Renovate processing technology and expand agricultural market

Agricultural science researching is still quite vague with results put into the archive…

According to Nguyen Manh Dung, it is necessary to have a policy to gather retired and experienced scientists in scientific and technological research in the agricultural sector. Photo: TL.

Scientific and technological research is a long walk to open proper pathways, especially for agricultural businesses.

Comprehensive research of supply chain

Large businesses entering the agricultural production sector always organize a strong and long-term market research team before embarking on the production and processing of any specializing agricultural products. 

In 2018 and some years later, when expanding the rice market, I grasped an opportunity to meet Sai Mai Group and had a clearer view when entering the rice production, processing, and export sector. As rice is one of Vietnam’s most familiar and prestigious products in the international market, the group has carefully organized a market research team, researched the rice supply chain in the export and domestic markets very carefully and firmly.

The advance of the timber processing sector over the past years also demonstrates some interesting examples. Although, Vietnam has been very successful in wood processing, supplying products quite widely and famous to the world market, earning over tens of billions of USD each year. But due to lack of necessary research regarding the domestic supply chain, this market with nearly 100 million people is almost open for foreign businesses to dominate and there are almost no possible policies for any Vietnamese enterprises to step in.

Even the information on the domestic wood and wood products market in Vietnam is almost… not available, or cannot be found to plan appropriate development policies.

Therefore, for the sustainable development of the agricultural market, it is necessary to mobilize scientists to focus on researching thoroughly and comprehensively the supply chain of key agricultural products. It also needs proper mechanisms and policies, which require information on the agricultural supply chain must be one step ahead, and these supply chain studies must go even further.

Technology for preserving and processing agricultural products

Although preserving and processing agricultural products were listed as one of three bottlenecks in the economic agricultural or dubbed as one of the “curses” that need to be solved to elevate agriculture to a new height, it needs more attention in both aspects of researching and applying science and technology.

The aquaculture Biotechnology Program reported that in more than 10 years of implementation, there was not a single topic related to seafood preservation proposed and implemented. Currently, although the program's funding for this issue is always available and every year there are calls for scientists and research agencies inside and outside MARD to participate in the program implementation.

Either the agricultural products, after attending series of councils to identify and select topics and projects every year, I see very clearly that in the past time, there are almost no research proposals in this field, even though the leaders of the Ministry always assert it a top priority area of production research and development.

Research tasks in this field are both lacking in quantity and weak in quality and visibility. Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, businesses have a lot of requirements that need scientists to research and solve to develop better products.

Scientists and scientific research agencies are still carrying out research topics of their own so that after acceptance, they put the results into archives without acknowledging practical problems in production, processing enterprises, and farmers.

Some recommendations

We need to pose a long-term program, at least in the next five years with specific and transparent goals, and at the same time promote forms of encouragement for scientists and research units to focus on solving definitively existing problems in production practice.

Second, there should be appropriate mechanisms and policies and effective information channels to create connections between producers, businesses, and scientific and technological research units to directly solve problems relating to production.

A certain percentage of science and technology funding should be reserved for agricultural product preservation and processing enterprises presiding over research tasks with the participation of scientists and scientific research units.

Third, build up policies with appropriate research expense to ensure researchers just concentrate on research work instead of overlapping the work of genius accountants as currently.

Fourth, build a feasible and effective resource supply system for scientific and technological research tasks implementation.

Fifth, it is necessary to have a plan to effectively use the force of scientists who have left the regime in the development of the industry. Currently, we have quite a few associations gathering a lot of experienced and enthusiastic scientists with the country's agricultural science and technology, but most of them have not been used effectively.

Dr. Nguyen Manh Dung was professionally trained in processing and preserving agricultural products. He was the former Head of Processing Office, Head of Plant Product Market Development Office under Agricultural Products Processing and Market Development Department (MARD)

Dr. Nguyen Manh Dung has participated in planning many policies on processing agricultural, forestry, and fishery products and published many publications in the field of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of those notable works was the book "The movement "Each village, each product" - A strategy for rural development in the process of industrialization", Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi 2006.