human resources had to go in line with the infrastructure construction investment for rural areas. By doing so, these areas can keep good workers for local construction and development. This is a significant barrier, because rural infrastructures are outdated, especially in mountainous areas and the Mekong Delta where State investments are very limited. On the other hand, rural areas must preserve their environment, cultural identity and other traditional values, as Vietnam is building a new countryside, not urbanizing it.

 

If these criteria are harmonised, rural workers will have a better labour market and the opportunity to escape poverty.