INSTITUTE OF POLICY AND STRATEGY-

A THINK TANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL REFORM

Introduction

After 20 years of renovation, Vietnam has achieved great success in the transition from central planning to socialist-oriented market economy. The transition is initiated by the reform in agriculture and rural development sector in which policy and institution play crucial role.

Nowadays, Vietnam is entering a new phase of development with new opportunities and challenges. It is the period of increasing industrialization and urbanization given the context of slow rural economic structural adjustment and rural population and labor still making up a majority. It is also the period of dynamic integration into the international economy in the conditions of weak competitiveness and limited market access of agriculture sector.

In such context, agriculture and rural development, hunger elimination, and poverty alleviation still remain the first priorities of Vietnam, and policy and strategy reform is regarded as the decisive solution. In order to undertake this mission, the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural development was founded on the formerly Institute of Agricultural Economics and other units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development (MARD) in the end of 2005. The Institute presents as a think-tank conducting research and providing information for decision-making process of policy makers and stakeholders in the sector.