The market fluctuates every hour, farmers should not be proud of their experience but must change their way of doing things, connect with businesses to go out to sea, according to Minister Le Minh Hoan.
The message was emphasized by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan in an interview with VnExpress on the occasion of early year
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan. Photo: Hoang Nam
- What are the bright spots of the agricultural sector in the past year, Minister?
- As the Prime Minister said, the agricultural sector has overcome headwinds over the past year. The first six months of the year faced many difficulties, but we have been proactive, flexible, and adapted to external fluctuations and incidents.
2023 is the year of widespread agricultural economic thinking. We have adapted to the difficulties of output by standardizing agricultural products, suitable for many markets. Localities are very active in organizing many events to promote local agricultural products, focusing more on the domestic market besides the export market. It is the domestic market that will balance the situation when exports are difficult.
Vietnam has also signed an agricultural export protocol, which has reorganized the industry, especially durian. Farmers and businesses have begun to connect more closely. I use the word "beginning" to mean that there is still much to improve in this chain.
In particular, 2023 marks an agricultural export surplus of 12 billion USD, accounting for nearly 50% of Vietnam's export surplus. We have paid little attention to the surplus figure, but this figure clearly shows growth. The surplus is a problem between the selling price and input materials. Unlike the export surplus of the FDI sector, the agricultural surplus brings a lot of profit to the country and farmers.
Not all areas in the industry are "rosy", but it is clear that farmers growing rice, durian, and fruit trees have a more exciting Tet this year.
Durian harvest in Cai Lay town, Tien Giang. Photo: Hoang Nam
- The agricultural sector has achieved many positive results, but there is still a situation where farmers produce uncertainly and lack forecasts, so the supply of some products is greater than the demand, and prices fluctuate erratically. What is the solution to escape this situation?
- Many farmers produce on a small scale. Each person buys a separate package of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides... so they are easily affected when prices fluctuate. Meanwhile, if they join together, they will create a large raw material area and buy and sell together. This is the principle that any era and any country seeks. The production area is small, but people should not be fragmented in their approach. If farmers want to go to the big sea, they should not take small boats but join many boats to overcome the storms.
Another thing I want to emphasize is that farmers should not be proud of their experience. Their experience is only suitable when the times change slowly, but now the market is developing every hour. Flower growers are not only in Sa Dec, mango growers are not only in the West or only in our country. The daily fluctuations of the market make it necessary to be flexible in directing and operating to keep up, but sometimes it does not work immediately. "Far water is hard to put out a nearby fire", so first of all, farmers need to unite and help each other overcome difficulties.
On a macro level, we must reorganize the industry from producers to businesses. The recent disruption and instability in some industries is probably because producers and businesses have not found a common voice, leading to competition for sale and purchase. Local authorities need to be closer to and help farmers more. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is having a training program for local leaders, especially commune-level cadres who are closest to the people.
In the past, the locality supported the people in production, but now it is necessary to focus on the market. Every time a protocol is signed and a new market is opened, the local government needs to forecast the problems that will occur in its raw material areas. Then, invite the people to discuss and together implement the standards required by the partner.
If we want the agricultural sector to grow, we must change the farmers. We cannot blame farmers because they are too used to the traditional production practices of planting and waiting for traders to buy, or traders to place orders before planting. Therefore, those closest to farmers, from party secretaries and commune chairmen to mass organizations, need to help them, share concerns, and dialogue to create a ripple effect.
Farmers in Nga Nam town, Soc Trang, harvest rice. Photo: Nguyet Nhi
- In small-scale production, traders are considered an important link in the agricultural sector, but are not well organized. How can we professionalize this team to create more benefits for farmers?
- I wonder why when agricultural prices are low, public opinion says that traders are forcing down prices. This is unreasonable because if they have that power, why don't they keep prices low forever. So are we being too emotional and hastily blaming traders?
First of all, it must be affirmed that traders are also farmers. They are people with business acumen, with capital, starting from small trading and working their way up. With a fragmented, spontaneous agriculture, growers cannot bring a few hundred kilos of agricultural products to Saigon for consumption. Businessmen also cannot visit each growing household to purchase but must go through traders and warehouses to classify. The system of traders is to share capital, warehouses, and risks with businesses.
Agriculture cannot remain small and fragmented forever. Traders sell to warehouses, warehouses sell to businesses. Therefore, businesses need to consider and bring traders into their "ecosystem". Why don't we organize and build a group of traders in each commune, a club or association of traders in each district. If we continue to be hostile and ignore them, traders will operate outside, without direction and the consequence is that there will be a situation of market harassment somewhere.
- How is the cooperation and association between farmers, traders and businesses being implemented by the agricultural sector?
- The Ministry is reorganizing raw material areas. In those raw material areas, the product lines will be reorganized, cooperatives with sufficient capacity will be developed, and farmers' knowledge and capacity will be improved to be able to link with businesses. This is to prevent floating contracts and limit risks for the industry.
Recently, the ministry coordinated with various parties to implement the project of one million hectares of high-quality rice with the aim of positioning the image of rice in the Mekong Delta, gradually moving towards the image of the national rice industry and other agricultural product industries.
The project shifts from production thinking to economic thinking, gradually approaching green growth agriculture. Because today consumers no longer buy a product but buy the way that product is created and care about whether the production process harms the environment and society.
In addition to increasing the value and quality of rice grains, the project also aims at many other goals such as helping rice growers take advantage of agricultural by-products; creating many products to stimulate the rural economy; agricultural tourism... If we do these things well, it will help farmers increase their income 2-3 times compared to just growing rice.
Ngoc Tai
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