Lawmakers concerned about bottlenecks in agricultural restructuring
NA deputies, during the fifth session of the 14th-tenure National Assembly on May 25, expressed their concern about outstanding problems in the agricultural sector, such as farm produce oversupply and price drop, and support policies for farmers.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong speaks at the session (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - NA deputies, during thefifth session of the 14th-tenure National Assembly on May 25, expressed theirconcern about outstanding problems in the agricultural sector, such as farmproduce oversupply and price drop, and support policies for farmers.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong gave explanationson some of the issues to the NA.
According to the minister, the restructuring of groups of agricultural productsat national, provincial and communal levels, has prove effective withencouraging outcomes despite great challenges. He cited as examples somenational products such as milk and aquatic products, or key products ofprovinces such as litchi of Bac Giang.
However, with millions of farm households, and nearly70 million small plots of land, the minister said that it will take time for Vietnam’sagriculture sector to transit to a modern agriculture.
“The deputies are quite right about the problems,”the minister said, acknowledging that the linkage in production, processing andconsumption is weak.
Another bottleneck is the processing industry which has not matched agricultureproduction, which resulted in the stockpile of products when supply isabundant.
Cuong also mentioned difficulties facing Vietnam in exporting farm produce,stressing that to attract more investment from enterprises in agriculture, itis necessary to have policies on land, especially land accumulation.
He said the Government is directing ministries, sectors, especially the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development, to coordinate with localities andeconomic sectors to remove the bottlenecks, through promoting administrative reformand international cooperation.
Deputy Le Thanh Van of Ca Mau pointed out the fact that Vietnamese farmers producegoods with little regard of the balance between supply and demand.
He suggested building a comprehensive database system on geographical indications,production capacity, consumption volume, and prices of farm produce to helpdeal with the problem, stressing that this is the responsibility not only ofthe MARD, but also of relevant ministries and sectors.
Deputy Tran Hoang Ngan of Ho Chi Minh City (Source: VNA)
While praising efforts made by the MARD in recent time, deputy Tran Hoang Ngan ofHo Chi Minh City noted that the ministry also needs to look more closely at thequestion “Are farmers the beneficiary of added value in agriculture?”
"I hope that the Minister thinks aboutintermediary costs, which “eat up” farmers’ labour”, Ngan said, stressing that thisis a matter to be taken into account in the implementation of agriculture restructuring.-VNA
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Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong speaks at the session (Source: VNA) 
Deputy Tran Hoang Ngan of Ho Chi Minh City (Source: VNA) 
