In a past few years, Vietnamese agricultural production has enjoyed continuous and stable growth, especially in 2002, the year of the best agricultural production achievements in both cultivation and breeding The high growth rate of many agricultural products such as 6% for rice, 10,7 % for cotton, 18% for cashew nut, 14,8% for sugarcane, and 31% for milk cow has raised the critical question of consumption of such products. In this context, links between production and consumption and between enterprises and farmers have been established in several provinces including An Giang, Thanh Hoa, and Tuyen Quang, and in some corporations and companies such as Song Hau Farm (Can Tho Province), Lam Son Sugar Company, milk companies and cotton companies. Based on this fact, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has drawn typical experiences and submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister to issue The Decision No 80/TTg dated 24 June 2002. This Decision regulates the mechanisms and policies for promoting the consumption of agricultural products via signed contracts between enterprises and farmers.

On 3 January 2003, the MARD, in coordination with Vietnam Farmer Association, Vietnam Labor Union, Vietnam Science and Technique Association and the State Bank of Vietnam, signed a joint commitment aiming at facilitating the coordination of four subjects and created a joint strength to serve agricultural production. This can be called the cooperation of four sides, including farmer, scientist, enterprise (bank) and the Government.

Many provinces and cities have timely deployed the Decision No 80 issued by the Prime Minister. As reported by state-owned corporations (SOEs), many contracts have been signed by and between agricultural product processing and exporting companies with farmers. These contracts covered the consumption of 170,000 hectares of rice, 185,000 hectares of sugarcane, 110,000 hectares of pineapple and 30,000 hectares of cotton. Businesses, especially large SOEs, have started signing co-operation contracts. Initial reports showed that in 2003, enterprises have signed contracts in which they committed to purchase agricultural outputs produced in the area of 1 billion hectares of rice. This output accounted for 40% of the total commodity rice in which 1 million tons of high quality rice, 50% of tea output, 20% of coffee output, 90% of cotton and milk output and 70% of sugarcane output. Besides, several foreign-invested sugar companies and breeding companies have signed contracts to consume agricultural outputs cultivated by farmers.

There are some best players such as Cotton Company, which signed the consumption contracts with 37,800 households in an area of 27,800 hectares. The company prepaid VND 26.7 billion to farmers. Sugar companies belonging to Sugar Corporation I, and others including Sugar companies of Quang Ngai, Tuy Hoa, Binh Duong, Binh Duong, Hiep Hoa, and La Nga, and vegetable and fruit processing companies of Dong Giao and Bac Giang have signed agreements to consume 100% of sugarcane and pineapple outputs in areas that are to provide inputs to the companies. Such companies also prepaid VND 5-6 million /ha to farmers for their sugarcane and pineapple production, and VND 3-3.5 million/ha for production care as well as provided agricultural promotion services that helped farmers to apply high technique in production processes.

The contract signing term between businesses and farmers include:

+ Business guarantee to lend farmers the capital, provide the material and announce the purchase price at the beginning of production crop such as the cotton purchase price announced by Cotton company is VND 5,500/kg, dairy purchase price announced by Vinamilk is from VND 3,300 –3,500/kg, the fresh tea leaves purchase price announced by Tea Corporation is VND 1,800 – 2,000/kg, sugarcane purchase price is from VND 200,000 – 250,000/ton. Farmer commits to follow the requirements on quantity, product quality, the harvesting time and selling to businesses.

+ Business guarantee to lend farmers the capital, provide the material. Farmers commit to follow the requirements on quantity, product quality and the price calculated as the market price at the time of selling products.

According to the Minister, these are precious experiences drawing from practice and should be sum up and widely disseminated

However, over a year of implementation, there are some arising problems which need to be solved timely:

(+) The low ratio of agricultural products in consumption contracts, the situation of contract violation appeared in many areas. Some businesses didn’t purchase all products and didn’t fulfill their commitments toward the purchase price, product quality that caused farmers many difficulties in delivering products. In the other hand, many farmers refused to sell products to businesses when the market price was high although they signed the contract and received advance capital of businesses, which caused difficulties for business in restoring capital and operating.

(+) The treatment for contract violation has faced many difficulties. We still haven’t had any sanction to tie down the seller and buyer for their contract implementation. Normally, the suffer hasn’t been compensated and the fault party hasn’t been treated for their contract violation.

Because of the short time for deploying Decision No 80, the guiding institutionalization is inappropriate. The MARD should guide businesses and farmers in signing contract as well as provide concrete guidance to the corporations belonging directly to the Ministry in signing the contract with farmers.

In order to overcome this existing problem, by the end of this year, MARD will make a preliminary summing up of one-year implementation of Decision No 80. In this meeting, experiences in guidance will be drawn and some solutions in implementing this policy will be proposed. They also focus on:

+ Promulgating the regulation and contract samples to guide the farmer and business in having a thorough grasp of their interests and obligations in the agricultural product consumption contract.

+ Building the guarantee system for signed contract to ensure that the contract will be implemented as the committed content. The farmers who sign the agricultural product consumption contract with businesses will be given priority in receiving support in production capital, new breeds and agricultural encouragement programme.

+Giving proposal in amending and supplementing the State Law on economic contract issued in 1992 and consider it as a basis for solving the contract violation such as administration treatment or bringing to civil court for trial

+ The MARD will conduct the corporations and companies belonging directly to the Ministry in signing the production and consumption contract, especially for the products with high quantity, products used for processing and exporting such as rice, tea, rubber, coffee, cashew nut, sugarcane, pineapple, meat.

The agricultural product consumption contract between businesses and farmers is an economic contract. Therefore, organization for implementing and treating violation must base on the economic interests and the law system. The link of 4 subjects is, in fact, the co-operation between businesses and farmers with the aim of supporting farmers in penetrating into market, increasing the competitiveness of agricultural products. However, because of the short time for deploying, the initial results are limited.

MARD consider this task as a focus problem in 2003 and in the coming years. Therefore, they propose the regions to pay attention to organizing and following up the implementation process so that the policy could support effectively the penetration of farmers into market.

(Science & Technology Journal of Agriculture & Rural Development No 5 – 2003)

In May 2003, a seminar held in Thai Binh Province – " Five – ton countryside" with the subject: The field with the value of VND 50 million/ha and the annual income of rural households in Red River Delta reach VND 50 million. The seminar attracted the attention of many leading scientists, managers, businesses and households operating in agricultural sector in this area. The anxiety of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) about the fact: is it possible to reach the value of VND 50 million in Red River Delta- has not received the definitive answer: completely possible.

Red River Delta is one of the two largest deltas in Vietnam. The notable characteristics of this Delta are narrow land and crowded population working in agricultural sector only. Red River Delta has about 1.5 million hectares (approximately 20% of the country’s area), the food productivity is about 7 million ton (about 20% of the country’s food productivity), the population is 17 million people (22 % of the total population of the country), the average land per person is only equivalent to 40% compared with this index of the whole country, the economic mechanism in agriculture sector is: cultivation: 72% (food plant growing accounted for 80%), breeding: 25% and services: 3%

The comparative advantages of Red River Delta can be described as follow: cold climate in winter, fertilized land ( 80% are alluvial soil), the best irrigation system (80% are irrigated actively in which 60% are irrigated by alluvial water), the highest level of agricultural science and technology and intellectual standard of people ( a centre of over 80% of the Institution of Agriculture Research), the market is located near China, SNG and East-North Asia…, mobilizing capital is more convenient than other regions. Red River Delta is a growth triangle with rapid speed of urbanization, which improve productivity in producing goods and services of the farmers

However, Red River Delta also has many restriction and challenges such as the average land area per person is low, only 504 m²/person, the rate of unemployment is over 10%, the land source is decreasing, the polluted environment caused by intensive cultivation, the development of branch, service and urbanization. Moreover, the average income of rural household is relatively low so the investment capacity is limited; the traditional cultivation system is agriculture only, and the heavy subsidized spirit

With the above said advantages and limitations, Red River Delta has many examples reaching the value of VND 50 million/ha.

Hamlet 4, Vu Lac Village, Kien Xuong District, Thai Binh has 280/420 households reaching the production value of over VND 50 millions thanks to applying rotational cultivation of 4 crops/year.

Kha Phong Village, Kim Bang District, Ha Nam Province has many typical examples in changing from cultivating rice in unstable sunken field to developing VAC economic model. This model (planting fruit-trees, feeding fish in combination with breeding livestock) has created the income of VND 50 million/ each household ; this region has also transferred 101 hectares from cultivation to aquaculture. The households who breed blue clawed clayfish also enjoy the income of over VND 70 million. There are 100 households who reach the average income from VND 40-70 million/year

Bac Ninh Provincial Committee of The Party has put forward the Resolution No 6 ( 6/2001) in which they set up the target to reach VND 50 million/ha up to 2005 and become the industrial province in 2010. Tu Son District and Gia Binh District have rapid structural changing speed. Tu Son will become the industrial district by the year 2005, 10 years earlier than the province. Gia Binh District expects to reach the average VND 50 million/ha all over the district by the end of 2003

Mr Nguyen Vinh Tuong, Kha Le Hamlet, Vo Cuong, Bac Ninh town told that the 10 hectares of sunken land which he has contracted since 1994 has brought him VND 125 million/year in the total value of VND 432.5 millions. He said that he had no miracle. He only transferred to cultivating fifth-month rice crop and breeding fish in harvesting crop.

According to MARD, the models like Mr Tuong’s are available in almost all areas in Red River Delta. There are some villages and districts named "VND 50 million" like Tu Liem, Melinh with strong force in growing flowers, An Hai (Hai Phong) in breeding fish. In some agricultural – only areas such as Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, the farmers has cultivated farm products and vegetable in rice fields. In the unstable sunken land, a variety of models such as fish-rice, white butterfish, blue clawed clayfish, rice have appeared. Farmers even turn field into fishpond and dusk pond, fruit-tree have been grown on the edge of pond. This model has brought them the value of VND hundreds millions/ha. This fact proves the miracle to reach the value of VND 50 million/ hectare is the effectively economic structure change and this improves the value over the agricultural land

In order to reach this target, many areas has put forward the organizing solutions including 1) Area scheming, choosing and introducing the suitable rotational cultivation to each kind of lands 2) Providing consultancy to farmers 3) Supporting in advanced technology transfer 4) Organizing product consumption (signing agricultural product consumption contract or export contract)

MARD has brought out the criteria in order to mobilize the ’50 movement" in Red River Delta by the end of this year. The target of this movement is to increase the average value of 1.5 million hectares of agricultural land from VND 48 billion this year to VND 75,000 billion in 2010. This value is much higher than the average value of the whole country (VND 18 million/hectare). According to Mr. Truong Tan San – The Head of Central Economic Committee, this is a rapid leap in term of quality in agricultural development and rural construction in our country. Therefore, this is not a normal movement but an important mission containing revolutionary meaning.

At this seminar, scientists, managers, businesses and rural households also raised two important questions about technology and consumption market when implementing this above said task. According to scientists, they were able to supply breed, advanced techniques for growing plants with high productivity. As Vietnam food and Vegetable Corporation and other businesses, the most important task is to bring an end to fragment and scattered growing and feeding in the area with average field is only 504 m²/person. Therefore, the implementing organization plays the most important role in the result of the program, in which, the scheming co-ordination between central and local, provinces and districts, districts and villages, villages and farmers must be both consistent and flexible. Red River Delta must build the large scale product area with many kinds of agricultural products such as rice, pineapple, tomato, clean vegetables, litchi, longan and bamboo sprout…Moreover, households and village authority should be active and flexible in growing and transferring the plants and livestock as the market’s demand. In some village, the structure of vegetable and fruit has been changed after only one or two crops. A farm owner in Hung Yen said: "Because neighboring areas learned the technology and imitated this structure so if we continue growing this structure, it is unable to find the customers".

According to Mr. Truong Tan Sang, the target of VND 50 million is not only the increased value over the cultivated area, the annual income of each rural household but also create the new competitiveness for Vietnam agricultural products, increase the income and investment capability for each household. Another important thing is to improve the quality and competitiveness connecting closely with transferring agricultural structure.

However, at present, the production cost in agriculture sector is still high, the interest rate over value, income is relatively low. Therefore, according to some economists, the problem is how to reach high interest rate over the agricultural product. According to a senior officer in Institution of Agricultural Economy, if the increasing production cost can not be controlled, Vietnamese farmers will be hesitant to invest in "VND 50 million/ha movement"

Recently, supported by Asian Development Bank, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) have just completed the research analyzing the jointly responsibilities over sex equality in Viet Nam Agriculture and Rural Development Branch. The research result has brought out the important problems in the sex equality in agriculture and rural development branch. Although many achievements in improving the position of women have been reached, there are still many existing in sex gap, especially in approaching the resources and public services provided by MARD, the working time and working hour, income level, the right in making decision in community and in family, the participation in leadership and the chances to train and foster professional knowledge.

In the departments belonging to MARD alone and the whole branch in general, the tradition concepts and fixed ideas about sex are still popular although Vietnamese law clearly points out the equality between men and women

According the result of the survey implemented by interviewing 270 officials in the branch, although 47% of the interviewees said that they understood clearly about sex and sex equality and 46% said that they understood the above said concept to some extent, only 1.6% of these officials could explain exactly the "sex" concept. More than a half of these officials totally misunderstood this concept. Similarly, only 1.2 % of the interviewee had a thorough grasp of the concept " sex equality" and only 1 officials could explain the concept " sex integration". Almost all the interviewee totally misunderstood or understood little about sex concepts.

In the mid-term project evaluation meeting held in December 2002, the steering committee of the Technical Support Project examined the initial proposals for building Sex Strategy and Action Plan. The proposals for solving insight demands and reaching the equality between men and women aimed at:

• Raising the income of rural women
• Improving women’ self-confidence and labour skills
• Upgrading the quality and reinforcing sex sensitiveness in agricultural encouragement services
• Upgrading infrastructure and public services to decrease women’s working time
• Training officials to implement law on land in order to ensure that all land use right certificates should contain the names of both husband and wife
• Improving the effect and solidity of anti-illiteracy campaign in poor minority ethnic groups

Besides, the proposals also pointed out some strategic solutions at ministrial level such as:

• Building and introducing the leaders of all levels the information propaganda program about sex equality

• Combining the content of comprehensive sex training with the training programmes of clark training colleges and vocational training colleges

• Building the strategic training plan, drafting training books and professional contents for specific industries to improve the quality of public services provided by MARD and Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development
• Building a supervising and evaluating system in MARD and Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to follow up the basic indicators divided according to sex including the indicators in Comprehensive Strategy for Growth and Hunger Elimination and Poverty Alleviation, in Action Plans of National Committee for Vietnamese Women’ Progress and The Committee for the Progress of MARD’ women .

On December 12, 2002, Mr Nguyen Dinh Thinh – Deputy Minister concurrently in charge of The Head of Committee for the progress of MARD’s women, signed the Decision No 4692/BNN – TCCB approving the Action Plan for the progress of MARD’s women up to 2005. The action plan includes 5 main targets aiming at further strengthening the women’s participation and contribution to fulfilling the development targets of Agriculture and Rural Development Branch

1 . Reaching the equality between men and women in working and recruitment (obtaining the ratio of 30% women in new recruitment, 40% women in the total employees having new jobs, the redundant female employees in companies and businesses is not exceed 40%..)

2. Reaching the equality for women in professional training and fostering ( 25 % of female employees have chance to take part in post-graduate course, over 30% of women have been trained in politics, informatics, foreign languages, 30% of women have been trained in management skills, 30% of women have been trained to improve labour skills

3. Reaching the equality for women in enjoying health care services ( 100 % of female staff enjoy medical services, 100 % of female workers in agricultural and forestry farms have rights to approach Medical Insurance)

4. Reinforcing the participation of women in leadership (since 2002, 20% of female staff have become members of the Party executive committee, 30% have taken part in The Executive Board of Labor Union). Up to 2005, the units having more than 30% of women over total will have women in the leadership, 30% of companies, units having female leaders and 50% of the total units having female staff in the position from head of department upward

5. Building capacity of the Committee for the progress of MARD’s women and sub- committees belonging directly to MARD (100% units belonging to MARD have the Committee for the progress of women and these committees have operated regularly; 100% of officials working in these committees will be trained; 50% of the leaders have been trained to improve the knowledge about sex equality. Supported by MARD and ADB, some seminars will be hold in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh to give the guidance for deploying and implementing this action plan.

In Northern flat country, there is an water sunken interior field with many precious and rare characteristics which need to be well preserved and deployed to serve the development of service industry. The name of this resource is Van Long. In the chorologic area, there are some forests recognized by the State such as Cuc Phuong, Ba Vi. The different point compared with other forests which include limestone mountains or land mountain, Van Long has both limestone mountains and water sunken land so the ecosystem, planting and animal system and the natural landscape are abundant.

Van Long Area with the scheming project is 2,643 hectares, is on the East North of Ninh Binh Province and belongs to the administrative area of 7 villages: Gia Van, Gia Hung, Lien Son, Gia Hoa, Gia Tan and Gia Thanh – Gia Vien District.

• The west north borders Lac Thuy District , Hoa Binh Province and Day River
• The south is bounded by Dam Cut Dyke
• The West is bounded by Mot Mountain – Gia Hung village
• The East is bounded by Dong Quyen Mountain, May Mountain – Gia Thanh Village

• The quantity of wooden tree which grow rapidly is from 900 to 1,000 ones/ha
• The amount of trees grown by shoot accounts for over 80%. They are growing well and the average height is about 3-4 m
• 457 kinds of high category plants belonging to 327 tonetines, 127 branches have been discovered
• Among the above said 457 kinds of plants, 7 kinds have been recorded in Vietnam Red Book, Two kinds are Vietnam endemics. 3 kinds are firstly acknowledged in Vietnam botanical system

The researchers have examined the animal system and calculated 39 kinds, 19 tonetines belong to 7 animals species, 62 kinds and 32 tonetines belong to 12 birth species among which there are 12 precious kinds of animals and birds, especially Trachypithecus delacouri

with the total number from 33 to 40 ones.