More investment needed for agriculture sector

A agriculture project in Lam Dong province (Photo: baodautu)

HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam’s agriculture sector, from production to exports, has developed impressively in recent times, but its progress is still yet to meet its full potential.

To develop the sector sustainably, the Government and relevant ministries have carried out a number of preferential policies, but the number of enterprises investing in this field remains quite modest.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of June 30, only 49,600 enterprises (or 8 percent of the nation’s total firms) invested in agriculture.

Many enterprises said that although the State and localities have paid special attention to investing in infrastructure serving agricultural production, the infrastructure, in fact, has yet to meet their requirements.

In addition, land-related policies have often failed to meet businesses’ expectations. The mechanical industry supporting agriculture also remains limited, with many prevailing unreasonable administrative procedures and business conditions.

Do Ha Nam, General Director of Intimex Group JSC, said that agricultural exports are facing difficulties during their transportation phase. Some of the key roads experience regular traffic congestions, while seaports are often overloaded. Unsmooth logistics affect the quality of farm produce, as well as costs and timing of business deals as vegetables and fruit have limited expiration dates.

Improving logistics infrastructure to facilitate the travel of goods will help attract more investors in agriculture and boost the development of other production sectors, Nam added.

Acknowledging this issue, on April 17, the Government issued Decree No.57 on encouraging businesses to invest in agriculture and rural areas, which reflected its resolve to improve investment attraction in this field.

However, Ho Quoc Luc, Managing Director of Sao Ta Foods JSC in Soc Trang province, said that although the decree has a lot of positive adjustments and preferential policies to develop the agricultural sector, there is no document guiding the implementation of the decree.

As such, in order to find an effective solution for agricultural development, a national conference seeking ways to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture commenced in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on July 30.