VietNamNet introduces the last part of the roundtable discussion “A quarter century of Vietnam’s rice exports”, with the participation of Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan, Dr. Vu Trong Khai and Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi.

VietNamNet: Except for the African market, currently the countries purchasing Vietnamese rice all have per capita GDP that is much higher than Vietnam’s. One of the reasons that Vietnam has to sell rice at cheap prices is we produce too much rice. What solutions for this paradox?

Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan: To earn high profit from rice, we need to change the way we produce rice, the product that affects the lives of nearly 80% of the population.

First of all, we must take initiative in the output. A restructured food corporation will be included with experienced businessmen who can seek export contracts from rice importing countries. They must know how much rice the world market demands the next year and what variety of rice they like. The food corporation will then connect their subsidiaries to those international clients.

This corporation must have the raw material areas, where farmers are well trained about the Viet GAP or Global GAP standards so they will be able to produce the right kind of rice that clients need. Therefore, farmers will no longer plant rice without a plan or preparation. They will also accumulate land to be able to implement mechanization in order to slash production costs. With a moderate amount of rice, the law of supply and demand will determine the price of rice. The price of rice will be fixed by a "committee of rice price," including representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the representative of the Vietnam Food Association and the representative of the farmers.

Dr. Vu Trong Khai: Many people have suggested changing the crop structure and using rice as animal feed because annually our country earns approximately $3 billion from rice export but the country spends a similar amount of money to import animal feed.

To increase the efficiency of rice, we should consider two factors. The first is the farmers. Do they have the skills to convert crops? The major skills of farmers in the Mekong Delta, the main source of rice export, are just three main products: rice, fruits and aquaculture.

The second thing is whether the natural condition of the Mekong Delta will allow the change of crops? As far as I know, it is very difficult, if not impossible.

So, to change the crop structure in the Mekong Delta, we must consider the two above factors.

And then we have to build a production chain for products, rather than just producing them and not finding the markets for these products, or producing them at higher prices than the imported price, for example, corn.

I have repeatedly said that we do not need to build agricultural high-tech zones but to build high-tech agriculture. It is the content of modernizing agriculture.

VietNamNet: To  "save" rice farmers and Vietnamese export rice in a timely manner, what should we do in terms of policies and mechanism?

Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi: As I have stressed several times, we must take action right now. It must start with the mechanism. This is a big deal that needs the role of the government.

We have to restructure the agricultural management agencies and design a management model on how to make the private sector feel assured to do business.

Prof. Dr. Vo Tong Xuan: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a number of restructuring projects but they are still done in the old way: dividing them into small parts and assigning them to various sectors. I would like to insist that production and sales must go into the chain. And the policy must also follow the chain.

Dr. Vu Trong Khai: I think that we definitely have to create new elements for agriculture to escape from the current situation. The new factors are entirely new ones, not restructuring.

Restructuring is like we have a cottage and now we want to re-build it into a multi-storey house or a villa but we still use the old materials. We need reconstruction based on new elements.

The new elements are big farms, cooperatives, and enterprises that are capable of creating great added value.

The state policies must closely follow and support farmers and traders. Previously I talked about the tax policy on high quality rice for export. They have just opened the new market but the government immediately imposed taxes and that policy eliminated dynamics of business development.

VietNamNet: Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi, as the former director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Chairman of An Giang Province, what do you think about the cause of the backwardness of agriculture?

Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi: The main cause comes from humans so if we want to rebuild or restructure we must start from humans, ie state management and organization tasks in the field of agriculture must be attached to the specific responsibilities of each person. Anyone who is incapable must resign or be dismissed.

VietNamNet: Earlier this year, President Truong Tan Sang met you, former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan, and former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Huy Ngo to listen to your suggestions on agriculture and rural development, including rice. What were your suggestions to the President?

Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhi: I presented the proposals on land, production-business, state organization and management.

In terms of land, if the Land Law retains the concept of the “land use right”, the concept "the State revokes land" should be revised as "the State re-purchases land". Thus, the land belongs to farmers and they are assured to invest in land; removing the limits of 3ha of land and imposing heavy fines on fallow land.

Regarding business-production, the state should encourage the establishment of large-scale farms with hundreds of hectares of rice and long-term crops as sugarcane, rubber, and coffee and issue policies to assist farmers who own little land to sell their land to farm owners and change their job.

If the State revokes land of farmers, the state must ensure that the farmers get a specific job change.

The state should not maintain state-owned rice trading corporations like Vinafood 1 and Vinafood 2. If they are maintained, they must work on an equal ground with private firms.

The state should remove WTO-banned subsidies but is determined to minimize the contribution obligations from farmers.

I particularly emphasize the role of the head of relevant state agencies.

VNN