August 14, 2008
Large scale producers and technology are vital to develop Vietnam's agricultural sector, a senior industry figure in the country said in an interview with Vietnam Economic Times.
Former Deputy Director of the Viet Nam Institute of Agricultural Science, Ta Minh Son, told the papers that Vietnam, with large areas that can support large-scale production should give priority to large scale producers who would be able to offer employment to the rural population.
These employers should be allowed to accumulate large areas of land for cultivation,
New technology introduced by these large companies would enable profits to be generated from the land, hence retaining youths among the rural population.
Otherwise, agriculture production would be relegated to the elderly, leading to the reduction of productivity, quality and quantity, he said.
At present, technology usage among Vietnamese farmers are at a very low level even as usage of fertiliser, machinery and hybrid crops have helped propel Vietnam into the agricultural world stage.
However, farmers are often too poor or uneducated to put these technology into use, he said. Vietnam also needs to develop proper infrastructure such as roads and canals before technology can exert its potential he added.
Farmers are also more concerned about immediate costs than future profits. As an example, he cited the recent introduction of two new varieties of rice in Tu Trung Co-operative in northern Vinh Phuc Province. The first one was tasteless and hard while the second one was soft. Farmers wanted to develop production of the first, because it is bigger and cheaper than the second, he said.
Even if farmers applied the right technology, markets still need to be found for the products. He cited Vietnamese catfish as an example, where technology brought about increased production, but the lack of new markets meant prices plummeted as farmers continue to churn out catfish that nobody wanted.
All these could be accomplished by large-scale producers he suggested.
