Tiếng Việt
The Government promulgated Decree No. 55/2015 / ND-CP on credit policy for agricultural and rural development, including policies on loans to encourage the development of high-tech agriculture.
High-tech agriculture loans reached 32,339 billion VND
At the workshop “Solutions to improve the efficiency of credit investment in high-tech agriculture” held by Vietnam Farmers’ Association Central Committee, the State Bank and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on July 4 in Hanoi, Mr. Tran Van Tan, the deputy director of the credit department for economic sectors of the State Bank of Vietnam, revealed that the outstanding loans for agricultural and rural development reached VND 1,148,070 billion by the end of May 2017, with an increase of 9,9% compared to the end of 2016 (7.06% higher than the general credit growth rate of the economy), about 19% of total outstanding loans for the economy. The average growth rate of outstanding loans for agricultural and rural loans in 7 years (2010 – 2016) was 19.35% per year.
The total outstanding loans for hi-tech agriculture reached nearly VND 32,339 billion
In terms of implementing the incentive loan program for high-tech agriculture and clean agriculture, the total outstanding loans has reached nearly VND 32,339 billion so far with 4,125 customers (including 3,957 individuals and 168 enterprises), of which the loan for hi-tech agriculture are VND 27,737 billion, accounting for nearly 86% of total outstanding loans; and the outstanding loans for clean agriculture reached VND 4,602 billion, without bad debts.
According to Mr. Lai Xuan Mon, Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association Central Committee,”The fact that the government aims at a high-tech agriculture with a credit package of VND 100,000 billion supporting pioneering farmers and enterprises in the field is a right and timely step. He affirmed that the government is committed to having a credit support package and that eight commercial banks agree to support the Government’s policy, spending over VND 100 trillion at low interest rate, from 0.5% / year to 1.5% / year lower than other lending programs, which has brought many hopes to enterprises as well as farmers of hi-tech agriculture in order to develop a modern and sustainable agriculture.
Some banks with remarkable loans for high-tech agriculture are Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, especially the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) with a credit loan package of 50 trillion VND and lower interest rate from 0.5 to1.5 % per year, lower than normal rate for hi-tech and clean agricultural programs and projects.
The development of high-tech agriculture must be linked to the market
It is undeniable that credit policies have impulse the development of agriculture, especially high-tech agriculture. However, according to Mr. Le Thanh – Director of the Institute of Organic Agricultural Economics and General Director of the Ket Noi Xanh Joint Stock Company, high-tech agriculture is a model of production, not an economic model; it must be attached to a new value chain. Therefore, high-tech agriculture with an investment up to VND 3,000-4,000 billion, but without the market, it will become a burden for banks, enterprises and investors.
The output of high-tech agricultural products is also a concern of many experts and investors because this is an unprecedentedly new direction of agricultural development, which may face many risks when implementing projects and lacking a steady market. High-tech agriculture is often associated with high production costs, especially in the early stages and with lack of consumers’ trust in clean products.
The development of high-tech agriculture must be linked to the market
According to Mr. Tran Van Tan, the investment capital for hi-tech agriculture and clean agriculture projects is very high and the price per unit of a product is quite high. At the same time, there is not a stable market for clean agricultural and hi-tech agricultural products and not enough tools to differentiate and protect clean agricultural and high-tech agriculture products in the market, so the investment efficiency is limited.
With the current situation, some experts have proposed that the government should have incentive policies for enterprises to ensure agricultural product consumption. Enterprises should also develop in a way that is associated with the chain from producing to processing and marketing, building “large field” to enhance the incremental value and the competitiveness of high-tech agricultural products in the market.
In terms of the consumption of high-tech agricultural products, Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), emphasized that the development of high-tech agriculture must be linked to the market. According to Mr. Tuan, high-tech agriculture still needs to have a high-consumption-level market and high prices. To support the development of the distribution system, aiming to boost the production of agricultural products in general and high-tech agricultural products in particular, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has presided over and coordinated with other relevant ministries and agencies to make many policies about credit, commercial infrastructure, land, tax, production, processing, post-harvest preservation, upgrading the quality of human resources in rural trade … to encourage and support production and consumption of agricultural products.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will actively guide the distribution system in purchasing and selling agricultural products in general, high quality agricultural products in particular in the system of circulation, distribution and commercial infrastructure development … and thus, giving maximum support for expanding the market of agricultural products.
Source: Bao Moi
