Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that ministries and branches need to conduct research to develop effective agricultural insurance policies and put them into practice to help farmers.
At the 2024 Prime Minister's Dialogue with Farmers conference held on December 31, the head of the Government answered many questions and concerns of farmers related to agricultural production activities; emphasizing that ministries and branches need to conduct research to develop effective agricultural insurance policies and put them into practice.
Strong policies are needed to effectively exploit forestry land.
Raising a question at the Conference, Mr. Vo Quan Huy, Director of Huy Long An Limited Liability Company, said that recently, the Central Government has issued many important policies and decisions, especially putting the Land Law into practice sooner than expected.
However, according to Mr. Vo Quan Huy, more than 20 years ago, the Party and the State had a policy of promoting the establishment of forestry farms, bringing people to reclaim land for production, and contracting out products. After that, this model did not operate effectively, leading to decline, dissolution, and transfer to local management, farmers still cultivated and paid land rent according to local government regulations.
Mr. Huy said that according to the new regulations, to rent land in this category, it is also necessary to conduct an auction, so localities are finding it very difficult to do so because farmers have invested a lot of money in their fields, even spent money on land reclamation for many years. If an auction is conducted, it will be necessary to recover and change the location of farmers who are producing, which is very difficult for the locality and the people. Mr. Vo Quan Huy suggested that it is necessary to develop a formula for collecting agricultural land use fees for each type of land with improvements to stabilize production for farmers.
Regarding science and technology, Mr. Huy said that this is the key factor to bring our country's farmers into the era of self-improvement, how to digitize farmers; at the same time, he recommended that the Government have investment programs of a leading nature. For example, currently in forest harvesting, there are a lot of rubber branches and debris but no one has invested in machines to collect and chop them. If there were machines, it would improve environmental issues, post-harvest losses, etc.
Responding to some issues raised by Mr. Vo Quan Huy, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation are the three main pillars in the country's development process. Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation requires the development of a smart program in agriculture; a digital learning platform, digital skills for farmers, or in other words, "digitalizing" farmers; consulting farmers through a virtual assistant, a Q&A app; building e-commerce platforms, and convenient traceability platforms to help farmers confirm the products they make.
With this application, people can prove how different, quality, and unique the tomatoes in their garden are compared to tomatoes from other households. In particular, the Resolution allocates up to 3% of the annual state budget for scientific and technological innovation, creative innovation, and digital transformation. The Resolution also requires assistance for people to do business so that they can become enterprises more easily, for example, if there are 10 tasks, digital software can solve 7-8.
Responding to Mr. Vo Quan Huy’s proposal on land issues in forestry farms, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that this is a pressing issue in many localities. Previously, in some places, forestry farms were established and land was allocated to the farm’s staff for production. However, the farm’s staff did not use the land but instead assigned it to others, assigning it 5-6 times, leading to difficulties in management.
Affirming that the actual use and exploitation of agricultural and forestry land is very wasteful, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in which the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment presides over, surveys, and reports back on this land source seriously. The Prime Minister emphasized that there must be very strong policies to exploit this land source effectively.
If in trouble, farmers can meet the Minister.
Asking a question at the Conference, Ms. Hoang Thi Gai, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Director of the An Hoa Commune Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative (Vinh Bao, Hai Phong) said that the recent storm No. 3 (Yagi) caused huge damage to the agricultural sector, with many farmers suffering billions of dong in losses.
At this conference, Ms. Gai hopes to answer questions related to agricultural issues that many farmers are interested in, such as: The policy to support agricultural production after natural disasters and epidemics is no longer suitable for reality, specifically Decree 02 of the Government on supporting natural disaster risks, which stipulates that the maximum support level for 1 hectare of crops damaged by over 70% is only 2 million VND, if divided equally, it is only 75,000 VND/sao. What instructions has the Government given and will give to commercial banks to extend and postpone old loans, and at the same time provide new loans so that farmers can promptly restore production?
According to Ms. Gai, after natural disasters, agricultural insurance is extremely necessary, especially for large-scale producers. However, currently, accessing agricultural insurance services is still difficult.
Responding to the question of farmer Hoang Thi Gai, Mr. Dao Minh Tu - Deputy Governor of the State Bank said: The State Bank has requested credit institutions to take direct measures to extend and postpone due debts and interest payments to support people. The State Bank has organized a conference with 26 provinces and cities to discuss how to get capital to overcome production for many households, especially aquaculture and seafood farming households in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong...
Mr. Dao Minh Tu said that debts and interest will be deferred from 2 to 3 years depending on actual conditions. In addition to the general policy, there are very specific policies on capital support for people, businesses and cooperatives. For businesses, cooperatives and farming households that have difficulty accessing capital and are not eligible for this public policy, the State Bank is ready to receive opinions and suggestions to direct credit institutions to implement it in the best way, to bring the policy to beneficiaries...
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan emphasized that if farmers encounter any problems, they can meet with the Minister and authorities at all levels to get advice. However, a plan must be made, and from that plan, resources, warehouses, factories, land size, market locations, and business partnerships can be calculated.
“People also need to improve capacity with the Farmers' Association, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and relevant agencies to implement,” Minister Le Minh Hoan affirmed.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said: In 2024, credit packages for seafood and wood have been implemented very well. Immediately after Typhoon Yagi, the Prime Minister directed the State Bank to immediately go to Hai Phong and Quang Ninh to conduct a field survey and just a few days later the Government issued a resolution on credit and insurance policies for agriculture - the sector most severely damaged by the storm.
"After the storm, we see that agricultural insurance is very important. Accordingly, ministries and sectors need to conduct research to develop effective agricultural insurance policies and put them into practice to help farmers," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated./.
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