(VOVworld) - The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has honored 38 countries for their outstanding achievements in reducing hunger and poverty including Vietnam. Vietnam also received special recognition, along with 17 other nations, for its advance in reaching the Millennium Development Goal number one (MDG1) to halve the proportion of hungry people before 2015, and the more stringent World Food Summit (WFS) goal of halving the absolute number of undernourished people in the country.

A vast rice field model in Thai Binh province

Addressing the ceremony on Sunday, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva granted certificates to 38 countries for their efforts in eradicating global hunger and poverty.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said despite having recorded significant achievements in agricultural production, Vietnam is still facing food security challenges due to its booming population and shrinking farmland areas.

She added that climate change also poses great challenges to the country’s agricultural production and sustainable development. Vietnam expects to have more support from the FAO and other international communities to maintain its sustainable agricultural development, boost green growth and improve people’s living conditions.