Increase the value of rice grains
According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Ministry has worked with localities and the International Rice Research Institute to implement 7 pilot models in 5 provinces and cities including Can Tho, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh, and Soc Trang. Currently, 4/7 pilot models for the Summer-Autumn crop in 2024 have reported very positive results.
Notably, costs are reduced by 20-30%; productivity is increased by 10%; farmers' income is increased by 20-25%; an average reduction of 5-6 tons of CO2 equivalent per hectare is achieved; and all harvested rice output is registered for purchase by businesses at a purchase price 200-300 VND higher per kg of paddy.
Mr. Pham Thai Binh - General Director of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City) - said that participating in the Project, the model of linking production with the market will benefit all actors in the chain. Farmers are proactive in production, supported with input materials, and have stable output. Enterprises have high-quality products and sell at good prices.
“The project helps increase the value of rice grains and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That will contribute to increasing the value of Vietnamese rice,” said Mr. Binh.
Solving the capital problem
Dr. Dang Kim Son - former Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development - commented that the important thing now is to replicate and transform pilot and demonstration models into a widespread movement. To do that, the first breakthrough, according to Dr. Dang Kim Son, is to overcome the lack of capital in value chains, especially in leveling fields, purchasing machinery and equipment, etc. These are investments that farmers still have difficulty accessing.
Regarding cooperatives and enterprises, Mr. Pham Thai Binh said that they also need to access loans to pay for links in the rice chain from planting to consumers' tables. This is the core issue for the successful implementation of the Project. Although for many years, farmers, cooperatives and enterprises have been facilitated by banks and have access to loans, it is only partial, only the tip of the iceberg, not meeting the needs of the entire chain, leading to the inability to increase the value of Vietnamese rice.
In fact, although the banking sector has implemented many solutions and policy mechanisms, access to capital for agricultural, forestry and fishery enterprises in the Mekong Delta is still difficult.
To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Can Van Luc - Chief Economist of BIDV - suggested that the Government, ministries, sectors and localities need to improve the information system for forecasting the market and agricultural product prices to help farmers and businesses have stable production and consumption orientations; More effectively implement risk insurance policies in agriculture; Focus on developing rural agricultural infrastructure; Increase public investment capital for developing high-tech agriculture, modernizing rural agriculture...
Regarding the financial and monetary sector, Dr. Can Van Luc recommended that the State Bank support preferential loans with appropriate interest rates to encourage production entities and enterprises to invest in agriculture and encourage credit institutions to lend to rural agriculture.
Regarding farmers and rural enterprises, Dr. Can Van Luc said that it is necessary to improve the financial situation and develop feasible and effective production and business plans to increase access to loans from credit institutions.
