Strong Boost to Big Agriculture Business

Speaking at the National Assembly on November 2, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that Vietnam has endeavoured to become an agricultural exporter of US$30 billion from an importer.

 

However, he also pointed out some existing limitations in agricultural development in Vietnam, for instance, fragmented smallholding production which results in lower labour and economic productivity.

Citing reasons for a decline in agricultural production, Mr Cuong explained that although all 63 provinces and cities have carried out the policy, inconsistent application inhibited companies from investing in agriculture.

 

For example, Article 129 of the Land Law defines the field boundary (allocation quota) of annual crops is 2-3 ha. He pointed out that all enterprises, cooperatives and farmers who want to do big agribusiness so much want to change this regulation.

 

“Many feared that excessive accumulation of land will cause farmers to lose jobs or lose control. But, practical surveys showed that dozens of land accumulation models are effective. Farmers and businesses know their thresholds and they tend not to own beyond their capacity. And, hired farmers will become agricultural workers who are currently paid VND3-5 million a month, depending on the region,” he said.

Regarding policy bottleneck, Minister Cuong proposed revising three groups of policies, especially the group of policies on agribusiness investment.

 

Another hindrance is resources investment. Cuong required having direct investment packages for agricultural restructuring, with direct investment to 63 provinces and cities to push up local agricultural restructuring.

 

Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the ministry will concentrate on removing bottlenecks in land policies to promote agricultural restructuring.

 

He analysed that farmers can export their products to other countries if they can accumulate dozens of hectares of land. For example, a farmer with 120 hectares of land in Hung Yen province grows and exports rice to Japan. He has applied advanced technology to all stages from grain sowing, transplanting to harvesting. Another man cultivates 120 hectares of banana and exports it to Japan.

 

“National Assembly should review this aspect to form bigger agricultural production areas to boost up development,” he added.

 

All 63 provinces have tried and achieved certain successes. For example, Dong Thap province defined five key products for development and achieved initial successes. Ha Giang province defined medicinal herbs and temperate vegetables as key crops and integrated tourism with agriculture.

 

To promote agricultural development, it is necessary to define products that the nation has advantages, can produce in large scale and achieve high value. At present, 10 products have export revenue of over US$1 billion a year, including pangasius, shrimp, vegetable, cashew, coffee and pork. We will define 10 key products and we will focus resources on them.

 

He also underlined focus on locally peculiar products like Luc Ngan litchi, Hung Yen longan, Cao Lanh mango and Cao Phong orange.

 

Mr Cuong also proposed the National Assembly and the Government have policies on vulnerable areas to ensure effective production and equal livelihoods.

 

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha expressed his supports to his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

Minister Ha said that leaders of the two ministries have discussed and planned to propose the establishment of a land bank where people can put their land in when they do not need to use and others can borrow it to do business.

 

Minister Ha stressed that land is a precious resource of the country. Effective land use is an urgent requirement. Agricultural land wastage or ineffective agricultural and forest land management are burning issues.

 

He proposed perfecting the land law to raise land-use efficiency. Land accumulation should be allowed to boost up large-scale production, apply advanced technology to create high-value products for domestic and international markets.