TAKE MEASURES IN
ARRANGEMENT, REFORM AND
DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-FOREST FARMS.
The Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam has
recently promulgated the Resolution on continuous organization, reform and
development of state-owned agro-forest farms.
Objective
1: contribute to effectively implementing agriculture
and rural industrialization and modernization; efficiently utilizing land
and forest resources, long-term trees and existing infrastructure and
techniques; establishing centralized goods production zones and
large-scaled intensive and specialized farming areas attached with
processing and marketing areas; improving productivity and
competitiveness; creating more job opportunities; increasing people’s
income; protecting ecological environment and reducing poverty.
2: Establish a new management mechanism and a proper
organizing method to enhance fast and efficient application of advanced
science and technology to agro-forestry production; create a motivation
for economic reform; re-allocate labour force; back up the socio-economic
and cultural development in remote, isolated and bordering areas, islands
and areas where ethnic minorities are living.
3: Clarify production and business objectives and
public-interest duties in order to renovate management mechanism.
1. Policy targeted at agricultural farms
|
 |
|
Luc Yen Agricultural farm, Yen Bai Province
Photo by : Ngo Lich |
Agricultural farms specialized in cultivating long-term
trees which are equipped with fairly complete infrastructure shall
continue enhancing and improving its productivity by further investing in
tendering existing trees; promoting the development of processing
establishments. And agricultural farms, which are inefficiently operating,
shall be revoked as regulated by laws.
The agricultural farms producing annual trees such as
sugar cane, pineapple, mulberry, cotton, tobacco shall be re-organized and
attached to processing zones, at the same time producing plant seeds and
developing a model of application of advanced techniques to activities of
agricultural farms. The agricultural farms specialized in staple crop
production and animal husbandry shall pay attention to seed production and
development of advanced technical models to be handed over to farmers, and
then focus on upgradation and development of production establishments and
marketing system for agricultural products.
Maintain agricultural farms in remote, isolated and
bordering areas and islands where ethnic minorities are living, aiming to
serve fixed cultivation and settlement and national security and defense.
Change into other possession types or disintegrate
agricultural farms which have been inefficiently operating for many years
or mainly living on revenues from land lease.
2. Policy targeted at forest farms:
The forest farms which are mainly managing production
forest and land area for afforestation for materials shall be further
invested in its intensive cultivation and utilization of new forest
seedlings and attached with processing factories operating under
production and business mechanism.
The forest farms which are mainly managing land area
with natural forests and land area planned for plantation of protection
and special-use forests shall be shifted into profit-making public units.
The forest farms which have small forest land area
mixed with farming land and adjacent to the citizen community shall have
land areas contracted and shift into profit-making public units
responsible for producing forest seedlings and developing an application
model and transfer of advanced techniques to local farmers. The rest of
area shall be taken back to be used as stipulated by land laws.
The forest farms which are no need being maintained
shall be disintegrated and withdrawn by local authorities for utilization
as provided for by laws.
The following solutions shall be made:
1. Effectively implement the planning for
socio-economic and agro-forestry developmen, and land use; clearly clarify
duties of certain agro-forest farms
Revise the planning for socio-economic and
agro-forestry development in specific areas and ecological zones and
localities; clearly identify functions and duties of certain agro-forest
farms under the aforesaid reform orientation.
Clarify land areas for specific agro-forest farms; hand
over the remaining land area to local authorities for land allocation to
farmer households as regulated by laws; effectively execute the policy on
land allocation to ethnic minorities for housing and production,
especially in the Highland, northwest and southwest central areas.
After making the planning for agricultural land based
on specific functions and duties of certain agro-forest farms, Municipal
People’s Committees under jurisdiction of the Central shall identify land
benchmarks and boundary and make decision on land allocation or land lease
and issue red book to agro-forest farms. The issuance of red book shall be
completed by 2005 at the latest.
2. Administration reform of agro-forest farms
The agro-forest farms which are performing production
and business functions shall have to rent land from the State, execute the
production contract policy and consume products through contracts.
The agricultural farms which are shifted into
profit-making public units shall have land area allocated by the State
without land use fees and its production activities organized under the
proposed plan.
The forest farms which have natural forest area and
rehabilitable land area for natural forests shall allocate land to
households, household groups or hamlet people community for contract
protection, regeneration and tendering in long-term.
3. Science and technology
Apply advanced science and technology and high-tech to
production, processing and post-harvest phases; make cooperation and
linkage with science research institutes to protect, select and cross
genes and produce high-yield agro-forest seedlings and animal breeds;
focus on transferring and adopting advanced science and technology and
providing agro-forestry extension services and market information.
Abstract a financial fund from the State Budget to
support the import of precious, high-yield and high quality genes
adaptable to natural conditions of specific areas; provide agro-forest
farms and individual farmers with such genes; to issue the policy to
support financial fund for agro-forestry extension services suitable with
agro-forest farms.
4. Financial policies
Agro-forest farms which transferred into its activities
into production and business shall do accounting balance as regulated by
Corporation Code. They shall abide by regulations on financial management
and business cost accounting.
The agricultural farms which change its activities into
public-interest activities shall be entitled to enjoy favorable policies
as being a public interest SOE.
5. Policy targeted at laborers
Households who are legally living on agricultural farms
shall be provided with land area and red books, based on the master
planning for local citizen community.
|
|
|
Bac Quang Forest Farm, Ha Giang
Province
Photo by: Thai Ha |
Local authorities will consider on land allocation and
issuance of red book for those who are living on disintegrated agro-forest
farms as stipulated by Land Law.
Staff and workers from agro-forest farms who have
incomes from forest and forest land contract, tree gardening and animal
raising shall be forced to pay social insurance and entitled to get
benefits from the insurance policy as regulated by the State.
After the reform, abundant labour force of agro-forest
farms shall be treated as prescribed by laws.
The State shall issue training policy in favour of
management staff and technicians from agro-forest farms.
6. Decentralization for agro-forest farms
The agro-forest farms which are performing industrial
tree production and business functions in collaboration with processing
factories or consumption markets shall be considered as SOEs.
The Party Commission and local authorities perform
their leadership and public administration functions over agro-forest
farms as stipulated by prevailing regulations applicable to profit-making
State public units.
CASHEW IN VIETNAM
Recently, cashew consumption has been become
sustainable in Vietnam. It has obtained high prices. As a result,
producers feel confident and enterprises feel happy. In the first 6 months
of the year 2003, units under control of the Vietnam Cashew Association
selected and purchased 220,000 tons of dried cashews, representing more
than 80% of the total productivity. During that time, factories, being as
members of the Vietnam Cashew Association, processed and exported more
than 30,000 tons of finished cashew products, creating over US$100
million, increasing by 10% against the same period of last year. In
addition, such factories are attempting to process and export more than
40,000 tons of various cashews with the total export turnover of US$135
million this year, helping cashew integrate into the world market.
1. The strength of cashew in Vietnam
Cashew is one of key long-term industrial trees,
ranking the 2nd among the eatable oil-family trees in the world market. In
Vietnam, cashew ranks the 4th among key industrial trees for export and
the 3rd in the world market in terms of area scope and export processing
capacity, following India and Brazil. Cashew is more adaptable to
intensive cultivation than others. Annually, cashew is able to grow in
areas with the rainfall of at least 500mm and still alive in areas with
the rainfall of 300-400mm, serving as a tool to facilitate coastal central
areas and Southern central areas to exploit their strength, even with
infertile land. Cashew can grow on various soil types such as infertile or
eroded land..., bringing in different outputs Therefore, land areas for
cashew plantation is abundant and little occupied by other crops
(exclusive of forest trees), mainly in Southern localities. Bare hills and
barren area in Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Ninh Thuan,
Binh Thuan, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Kon Tum...have been planned for
proper cashew plantation. Frankly, at present, the southeast area is
making up around 60%, coastal central area: about 21%; the Highland:
around 8% of existing areas.
Local people living in such areas have many experiences
in plantation and intensive cultivation of cashew combined with marketing
methods. Despite being not complete yet, the entire country has step by
step established centralized cashew areas which are planned and combined
with processing zones, facilitating to speed up larger production of
cashew for export.
However, research strategy and long-term development
vision aim to tackle with production constraints, improve economic
efficiency and social importance of cashew during the unspecific and
unsystematic agriculture and rural development. Therefore, the output of
cashew has been floated for many years while people takes the intensive
cultivation and production expansion for granted. Local people used to
destroy cashew in the past. Under such situation, the Prime Minister
issued the Decision 120/1999/QD-TTg on cashew growth by 2010, creating a
strength for cashew over last few years.
2.Cashew - a boom in cashew productivity and quality in
Vietnam
Implementing the Decision by the Prime Minister, the
agriculture sector considered cashew project as one of 18 projects of the
plant and animal breed and forest seedling program. The sector sees it as
a break-through of cashew productivity and quality, especially for export.
It is informed that majority of cashew gardens are now bearing fruits.
However, unselected cashew seeds were scattered, resulting in low and
unstable productivity and a short life span of cashew trees. The supply of
seeds or seedlings and the selection of parent trees as cashew seeds are
spontaneous actions mainly based on farmers’ subjective experiences. With
aims to improve the position of cashew in the integration, the Binh Duong
Cashew Research Center, Vietnam Forest Science Institute and other local
centers and institutes has made cooperation with many relevant agencies to
identify centralized cashew area and select F1 parent cashew in cashew
production areas, mainly in Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and Ninh
Thuan etc... creating local and exotic cashew generations; to generate a
plenty of national cashew seed resources in order to gradually further
grow cashew; to effectively implement the State policy on agriculture and
rural restructuring under the integration orientation. Seeds of good
cashew generations are distributed to relevant units and farmer households
who have enough production conditions and are able to meet demands for new
seeds by local people, especial those who are living in centralized cashew
production areas in Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh,
Quang Nam and Dak Lak provinces...Many units and farmer households in
centralized cashew areas have expanded their production of high-yield and
high quality new cashew varieties and fairly succeeded in cashew seed
business. The Coffee and Agro-product Export Company 722 (Vietnam Coffee
Corporation) is responsible for both processing cashew for export,
planting over 200 ha of cashew for material inputs and establishing
nursery specialized high quality cashew seedlings. Annually, this company
produces and supplies 130,000 - 300,000 of high quality and high-yield
cashew seedlings and standard cashew grafts such as GN1, P01, MH3, MH5,
MH6, TL3, TL16... in an attempt to graft them onto cashew grafts nursed in
ovary. Mr. Tran Van Xuan and his family in Tan Lap commune, Dong Phu
district (Binh Phuoc province) has developed a 13-ha nursery to propagate
high-yield and high quality cashew seeds provided by the Southern
Agricultural Science Institute. This kind of cashew seed has short-term
growth period (2-3 years), more or less 1 year shorter than old seeds.
Annually, for the purpose of cashew production expansion, about 1 million
cashew buds are supplied to be grafted onto about 100.000 of nursed
seedlings. With the technical assistance of the Southern Agricultural
Science Institute, Mr. Xuan invested in more than 2 ha to propagate Thais
high-yield cashew varieties with aims to supply cashew buds for
households’ cashew propagating gardens. Apart from 83 local cashew
generations and 39 exotic ones, the Southern Agricultural Science
Institute imported and experimented on 3 typical cashew varieties, namely
Sasikel 1, Sasikel 2 and Sasikel 4 of Thais fruit and vegetables research
center in order to gradually introduce good cashew seeds into Vietnam.
|
 |
|
Cashnew in Binh
Duong Province - Photo by: Ngo Lich |
The whole country has 220,000 - 250,000 ha of cashew,
including new high-yield and high quality cashew varieties, creating a
motivation for the integration. Over the past few years, the cashew area
has remarkably increased mainly in coastal central provinces where always
suffer from harsh weather conditions and urgently require for poverty
reduction. By then, new businesses and new hopes have appeared in cashew
areas. Vietnam is striving for 340,000 ha of cashew by 2005 and 500,000 ha
by 2010 with aims to surpass its predecessors.
3. Further development of processing industry
In parallel with expansion of cashew areas and
establishment of new cashew area attached to processing zones, the whole
country has developed a cashew processing networks, especially for export.
Since then, exclusive of small-scale processing establishments managed by
households, there have been more than 80 cashew processing factories over
the whole country, mainly in key cashew area and cashew-specialized
cultivation area. Every year, these factories are capable to process
300,000 tons, an increase of 50,000 tons compared to the processing
capacity in 2002. Such big cashew processing factories such as Vinalimex,
La fooco, Donafoods, export agricultural product company Ninh Thuan, Phu
Yen and other cashew processing factories in Binh Duong... have equipped
themselves with metal detectors, lighting nets, disinfection equipment.
Besides, expanding their space site and production establishments will
help ensure the quality of their products as required by market demands.
As analyzed by experts, with the existing equipment and processing
qualification, Vietnam’s cashew sector has been caught up with its
predecessors specialized in cashew production for nearly half century.
Vietnam does hope that cashew will become a vital export of the
agriculture sector over recent years.
ONE MORE CASHEW PROCESSING
PROJECT
Recently, Cai Lan Vegetation Oil Company in Ho Chi Minh
City introduced a new product of salty cashew. This is the first product
of the investment project for cashew processing in Ha Lam commune, Da
Hoai, Lam Dong province.
The factory with an area of 57,460 m2 is planning to
process 15,000 tons of cashews in order to bring in a stable productivity
of 3,600 tons of various cashews. When the factory comes into operation,
it is estimated to obtain a revenue of nearly US$12 million and generate
more than 1000 jobs. It was informed that the Cai Lan Vegetation Oil
Company invested in an oil-producing factory in Quang Ninh province with
the capacity of 400 tons/day. And it is planning to increase its capacity
to 500 tons/day. The Company in Can Tho is also planning to implement the
project for producing oil from bran with the capacity of 400 tons/day in
order to make the advantage of domestic materials available to produce
bran oil and supply high quality bran to animal foodstuff-producing
factories. (Vietnam Economics News 109/2003)
THE PROJECT FOR
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) APPLICATION TO THE AGRICULTURE AND RURAL
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND MODERNIZATION.
The Minister of MARD has just promulgated the Decision
1136/QD and the Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the
Feasibility Study of the Project with the total investment capital of 71
billion VND with the following objectives:
(i) improve the IT capacity of public administrative
agencies under jurisdiction of MARD; bring into full play the efficiency
of public administration; provide guidelines on research, production and
business activities of ministries and sectors.
(ii) adopt various kinds of services, public services
(including on-line license granting service) through Internet; apply IT
and provide information in order to guide and administrate agencies under
control of the Ministry and the sector; establish a electronic public
administrative system for MARD; facilitate enterprises, and farm owners
and households to exploit and interchange information for the purpose of
developing production and business of agro-products and enhancing the
agriculture and rural industrialization and modernization.
In order to attain the above-mentioned goals, the
Project has identified the following tasks:
-Additionally provide, upgrade infrastructure and
improve information technology of agencies under jurisdiction of MARD.
-Establish, develop and further enhance the effective
exploitation of the database shared by MARD and the agriculture and rural
development sector.
-Develop software supporting to professional expertise
of public administration agencies under control of MARD; develop
specialized software serving cultivation, animal husbandry, forestry and
irrigation system
-Support to investment in information technology
background, database of pilot units in Vinh Phuc province.
Provide IT training for human resources of MARD and the
agriculture and rural development sector.
This project has 6 components:
1.Develop an information network and specialized
database system: The component will develop an information network
connected with specialized database of agencies level 1 or 2 under control
of MARD and Vinh Phuc DARD. In which, 9 entire local networks (LAN system)
are installed for the following agencies: National Institute for Plant
Protection, Food Crop Research Institute, National Institute of Animal
Husbandry, Agricultural Genetics Institute; Institute of Agricultural
Economics , Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, National Institute for
Soils and Fertilizers, National Institute of Veterinary Research and Vinh
Phuc DARD. By the year 2005, the 9 above-mentioned networks shall be
connected with the common networking of MARD. And the unreal VPN network
shall be established to connect between MARD and agencies level 1 or 2
under control of MARD and the Vinh Phuc culture and rural development
sector.
2.Develop a database for MARD’s public administration
and some software supporting to public administration
The database system help manage legal documents and
official letters (in and out, submission and internal circulation);
working time schedule for units and individuals; denunciation letters;
papers and files; working plans and reports; control personnel;
disseminate information to introduce about MARD and its agencies.
The special software aims to serve public
administration of several Departments under jurisdiction of MARDs (the
software help manage key programs for processing agricultural products and
rural trade; fixed cultivation and settlement; immigration and new
economic zone development, river and sea embankments with aims to serve
the flood control; planning and plans; science and technology...)
3. Development of specialized software:
a. Cultivation:
Develop a database on plant seeds, advanced technology
applicable to the cultivation sector; a database on agricultural land
resources based on the geographic information system (GIS) on maps;
develop a database on utility of fertilizer and pesticide etc..., summary
reports on land research and evaluation; land use planning and
agro-forestry and rural development vision in certain provinces and areas.
b. Animal husbandry and animal health care: the website
on animal health care and animal husbandry; software used for diagnosing
animal diseases; software used for making out animal raising plans (LSD);
VIETPIG software used for managing pig farms; VDM software used for
managing dairy animals; VDA software and a set of CD on raising process
and treatment methods to animals and poultry (pig, buffalo, cow, goat and
sheep).
c. Database on forestry sector and Vietnam’s forest
trees: Vietnam system for Information Software used for forestland
management; Vietnam forest plant resource software; national program for
data analysis on forest resources; Vietnam forest database.
d. Water resources:
Software is used for investigation and design:
reservoirs, dams, channels, drainage with modules: updating data on
topographic surveys; developing three-way topography of study area; design
and check of design standards and risk evaluation.
One-way calculation software (used for describing the
2-way water flows) are able to indicate the situation of water flows
(softly and tightly), alluvial sand flows and substance transmission
including calculation modules for water flows of river basin; hydraulic
power of waterflows of open channel; sendimented/floated alluvial sand
flows and application to the Mekong Delta; substance transmission;
processing of data and result demonstration under geographic information
system.
4. Experimental application of Information Technology
to Agriculture and Rural Development in Vinh Phuc province:
Furnish agencies under jurisdiction of Vinh Phuc DARD
with computers and large-scale connection networking and provide them with
Information Technology; develop a office building for computer stations in
Vinh Phuc province; establish a integrated database center for Vinh Phuc’s
agro-forestry and water resources; develop a database on agro-forestry and
water resources under the Geographic Information System of Vinh Phuc
province.
5. Development of training courses, human resources and
information technology serving the agriculture and rural industrialization
and modernization:
Provide training courses in information technology for
staff and leaders of the Ministry; provide training courses in basic and
advanced computer skills for users; simultaneously provide training course
in networking and database administration; help operate database of the
sector; improve the capacity of IT and software experts.
6. Experimental application of Teletext to providing
information to farmers; contributing the agriculture and rural
industrialization and modernization in the 2 provinces (Phu Tho and Vinh
Long):
Develop a Telextext system for each province; purchase,
process, edit and manage and propagate information; provide guidelines on
managing and operating the broadcasting system.
The aforesaid project that focuses on public
administration targeted at Vinh Phuc province as a pilot model, apart from
ADB or WB funded IT projects targeted at farmers and rural areas.
AGRO-FOREST
PRODUCT-PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN CONNECTION WITH AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL
INDUSTRIALIZATION IN VIETNAM
Developing the industry of processing agro-forest
products, especially rice is a key task of the agriculture and rural
industrialization and modernization as clearly clarified by the IX th
Party Congress and the Conference Session 5 of Communist Party of Vietnam.
Recently, the industry of processing agro-forest
products nation-wide has raced with the integration, increasingly having
positive influence on production expansion of agricultural products and
modern commodities, making the best use of the existing strength of
tropical agriculture, raising product values, creating competitiveness of
the domestic and international markets. Accordingly, there is a very close
linkage between the processing industry and intensive cultivation zones
specialized in seedlings for materials. At present, intensive cultivation
zones and processing industry zones have not been completed yet but
specifically oriented; besides, they have not yet efficiently implemented
but started to create benefits and competitiveness and been adaptable to
the integration.
Material zones for the agricultural product processing
industry
Since then, the entire country has established material
zones specialized in rice for commerce, rice for export, coffee, rubber,
cashew, fruits, lean pork; cow for commerce. Some zones were
simultaneously established due to the apparent movement of agricultural
production. Some others were founded thanks to thorough investigation,
planning and guidance. Firstly, in terms of rice cultivation area, the
Government and the agricultural sector have officially recognized 3
commercial rice zones: Dong Thap Muoi, Long Xuyen Quadrilateral and the
West of Hau river. The 3 zones have the highest national average per
capita output of food, ranging from 1,500kg to 2,500kg, raising the status
of paddy and rice to a new height. They took initiative in integrating the
international economy. The agricultural sector shall make cooperation with
localities to make planning for a 1,000 ha area of export rice in the
Mekong Delta and 300,000 ha in the Red river delta, considering as 2
national rice stocks: the export rice area in the Mekong delta mainly
concentrates on such provinces as Long An, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, Can Tho,
Soc Trang, An Giang...The export rice area in the Red river delta mainly
concentrate on Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Hai Phong...where
have good land conditions, intensive cultivation skills and especially
convenient transport.
 |
The export rice areas focus on scattering high-yield
paddy varieties, generating high quality rice and special paddy. Annually,
they can obtain 8 – 9 million tons of brown rice and high quality rice for
export. The Mekong delta represents 95% of the volume of rice for export.
Annually, the whole country grows such high quality paddy varieties as OM
1490, OM2031, OMCS 2000, IR64, VND95-20. About 60-70% of farmers living in
the Mekong Delta and the above-mentioned export rice areas already
scattered such new varieties. Especially, such paddy areas are under pest
control with the IPM method. However, pesticide is limited to be used in
order to guarantee clean rice.
In addition, the entire country has more than 520,00 ha
of coffee, including 280,000 ha in specialized cultivation area and
approximately 415,000ha of rubber, inclusive of 330,000 ha in specialized
cultivation area, mainly in the Highland and the Southeast central area.
There is about 280,000 ha of sugar cane, mainly in the South, northern
central mountainous area, central coastal area; 24,000 ha of silkworm
mainly in Lam Dong province. Such areas were established long time ago.
And they have been further consolidated and attached with the large-scale
processing industry; developed new production processing modes and
efficiently mobilized local human resources.
Recently, agricultural and rural economic structure has
been adjusted; plant seeds and animal breeds have been promptly
diversified under the farm model. The entire country has identified 27
relatively centralized fruit area with an area of nearly 242,000 ha out of
the total area of about 580,000 ha. In order to meet the greater export
demand, the agricultural sector worked with Vietnam Horticulture
Association to make planning for fruit tree areas in an attempt to supply
exports over the entire country with an area of about 100,000ha. The
banana area is mainly found in the Red river delta; Tien riverine area,
Hau river alluvial area; mango area mainly in riverine area of Tien river,
Hau river and Khanh Hoa province; pineapple area mainly in Ca Mau
Peninsula, the West of Hau river, Binh Son (Kien Giang), Bac Dong (Tien
Giang), Dong Giao (Ninh Binh); Tam Ky (Quang Nam); Logan area mainly in
riverine areas of Tien river, Hau river (the Mekong Delta) and the Red
river ; rambutan, durian, mangosteen...mainly in Dong Nai, riverine area
in Tien river, Hau river...
More perfect processing industry
The Conference Session 5 re-confirmed that priority
shall be given to developing the processing industry in connection with
the development of agro-forest and marine materials, creating high quality
export and consumer goods. This is a new step in the production process of
modern and integrated agriculture. Currently, the total turnover of the
industry of processing agro-forest and marine products makes up more than
85% of the total turnover of the entire processing industry, annual
average increase of 12 –14%. Especially, some relatively modern processing
industries such as rice grinding and rubbing, silkworm, sugar cane, cake
and candy, condensed juice, wood processing... have been established. Some
disadvantages of productivity, unit prices and competitiveness has been
gradually overcome.
Aiming to develop the industry of processing
agro-forest products in a sustainable manner in connection with material
zones with proper scale and technologies; to meet the market demands; to
create key competitive products, the industry in collaboration with
localities renovated processing equipment in order to improve the product
quality on regional and international markets.
At present, Vietnam has had nearly 630 national rice
grinding and husking centers and ten thousands of private ones with the
total capacity of more than 15 million tons/year, in which small-scale
private establishments represent 70% (mainly for consumption). The Mekong
delta alone has gradually completed 12 rice –processing zones attached
with commercial rice areas, mainly for export, including Tra Noc (Can
Tho), Long Xuyen (An Giang), Sa Dec (Dong Thap), Cai Lay, My Tho (Tien
Giang), Tan An, Ben Luc (Long An), Vinh Loi (Bac Lieu) and Vinh Long with
the total capacity of approximately 2.5 million tons/year. Aiming to
create a new competitiveness for rice for the next 6-7 years, the Mekong
Delta has developed and completed 70 modern rice-drying systems attached
to 26 export-rice-processing centers. The coffee refining factory with the
capacity of 800/year and many national coffee-processing lines with the
capacity of 750-3,000kg/h. The total capacity of rubber processing
establishments obtains 170,000 tons every year, including 3,000 to
12,000ton/year produced by medium-sized and large-scale processing
establishments. The sugar processing industry has also developed
dramatically, attaining 1 million tons of sugar. The whole country has 42
processing factories, yielding the total annual pressing capacity of more
than 7.5 million tons; occupying half of annual sugar output. Vietnam’s
vegetables and fruits are very plentiful, various and highly valued.
However, the processing industry of fruits and vegetables has not yet
become so large. It needs further investment. Recently, the entire country
has brought a series of fruits and vegetables processing factories into
operation, for example Hai Phong condensed tomato-processing factory;
condensed pineapple-processing factories in Ninh Binh, Quang Nam, Vinh
Phuc, Dong Nai, Kien Giang. The country has also improved some of such
processing factories into 20 ones with the capacity 5,000 –10,000ton/year
and 5 freezing factories with the total capacity of 30,000 ton/year. After
the Conference Session 5 , many factories processing agricultural products
and foodstuff started up their construction or came into operation like
the northern biggest dairy-processing factory in Vinh Phuc,
cassava-processing factory in Phu Tho, milk-cooling center in Cu Chi (Ho
Chi Minh city).
Works should be done with the processing industry
Apart from guidelines on production re-adjustment,
plants and animal restructuring under the shift in agriculture and rural
economic structure, the agriculture sector is responsible for chairing the
investment in the processing industry, concentrating on key sectors,
creating high competitive essential products for export. With respects to
rice, existing rice stocks need further investment in upgradation; the
system for rice husking, grinding, rubbing and selecting is established
mainly in 1.3 million ha of cultivation area specialized in rice for
export in order to ensure annual export volume of 4 million tons. In terms
of coffee and rubber having high export ratio, attention shall be paid to
upgrading present processing establishments and factories by providing
additional modern production lines for Stated-owned manufacturers, small
machines for households, especially in the Highland and the Southeast
central area. In the immediate future, the sector puts premium on building
up 10 additional fruits and vegetables processing factories in Vinh Phuc,
Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai, Lam Dong, Kien Giang;
supporting to the construction of cooling stores with the total capacity
of 5,000 tons of products/year; founding 2-3 packaging establishments;
wood processing factories and agro-product processing factories;
completing and newly constructing 5 Iodine salt-producing factories.
Despite being the first step of the industrialization
and modernization of agro-forest product processing, the processing
industry has obtained an remarkable increase in output value in comparison
with agricultural production value, from 33.8% in 1990 to 45% at present,
in which processing agro-forest products for export increases by 22% on
annual average.
However, there exist some shortcomings and difficulties
in the processing industry:
-Connection of material zones with processing
factories: tomato juice, pineapple juice...
-High unit prices of processed agro-forest products
such as: sugar cane, artificial board...
-Besides, difficulties in cashew production and
silkworm management shall be overcome.
BACH MA NATIONAL
PARK
Bach Ma National Park is located in, around 680 km from
the country's capital Hanoi. The national park covers an area of 22,031 ha
and was created in 1991 to protect the centre of the last corridor of
forest stretching from the South China Sea to the border with Lao PDR.
With steep mountains and dense forests this area is home to a wide variety
of animals and plants. At the base of the mountains there is tropical
monsoon forest, above 900 m the forest is sub-tropical. There are species
from both the northern and southern areas of the country and Bach Ma is
recognised as one of the biodiversity centres of Indochina.
The highest point in the park, Bach Ma mountain, is
1450 m above sea level and only 18 km away from the coast. Visitors have
been coming to Bach Ma since the 1930s, when the French Colonials built a
hill resort here to escape the hot and humid plains during the summer
months. The National Park has restored some of the villas built at that
time, and is upgrading the services they offer
Studies of the biodiversity of Bach Ma’s forests are
not yet completed but it is already clear that the park supports a very
large number of species. This is partly due to the variations in altitude
and also because the park is located within the transition of two
bio-geographical zones supporting species from northern and southern
regions of Vietnam.
The vegetation includes two main formations: tropical
ombrophilous lowland forest below 900 m and subtropical submontane forest
between 900 and 1450 m. The flora of Bach Ma includes at least 1,400
species which represents around one-fifth of the entire flora of Vietnam
(in 0.07% of the country’s total land area). Of these, 86 species are
listed as endangered in the red data book of Vietnam. There are also over
500 species which could have a commercial value, including over 430
species of medicinal plants. Bach Ma has given its name to at least three
species of plants: Piper bachmariaefolia, Cissus bachmaensis,
and Elaeocarpus bachmaensis.
 |
|
Bach Ma National Park |
