Long-term planning is needed to improve production and export of farmproduce and seafood in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region, Vietnam's rice basket, Deputy PM Vu Van Ninh told a conference held in Can ThoCity on July 5.
Ninh said the agricultural sector faced manyobstacles because it lacked long-term planning and had failed to tap itspotential.
He urged the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to propose specificmeasures, both short- and long-term, to help improve and restructure thesector.
The conference was held to discuss ways to improve farm and seafood exports from the Delta region.
"Agriculture plays an essential part in our country's socio-economicdevelopment. It is necessary to re-organise the agricultural productionon a demand-supply basis, restructuring crop and breeding to increaseeffectiveness, thus ensuring national food security," he said.
Detailed planning for each particular agricultural area is needed toimprove crops, and more linkages between farmers and businesses are alsoneeded.
Ninh said that government ministries should conductresearch to set up a fund to offer financial support for agriculturalproduction.
He also urged that hi-tech be applied to the agricultural sector to increase the incomes of farmers and businesses.
Taking the floor, Vu Van Tam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said that the sector had been facing many challenges sincethe beginning of this year, including breakout of diseases after theLunar New Year, severe drought in the central and Central Highlandsregions, and salination in the Mekong Delta.
Low demand as well as falling prices of farm produce and seafood products had affected farmers' incomes, he said.
In addition, weak purchasing power in the domestic market had causedlarge inventories, leading to lower prices, especially for rice andseafood products.
Export of farm produce and seafood fell by5.4 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of thisyear compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
Also speaking at theconference, Nguyen Van Binh, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, saidthe agricultural sector was a priority of the banking system.
Binh said the banking sector would continue to provide credit to supportthe production and export of rice and seafood in the Mekong Delta,including the programme to buy one million tonnes of rice for thenational reserve.-VNA
Ninh said the agricultural sector faced manyobstacles because it lacked long-term planning and had failed to tap itspotential.
He urged the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to propose specificmeasures, both short- and long-term, to help improve and restructure thesector.
The conference was held to discuss ways to improve farm and seafood exports from the Delta region.
"Agriculture plays an essential part in our country's socio-economicdevelopment. It is necessary to re-organise the agricultural productionon a demand-supply basis, restructuring crop and breeding to increaseeffectiveness, thus ensuring national food security," he said.
Detailed planning for each particular agricultural area is needed toimprove crops, and more linkages between farmers and businesses are alsoneeded.
Ninh said that government ministries should conductresearch to set up a fund to offer financial support for agriculturalproduction.
He also urged that hi-tech be applied to the agricultural sector to increase the incomes of farmers and businesses.
Taking the floor, Vu Van Tam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said that the sector had been facing many challenges sincethe beginning of this year, including breakout of diseases after theLunar New Year, severe drought in the central and Central Highlandsregions, and salination in the Mekong Delta.
Low demand as well as falling prices of farm produce and seafood products had affected farmers' incomes, he said.
In addition, weak purchasing power in the domestic market had causedlarge inventories, leading to lower prices, especially for rice andseafood products.
Export of farm produce and seafood fell by5.4 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of thisyear compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
Also speaking at theconference, Nguyen Van Binh, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, saidthe agricultural sector was a priority of the banking system.
Binh said the banking sector would continue to provide credit to supportthe production and export of rice and seafood in the Mekong Delta,including the programme to buy one million tonnes of rice for thenational reserve.-VNA
