MARD: Vietnam’s Rural Infrastructure Still Underdeveloped

Poor and underdeveloped infrastructure networks in Vietnam’s rural areas are blamed for decreased investments, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement.

 

The report shows that up to 281 communes in Vietnam don’t have roads for cars leading to district centers; 30 per cent of roads to commune centers are unpaved; and the system of inter-village roads is seriously lacking. Lack of safe water is also common.

 

The irrigation network serving agricultural production is very weak. Of the country’s over 4 million hectares of rice fields, only 2.4 million hectares are watered. Additionally, 50 per cent of coffee areas and 80 per cent of vegetable areas need irrigation systems. A mere 19 per cent of canals are built solidly.

 

The Ministry of Planning and Investment said that the state budget can afford around 60 per cent-70 per cent of the investment required in the countryside.

 

Poor infrastructure is blamed for the decrease in investment in agriculture. Foreign investment capital in agriculture accounts for less than 3 per cent of the total.

 

Dr. Dang Kim Son, director of the Institute for Agriculture and Rural Policies and Strategies, said that stimulating investment in rural areas will create jobs and promote the use of locally-manufactured products, such as cement, iron and steel.

 

The Vietnamese government last month signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to receive a non-refundable sum of US$1 million to develop infrastructure in rural area in southern mountainous provinces. (Pioneer, Vietnamnet)