Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong was the first to field questions. He talked about solutions to restructure agriculture, improve the quality and competitiveness of agricultural products towards sustainable development.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong

He stressed the importance of connecting farmers and businesses: “We have assigned research institutes to handle the breeding issues. The Prime Minister has already approved a 400-ha high-tech zone for shrimp production in Bac Lieu. Vietnam has plenty of land, but if not handled properly, our efforts could damage the environment. We need to create chains of production that don’t harm the environment, tourism, or underground water.”

Mr. Cuong urged for further incentive policies to attract more investment in the agriculture sector.

“Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has directly reviewed policies on credit and land. The Ministry of Agriculture has petitioned on 6 issues related to land. We will ask the National Assembly to revise reputations to attract investment in creating larger production area,” he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung proposed general measures to improve the competitiveness of the agriculture sector: “First, we need to fine-tune regulations to promote growth, give farmers and businesses equal access to capital, create tax incentives, upgrade infrastructure, and reform growth models. Second, we must tackle production problems, including land limitations, review production strategies, focus on the domestic market and apply science and technology.”