Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Afailure to improve the agricultural land markethas discouraged the private sector to invest in the sector,experts have said.
Vice Director of the Institutefor Policy and Strategy of Agricultural and Rural Development (IPSARD) Hoang VuQuang said the prevailing problem with the country’s agriculture sector wasthat farmers often owned small land lots instead of large-scale fields.
Speaking at a workshop onmeasures to develop the agricultural land market last week in Hanoi, Quang said26 percent of Vietnamese farmers had less than 2ha of arable land, of which 63 percentowned less than 0.5ha.
The Government had recentlyattempted to adjust its land policy towards allowing large-scale landaccumulation to help create concentrated production areas and attract theprivate sector to invest in agriculture, he said, but things “did not work outas expected”.
“We can only increase ourcompetitiveness once we address the land accumulation puzzle,” Quang said.
But according to Nguyen Van Tonfrom the Department of Agriculture – Rural Affairs under the Party CentralCommittee’s Economic Commission, Vietnam’s farmland market was still young andlacked much-needed transparency to attract investors.
“Some administrativeregulations are not in favour of promoting the agricultural land market,” hesaid.
Dau An Tuan, Director of the Departmentof Legal Affairs under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), told theworkshop that up to 31 percent of agricultural businesses in a survey said thatpaperwork was the biggest challenge for them.
Nguyen Trung Kien from IPSARDsaid that the Government could consider learning lessons from Japan andChina to develop the farmland market.
Japan, for example, set up theFarmland Intermediary Administration Organisation (FIAO) in 2014. It mainlyacts as a middle-man, renting land from farmers and redistricting smallfarms to form larger plots and lend to the large-scale farms and enterprises.
“The Government’s role in thatorganisation is crucial. The Japanese government supports the FIAO by a rangeof policies like levying a high tax on abandoned land, revoking unclaimed lotsand offering financial aid for commercial farms and firms to rent the land,” hesaid.
China, meanwhile, establishedthe first Land Transfer Service Centre (LTSC) in 2010 to acquire land andprovide information on the demand and supply of the rental land market, Kiensaid. The Chinese government guarantees preferential loans for big farms andbusinesses to rent land or to build irrigation infrastructure and otherfacilities.
Meanwhile, Quang from IPSARD suggestedthe government should create a smooth legal corridor for the agricultural landmarket and have support policies in terms of credit or labour. It should buildan effective and transparent land management system, he added./.
Vice Director of the Institutefor Policy and Strategy of Agricultural and Rural Development (IPSARD) Hoang VuQuang said the prevailing problem with the country’s agriculture sector wasthat farmers often owned small land lots instead of large-scale fields.
Speaking at a workshop onmeasures to develop the agricultural land market last week in Hanoi, Quang said26 percent of Vietnamese farmers had less than 2ha of arable land, of which 63 percentowned less than 0.5ha.
The Government had recentlyattempted to adjust its land policy towards allowing large-scale landaccumulation to help create concentrated production areas and attract theprivate sector to invest in agriculture, he said, but things “did not work outas expected”.
“We can only increase ourcompetitiveness once we address the land accumulation puzzle,” Quang said.
But according to Nguyen Van Tonfrom the Department of Agriculture – Rural Affairs under the Party CentralCommittee’s Economic Commission, Vietnam’s farmland market was still young andlacked much-needed transparency to attract investors.
“Some administrativeregulations are not in favour of promoting the agricultural land market,” hesaid.
Dau An Tuan, Director of the Departmentof Legal Affairs under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), told theworkshop that up to 31 percent of agricultural businesses in a survey said thatpaperwork was the biggest challenge for them.
Nguyen Trung Kien from IPSARDsaid that the Government could consider learning lessons from Japan andChina to develop the farmland market.
Japan, for example, set up theFarmland Intermediary Administration Organisation (FIAO) in 2014. It mainlyacts as a middle-man, renting land from farmers and redistricting smallfarms to form larger plots and lend to the large-scale farms and enterprises.
“The Government’s role in thatorganisation is crucial. The Japanese government supports the FIAO by a rangeof policies like levying a high tax on abandoned land, revoking unclaimed lotsand offering financial aid for commercial farms and firms to rent the land,” hesaid.
China, meanwhile, establishedthe first Land Transfer Service Centre (LTSC) in 2010 to acquire land andprovide information on the demand and supply of the rental land market, Kiensaid. The Chinese government guarantees preferential loans for big farms andbusinesses to rent land or to build irrigation infrastructure and otherfacilities.
Meanwhile, Quang from IPSARD suggestedthe government should create a smooth legal corridor for the agricultural landmarket and have support policies in terms of credit or labour. It should buildan effective and transparent land management system, he added./.
VNA
