August 27, 2010

Vietnam's agriculture sector aims 3.8% annual growth

The agriculture industry of Vietnam is attempting to reach an annual GDP growth rate of 3.5-3.8% for the 2010-2015 period.

The Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said that the sector should focus on building a modern and sustainable agricultural sector which is capable of producing high quality and competitive commodities in large volumes, while ensuring the nation's food security.

The sector plans to achieve an annual production growth of 4-4.5% and an increase in export turnover of 6.5-7% to US$21 billion per year. It will attempt to increase forest coverage to 43%, realise a seed crop output of 47 million tonnes, including 40 million tonnes of rice, and an annual seafood output of four million tonnes. Farmers per-capita incomes are also expected to reach VND20 million (US$ 1,028) per annum.

According to the deputy minister, agriculture is the economic sector to suffer the most from climate change, disasters, epidemics and international competition, while the amount of useable land and number of workers are diminishing.

Tan said that the sector has put forward a number of solutions on science and technology, marketing, human resources development and investments in technical infrastructure and production in order to reach this target.

During the 2006-2010 period, the agriculture and rural development sector made many important achievements in rice, other industrial crops, animal husbandry and seafood production, earning between VND50-200 million (US$2,569-10,277), even billions of VND, per hectare per year. Its added value rose by 3.4% per year compared with the government's target of 3%-3.2%. In the reviewed period, Vietnam exported more than US$20.6 billion of seafood.

From 2006-2009, the sector approved 160 ODA projects totalling almost US$1.42 billion, of which non-refundable aid made up 45%.

A number of Vietnam's agro-forestry and fisheries trademarks are now firmly established in domestic and foreign markets such as Mekong Delta tra fish.