The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is calling for overseas capital in the agriculture sector through the public private partnership (PPP) model.

The sector, which accounted for some 18 percent of the national GDP last year, aims to raise its foreign direct investment (FDI) to 4.5 billion USD in 2020 and to 6 billion USD by 2030.

According to the head of the ministry's Department for International Cooperation, Tran Kim Long, the foreign funds pouring into agribusiness fall short of their potential in Vietnam and only make up 1.35 percent of total FDI registered capital nationwide.

This has been blamed on Vietnam’s scattered and small-scale production facilities; inadequate infrastructure and support services; changeable policies; and overly complicated procedures, Long noted.

Moving forwards, Vietnamese agriculture will focus on high-quality and profitable products which particularly appeal to regional businesses from Japan and the Republic of Korea, Long revealed.

MARD has worked with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to establish a suitable PPP model for the sector, which has been applied already to seven groups of produce including coffee, tea, vegetables and aquatic products.

Experts from the WEF highly evaluated the PPP model and said it should be widely replicated.

A plan to draw FDI into the agro-fishery sector through 2030 is currently being designed by the ministry. Based on the plan, the Government will issue a related preferential policy towards foreign investors within the second quarter.

In 2014, agricultural exports generated 30.86 billion USD, an annual climb of 11.2 percent. The sector maintained its growth at around 3 percent.

In 2017, some 500,000 households are expected to participate in PPP projects across the country.

VNA