More attention should be paid to agricultural projects, says deputy minister

Despite being affected by COVID-19 pandemics and natural disasters, the agriculture project management board (APMB) has utilized all resources to implement projects very well, said Le Quoc Doanh, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

He made the statement at a meeting held on January 12 to review the performance of the board in 2020 and set forth tasks for 2021.

A lot of agriculture projects have met or even surpass the set target, Doanh said, adding that Vietnam Sustainable Agricultural Transformation (VnSAT) is a typical example.

“VnSAT project has left a positive effect on the restructuring of the agricultural sector, especially on the country’s key products, namely rice, and coffee.

“It was easy to recognize that both of the products have shifted towards enhancing sustainable value,” he said.

While praising efforts made by the APMB, Doanh pointed out its shortcomings which should be addressed including uneven disbursement of some projects. The poor coordination between agencies and localities was also a problem.

Speaking at the meeting, Le Van Hien, head of APMB said 2020 saw the implementation of new policies relating to the management of public investment which caused difficulties for localities in building new projects.

The deputy minister asked the APMB to be more decisive because more than 100 sub-projects needed to be completed and VND1.6 trillion (US$69.3 million) be disbursed within one year and a half.

It was necessary to accelerate the projects’ progress, especially those relating to rice and coffee, he said.

Doanh also mentioned the need for projects on sustainable fisheries development and on building infrastructure for smart agriculture value chains adaptive to climate change to be approved this year.

He also requested units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s leadership to coordinate more closely to speed up the progress of on-going projects.

Hien, the director of APMB, called for support from the MARD’s Department of International Cooperation in developing proposals for non-refundable aid projects as it was still a shortcoming of the board in recent years.

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director of the MARD’s Department of International Cooperation said in the coming time it was necessary to promote dissemination to spread good models of projects and their impact.

He cited the effectiveness of dissemination work on VnSAT as an example.

Tuan also mentioned the need to be proactive in preparing for new projects and close coordination between localities and relevant agencies.

Last year, the APMB initiated six projects. Of these, three projects have been submitted to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance for approval. They consist of a project on Sustainable Fisheries Development, a project on Developing Infrastructure for Smart Agricultural Value Chain Adaptation to Climate Change, and a project on Safe Agricultural Food.

There are two projects, which are being developed, including a project on building essential infrastructure to support the transformation of agriculture which are adaptive to Climate Change in the Mekong Delta with the total estimated capital of US$250 million and a project on sustainable development of agricultural value chain with a total value of about $350 million.