Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan underlined a number of measures to build a technology market and promote the application of science-technology in agriculture and increase labour productivity and competitiveness at the Q&A session in the ninth meeting of the 13th National Assembly in Hanoi on June 12.

He said the ministry has created a legal foundation for the technology market in recent years, admitting that the biggest shortcoming is failing to build intermediary institutions and services in the field.

He affirmed that the ministry is taking steps to address this weakness such as organising national and international technology equipment fairs and promoting gatherings for businesses and scientists at technology exchanges in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan answering NA deputies' questions.

Besides submitting a national programme on developing the technology market to the Prime Minister, the ministry is seeking financial investment sources to shortly establish intermediary technology institutions in the market, he said.

He continued to say that close to 3 trillion VND (142.86 million USD) is spent annually on scientific research, but admitting that many of research projects have not been put to use. The minister explained that investment from businesses is essential to bring successful studies into reality while most of domestic enterprises are of small and medium sizes with limited financial resources.

The ministry is implementing the national technology renovation programme of the Government and the National Foundation for Science and Technology to support businesses to bring research outcomes into production as quickly as possible, he said.

In response to NA deputies’ concern about the lack of high-quality strains in the field of agriculture, the minister said his ministry has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to study high-yield rice varieties. At the same time, he said these varieties are not used widely because few businesses are involved in commercialising rice strains. In addition, due to the small scale production, farmers tend to choose cheap imported hybrid rice seeds on the market. According to the minister, when large-scale production develops, quality rice strains will be used on a wide scale.

The two ministries have also coordinated in preserving valuable genes of Vietnamese plants and animals and pledged to support capable businesses to implement science-technology projects, he said.

Source: VNA