A view of the forum (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) -The Government needs new policies on land pooling and accumulation, as well ascredit to develop the farm economy, delegates said at a forum held in HCM Cityon June 15.
The country has 31,717 farms, of which 16,523 are animal breeding ones.Farmland covers a total of 133,826ha, accounting for 0.6 percent of the country’stotal agricultural land.
Nguyen Van Tien, head of the Central Economic Committee’s Agriculture and RuralDepartment, said although there has been a rapid increase in the number offarms, they are mainly household farms, with an average scale of just 4.54ha.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the farmeconomy is an advanced form of the household economy, bringing higher economicefficiency since farms are applying new technologies and expanding markets fortheir products.
Vu Trong Khai, an agricultural expert, said the shift from smallholderproduction to large-scale and modern agricultural production would ensure asafe and sustainable agriculture.
The Government in the past issued many policies to develop farms, but few farmersand businesses benefited from these policies, he said.
Farm owners have encountered difficulties in accumulating land as well asaccessing credit to expand their scale, he said at a forum held by the VietnamFarms and Agricultural Enterprises Association and the Department forEconomic Cooperation and Rural Development.
Vo Mai, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Gardening Association, said capitalsources for the agricultural sector remained low compared to actual demand.
As of June 2016, total outstanding loans in the agricultural sector reached anestimate of 886 trillion VND, accounting for 18 percent of total outstandingloans in the economy.
Customers in the agricultural sector have faced difficulties in accessing bankloans due to credit regulations, she said.
For instance, the Government’s Decree 55 stipulates that customers involved inthe agriculture and rural development sector can obtain loans at creditinstitutions without mortgaged assets, but the decree also stipulates thatcustomers must submit their land use certificates to credit institutions whenthey apply for loans.
They still had to guarantee assets when applying for loans, she said.
Khai said that domestic agriculture was still small-scale and underdeveloped,which does not ensure efficiency, so banks are anxious to offer unsecuredloans.
Vo Quan Huy, director of Huy Long An Co Ltd, who has a large banana farm in thesouthern province of Long An, said his company had to mortgage assets to obtaina loan, but he said the assets were priced by the banks at a level which is toolow compared to the market price.
Similarly, Doan Minh Chien, owner of a general farm in the southern province ofBinh Duong, said “Each hectare of my farm is valued at 7-8 billion VND at themarket price, but the bank values it at just 300 million VND”.
Huy and Chien suggested that the Government and central bank reconsideramending the asset valuation policy.
Tien said household and farm economies would continue to be the base of thecountry’s agricultural production.
The Government should develop policies to encourage pooling and accumulatingland to expand production scale, and develop linkages in agriculturalproduction.
Delegates at the forum said the Government should complete financial and creditpolicies in the agricultural sector that support individuals and organisationsin pooling land. Developing insurance models in agricultural production is alsoimportant, they said.-VNA
VNA
