The presence of Tran Ba Duong, CEO of Truong Hai Auto Company at an agricultural conference where he shared his plan to invest in the agriculture sector has surprised many.
The automobile industry tycoon held that Vietnamese agriculture can hardly develop without industry, asserting that industrial firms strong in capital should join the sector to create standardized models in agricultural production.
Duong reckoned that post-harvest transportation and preservation are the weakness of agriculture. However, the mechanization of agriculture must suit the real situation in Vietnam. He revealed that his firm is working with the An Giang-based Loc Troi Group to build a post-harvest industrial complex for rice in the northern region, which will provide transportation, harvest and processing at reasonable costs.
Meanwhile, Vu Van Tien, CEO of Geleximco Group, said that the number of businesses engaging in agriculture sector remains few.
To succeed in agriculture, businesses need sufficient production land and capital, he said, calling for support policies in the field.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, about 4,000 enterprises out of the total 600,000 Vietnamese firms are investing in agriculture.
The interest of big investors in agriculture is hoped to open up a new chapter for the sector’s development, but land and capital are still major obstacles.
At a recent conference on building an agricultural industry, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assigned ministries and sectors to submit solutions to problems facing agriculture to the Government and authorized agencies.
The PM revealed that the Government is considering piloting a land bank and land use market together with setting up some insurance funds for agriculture to support farmers.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has devised a credit package worth 50 trillion VND for high-tech and clean agriculture production, which has been assigned to the Bank for Agriculture.
The PM has requested the SBV to create favorable lending mechanism and allow more commercial banks to disburse the package.
Source: VNA