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Policies
Encouraging Agro-Product
Commodities Consumption
by Sale and Procurement Contracts
Policies encouraging
agro-product commodities consumption by sale and procurement contracts
Prime Minister's
Decision was made in June 2002 regarding policies encouraging the
agro-product commodities consumption by sale and procurement contracts.
The government stimulates enterprises of all economical components signing
commodities procurement contracts for the agro-products, forest products,
sea products and salts with producers including individual farmer or
farmer's household, cooperative, etc, so as to attach the agro-commodities
production to the processing and the distribution resulting in a stable
and sustainable production development.
The agro-commodities sale
and purchase contracts should be signed just starting the production
season, at the beginning of the year or of the production cycle. The
short-termed objectives of the contractual undertaking aim at main export
lines such as rice, tea, coffee, pepper, vegetable and fruit, worm silk,
cashew-nut, rubber, and other staple commodities for domestic consumption
after being industrially processed e.g. sugar cane, tobacco leaves, cow
milk, cotton, timber used as materials for paper industry and wood
processing, and sea salt, etc,
Hereafter are some
policies encouraging the enterprises to sign agro-product commodities
purchasing contracts :
1. Policy for land use.
Farmers were given
favourable conditions so that they could fully and legally carry out their
rights of land use; for instance to get shares equivalent to the value of
their land use right, transfer in a joint venture or an associate with
processing or in/exporting enterprises. Large areas specializing in the
growing of some plants (e.g. : sugar cane, tea, vegetable and fruit, etc,
...) would be projected to create favourable conditions for both producers
and businessmen together signing sale and purchasing contract. Moreover,
priorities in land renting were given to enterprises involved in
agro-products processing, distribution and export.
2. For investment.
A partly financial
investment from the state budget would be allotted to large specializing
cropping areas which have been associated with processing enterprises or
trading companies by agro-product consumption contracts in the
construction of infra-structure such as local roads, rural electricity
networks, irrigation systems, whole sale centre, warehouses, marketing
information networks, commodities quality control facilities.
3. For credits.
- The commercial banks
ensured to fill the needs of loan funds with an agreed interest and
convenient conditions and procedure for both the producers and the
enterprises linking themselves together by economical contracts.
- The two above-mentioned
partners could be granted different forms of the government investment
from Development Assistance Fund if they have projects on agro-product
processing for export and as for those enterprises, they could get a loan
from Export Assistance Fund
- Regarding the remote or
too difficult marginal areas, the frontier or island ones, besides
existing credit policy for the produces and the enterprises as: loans for
poor households or interest reduced, there are some new policies as
follows:
+ An investment project
on farm products processing and distribution could get a loan with 3%
interest from the Development Assistance Fund. If the investment owner of
the project belongs to a state-owned enterprise, so when coming into
operation, the project would be provided with 30% of its liquid capital
from the state budget.
+ It was the People's
Committee of each province or city who can decide to use the local budget
to support bank interest to each project on the production, processing and
consumption of farm product commodities suitable to specific local
conditions.
4. For technical advances
and technology transfer.
A support from the state
budget was allocated to the two above- mentioned partners for their
application of technical advances, and new technologies of the storage and
processing of post-harvest products, market information including
international and domestic prices.
Moreover, the activities
of agriculture, forestry and fishery extension have been paid more
attention with privileges in development, training and supports.
5. For market and trade
promotion
Besides the policies in
effect at present, whichever export company of any economical component
operating in large specializing cropping areas if already having signed
agricultural commodities purchasing contracts with farmers right away
since the early season, then could get preferential right in the
participation of governmental Commercial contracts and trade promotion
programmers of the Ministry of Commerce, other relating ministries, goods
line associations and localities.
The formation of
typical models for rural development at village level in Vietnam
1. Implementation
Situation
The Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in implementing the 06-NQ/TW
Resolution issued on 10th Nov. 1998 of the Vietnam communist party's Politic bureau, together with the Party's Central Economy Board (CEB),
the other relating ministries and localities have expanded typical
models formation of the rural development in the direction of
industrialization, modernization, co-operation and democratization
(generally called as a model for the rural development at village
level) at seven ecological zones in the whole country.
The rural development
programme at village level was defined by MARD as one of the focal
point programmes in 2001 and the following years. Hereafter were some
works deployed by MARD
- Holding a workshop
of all agriculture line to make a wide aware-ness about the objectives
and requirements of the programme, to discuss the guidelines for the
programme execution and the methodology defining contents of a model
rural development programmer at village level.
- Based on the
selection criteria of the programme, MARD in co-operation with local
administration at all levels has selected 14 villages among 61
provinces and cities in the whole country for the formation of a rural
development model at village level. The list of selected villages is
as follows:
+ Son La province:
Chieng Ban village of Mai Son district.
+ Tuyen Quang
province: Son Nam village of Son Duong district.
+ Bac Giang province:
Tan Dinh village of Lang Giang district.
+ Bac Ninh province:
Dinh Bang village of Tu Son district.
+ Hanoi City: Van Duc
village of Gia Lam district.
+ Nam Dinh province:
Minh Tan village of Vu Ban district.
+ Ninh Binh province:
Khanh Phu village of Yen Thanh district.
+ Thanh Hoa province:
Van Ha townlet of Thieu Hoa district.
+ Quang Nam province:
Dai Hiep village of Dai Loc district.
+ Daklak province: EA
Phe village of Krong Pak district.
+ Ninh Thuan
province: Phuoc Dan village of Ninh Phuoc district.
+ Binh Duong
province: Thai Hoa village of Tan Uyen district.
+ Dong Thap province:
Binh Thanh village of Lap Vo district.
+ Can Tho province:
Dong Hiep village of O Mon district.
- MARD has already
organized a study tour for 14 chairmen of the People's committee of 14
selected villages above mentioned from 6th to 17th May 2001 to give
them a good opportunity to see and investigate rural development model
of Taiwan. Such a study tour kept in their mind a new look and
knowledge, and some experiences in holding a rural development model
following the direction of industrialization and modernization.
Four training courses
so far have been held in the whole country for 190 cadres of villages,
districts' agriculture chamber and provincial agriculture and rural
development departments, among them, 48 trainees were chairmen or vice
chairmen and land registry officials of selected villages. Those
training courses were aiming at making known the necessary
understanding and the methodology for the preparation of rural
development projects to local cadres, particularly to villages' ones
so that they could learn how to form, develop and manage rural
development projects by themselves. Most of them after the courses
have expressed their will and readiness of participating in formation
a typical rural model at the village level.
- The two institutes
of MARD: National Institute for Agricultural Planning and Projection
and Institute of Agricultural Economics have been assigning from the
early June 2001 as consulting agencies assisting localities in
preparing the rural development projects of typical selected villages.
After the process of
project formation at localities and the appraisal meetings held at all
levels, from villages and districts to provinces and MARD, it appeared
that most leading officials of typical villages have firmly seized the
objectives, requirements and contents of the project. As a result the
proposed project have manifested the general guideline, that is as the
saying goes: "let our people know, discuss, participate in or
carry out and monitor and finally let people enjoy the
achievements." and it also seemed that the managing abilities of
local officials have been improved. All are good signs and a basis for
the successful deployment of village level projects afterward.
2. Some issues during
the process of formation a rural development model at village level in
Vietnam.
(1) Decisive thought
For the organization
and implementation of the typical model, it needs a rural development
project covering all substances which require investments from
different sources and then deployment works are mainly important.
(2) Project
preparation
Most village models
have been designed in closely following the contents of a guidance
draft, but still some have only focused on the agriculture and let
alone other rural services and profession development, cottage
industries as well as cultural and social matters. Also there have
been some which did not attach to development projections of their
district and province.
(3) Model
organization
a) Co-ordination
between government agencies.
Rural development
includes a great substance relating many professional lines as
agriculture, industry communication and transportation, education,
public health, culture and information, etc,... The party's Central
Economy Board (CEB) and MARD would mobilize their synchronous
participation including that of officials from provincial, district
and village levels
b) Consultant
activity
Being those who have
mastered the methodology and process to make up a rural development
project, the consultants team and local responsible cadres now take
the responsibility to guide the lower level cadres and local
inhabitants and give them convenient conditions so that they could
know how to set up, run and manage effectively a rural development
project.
3. Activities
direction in times to come.
- CEB, in the coming
years should supervise and urge the ministries and localities to speed
up the pattern making-up as well as to sum up the implementation
process and assess the results so as to fine out good typical models
accompanied with proposals of feasible and suitable solutions,
policies and mechanism for the wide multiplication of typical models.
- MARD working as a
standing agency, through its guiding process, together with other
relating ministries and localities should make preliminary summing -
up and draw experiences so as to create a basis for the promotion of a
new mechanism, new policies for rural development at village level
which could be submitted to the government for its approval and its
promulgation. And also MARD in the next time should guide relating
institutions to put new integrated programmers (e.g. cottage industry
extension, market information, reforestation, etc,...) into practice
in typical villages.
FAIR on plant
& Animal Breeding and Agriculture Inputs of the Red River Delta
It was a Trade Fair on
Agriculture of the Red River area, aiming at meeting sale and purchase
requirements of farmers, planting & animal breeders and
agriculture inputs business-men. Because of that, there have existed
the information exchange and undertaking between farmers and
agriculture scientists, farmers and processors/traders; the commercial
intercourse of typical producers and good business-men. Main objectives
of the Fair were as follows:
- To introduce the
diversity and the abundance of crop and plant varieties and animal
breed in the delta localities; the reliable addresses supplying plant
and animal breeds to farmers for the production of winter and
Spring-Winter crops in the Red River Delta and some neighboring provinces.
- To display the new
achievements of the national breeding programme which has been
developed in recent time; to support localities and breeding
enterprises effectively participating in phase 2 of the programme.
- To strengthen the
products quality public control in the plant & animal breeding and
agriculture inputs businesses. There only good quality or standard
products were allowed to display for sales.
- To develop
agriculture extension activities and to introduce new technical
advances and new technology to producers and to promote their
application in order to improve the commodities productivity and
quality for both domestic consumption and exports.
- To speed up the
research works and the application of biotechnology in the fields of
breeding, crops protection and animals care. Particular attention was
paid to bio-fertilizers, plant protection biology preparations, and
new appropriate technologies for the safe food products production.
Participants in
the Fair included research institutes, vocational schools, centers for
breeding research and technology transfer, provincial departments for
agriculture and rural development of the area and the adjacent
provinces, farmers, agriculture co-operatives and good farmers clubs,
farmers' households domestic and foreign enterprises producing and
trading plant & animal breeds and agricultural inputs.
The Fair has been
occurring from 20 to 23 September 2002 at Fair-Exhibition Center for
Agriculture and Rural Development, N0.2 Hoang Quoc Viet
Road, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.
Action
programme of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)
about collective economy to the year 2005
Implementing the 5th
Resolution of the Communist Party's 9th Central Executive Committee on
the continuous renovation, development and effect increase of the
collective economy, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) on the 16th August 2002, has issued a Decision about the action
programme of MARD.
The programme
includes following contents:
1. Grasping
thoroughly the party's Resolution so that to create a unanimity in
view and perception regarding the collective economy development.
All institutions
belonging to MARD should make the Resolution known to all cadres and
workers so as the people are in high agreement with the ministry's
view, tasks and solutions regarding the uninterrupted renovation,
development and effect raising of collective economy.
2. Strengthening
state management apparatus for the collective economy development.
MARD could propose a
motion to form a specialized and responsible public agency arranged
according to a system from central to local levels for guiding and
supporting the collective economy.
3. Making suitable
policies creating favourable conditions for the development of
collective economy.
- MARD puts forward a
draft of agriculture co-operative regulation pattern for discussion
and finally submitted to the government for its approval, the
organization and operation statute of an agriculture co-op team (or
group) is also defined by MARD.
- MARD in
co-operation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment will prepare
the amendment project for the law of co-operative.
- MARD in
co-operation with the general Department of Land Registry will prepare
the amendments of the Decree to define the free-taxes land grant cases
and to issue permits of land use right to agricultural co-operatives.
- MARD, together with
the Finance Ministry prepare proposed adjustments to the law on land
use taxes in agriculture to the year 2010 for farmers' households and
suggested amendments to the law on income tax of enterprises.
- MARD in cooperation
with Ministry of Labors Invalids and Social Affairs will issue the
Decree on social insurance policies for members of cooperatives, a
draft of professional training for collective economy will be
submitted to the government for its approval according to the
cooperative law
- MARD in
co-ordination with the Ministry of Science and Technology will submit
to the government a plan to encourage science and technology research
institutions associating with cooperatives and transferring research
achievements and new technologies to them.
4. Making and
carrying out a programme for collective economy development right now
to the year 2005.
- Making known to the
people the Party and state policy on collective economy.
- Guiding and
inspecting the localities and even the agriculture co-operatives in
their implementation of Co-operative law and other collective economy
regulations.
- Changing functions
and activities of old cooperative by cooperative law.
- Reprojecting the
fields for the development of commodities production.
- Studying
agriculture cooperative economy.
- Training and
fostering managing cadres and human resources for co operatives.
Gender
Strategy and implementation plan for Agriculture & rural
development
The Asian Development
Bank (ADB) is providing a one-year technical assistance (TA) grant to
assist MARD to develop a gender mainstreaming strategy and
implementation plan for agriculture and rural development. The
strategy and plan is expected to provide a framework for MARD to
mainstream gender into its organizational strategies, policies,
programs and projects at all levels and stages of its operations. The
main activities of the TA include an assessment of key stakeholders at
the central of provincial levels, participatory workshops for
development of the strategy and plan and capacity building initiatives
for gender responsive thinking, planning and management within MARD.
The TA is also
supporting the Vietnam Women's Union to conduct participatory
workshops and interviews with key stakeholders to identify
"gender gaps" in policy and public services in the
agriculture and rural development sector. The finding and
recommendations will contribute to formulation of MARD's gender
strategy and plan.
For the stakeholder
analyses, a limited number of workshops and interviews will be
conducted at the central level of both organizations and related
institutions. In addition, four provinces have been selected for the
assessment activities: Thai Binh, Quang Binh, Kontum and Tien Giang.
MARD will focus on stakeholders at the provincial level while VWU will
focus on the district, commune and household levels.
Work under the TA
began in June 2002 and an Inception Report was finalized during the
ADB Mission in August 2002. The report outlines the key challenges for
the TA and proposes a long- term strategic approach for gender
mainstreaming and establishing linkages with selected activities
currently underway within MARD. As the TA progress, ADB will continue
to share findings and progress will also solicit views and suggestions
through a consultative process.
More information on
the TA are available from the TA Office at MARD
Building A9, Room 102, #2 Ngoc Ha;
Phone: 733-7145;
E-mail: adb3831@netnam.vn
Poverty
Mapping and Market Access in Vietnam
The project
"Poverty Mapping and Market Access in Vietnam" is funded by
the Government of New Zealand and organized by the ICARD/MARD with the
technical assistance from the World Bank (Hanoi). It has two phases.
Phase I aims at strengthening the capacity of Vietnamese analysts from
MARD, MOLISA (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs), MPI
(Ministry of Planning and Investment) and Phase II will coordinate
these analysts with international researchers to generate poverty maps
at district level for Vietnam using Geographical Information System
(GIS). This group of researchers will also identify the
household-level variables, agro-climatic characteristics and market
access variables correlated with poverty in Vietnam, and disseminate
the methods and results of the analysis.
Phase I of the
project has 3 one-week training courses for about 20 Vietnamese
analysts. The first training focusing on the use of State for
statistical analysis and econometrics has been successfully completed
in ICARD, MARD on the 9th August 2002. The second one will be in
November, introducing the GIS and Poverty Mapping. The third one will
train people on how to use Census data for poverty mapping at the
district level. Phase II will take place in 2003. Besides MARD, MPI
and MOLISA there will be more participants from GSO in the two coming
courses
The training courses
match well the country’s demand for capacity building and
strengthened policy-related communication among the ministries that
directly supports the implementation of the Comprehensive Poverty
Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS). The project is a good effort to
bring the four ministries to work closely. The four ministries have
asserted that the collaboration will be further improved and
maintained closely based on their own state budget.
Mobilization
of resources from international cooperation to serve Agriculture and
rural development
Sector wide
approaches - Initial experience
Dr. Le Van Minh
Director General, International Cooperation Department - MARD
The Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is a multi-sectoral one,
responsible for state management over various fields ranging from
agricultural, forestry and irrigation development to management and
sustainable development of water, land resources and forests. The
utilization of resources from international cooperation, especially
the Official Development Assistance (ODA) for development, plays a
significant role in the context that the country is still poor and
less developed. International cooperation activities with a good
approach adopted will effectively attract foreign financial, technical
resources, new technology, and grey-matter for agriculture and rural
development of Vietnam.
Sector wide
approaches – SWAPs is a new one. It requires the Government’s
agencies, here MARD, should be really active in working with
development partners. In order for Vietnam to take the driver’s
seat, some conditions should be needed. Recently, MARD has been one of
the sectors that take the lead in adoption of SWAPs. Initial
experience has shown, that, in order to get a good adoption of SWAPs,
it is necessary for us to actively strengthen policy dialogues with
different stakeholders, including donors and Vietnam’s agencies,
promote information sharing regarding sector international cooperation
and experience sharing among partners in preparation for ODA
programmes/projects.
The big programmes in
cooperation with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan,
Denmark, ect., have clearly demonstrated the success of the above-
mentioned approach.
The development
partnerships of the sector such as the Five-million hectare
reforestation Partnership (now developed into the Forestry Sector
Programme Support Partnership), the Natural Disaster Mitigation (NDM)
Partnership for Central Vietnam, the International Support Group
(ISG), have, over the past time, provided a good environment for the
application of SWAPs. The development strategy, system of policies,
action work plans of the sector, comprehensive as well as particular
for each area, presented in a more and more transparent and
systematical manner at these development fora, have helped donors in
the orientation of their strategies and plans for fund mobilization.
This approach creates the opportunity to coordinate with other donors,
MARD and the Government in the designing, formulation and
implementation of new programmes/projects. What’s worth noting is
that the habit of co-working among the partners on a strategic
framework or a general policy agreed prior to planning
programmes/projects has been created; the responsibilities of each
partner have been gradually made clear in regularly maintained
dialogues. The preparations for the implementation of the Action
Programme on International Economic Integration, shared efforts in
water resources management, the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and
Growth Strategy (CPRGS), which MARD in coordination with other
Ministries, agencies and international donors’ organizations is
implementing, are outstanding examples for application of a new
approach.
The initial success
of the sector wide approaches, having been applied in the
international cooperation of the agriculture and rural development
sector, is also based on the community-based approach, or other stated
as the participatory approach. In order to ensure that, close
discussions among stakeholders/partners while formulating and
implementing programmes/projects are always highly appreciated.
Another aspect in support of the success of the SWAPs is future
orientation, every discussion, negotiation or design, implementation
of activities are all purpose-oriented (here, at the sectoral scale)
and output-oriented. Finally, protection of natural resources and
ensure the sustainable development is a great important basis for
implementing activities.
For the sector
itself, a management apparatus systematically organized with the
support of information technology, and human resources regularly
trained and developed in order to fluently use new methods and
applications, is possibility a sufficient condition for successful
adoption of SWAPs.
Mobilization of
international resources together with national ones, in a systematical
manner, in service of sustainable development – is the target that
the international cooperation in the agriculture and rural development
is striving for.
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