Dong Nai to direct untangling production linkage support policies

On August 16, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee held a preliminary conference on the 5-year implementation of Decree 98/2018 of the Government on policies to encourage the development of cooperation and association in the production and consumption of agricultural products and the 4-year implementation of Resolution 143/2018/NQ-HDND of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Council.

Although Dong Nai is an industrial province, agricultural production still accounts for more than 10% of the province's economic structure. Dong Nai's animal husbandry is considered the "capital" of the country, with 2.69 million pigs, 25.5 million chickens, 97.800 buffaloes and cows, over 8 million quails, etc. Horticulture is also a spearhead in the province’s agricultural development structure, with more than 88,000 ha.

However, the difficulty of Dong Nai is that agricultural production is still fragmented and small and always faces difficulties in output. The processing field and brand name of agricultural products still have many limitations. The psychology of "comfort is better than pride" among the people is still heavy, making it difficult for Dong Nai’s agricultural products to compete in the market.

Therefore, at the end of 2018, along with the implementation of Decree 98/2018 of the Government, Dong Nai issued Resolution 143/2018/NQ-HDND to promote production linkages in agriculture. Accordingly, the linkage between production, preliminary processing, and deep processing in Dong Nai is given top priority. This is a long-term measure for the province in order to adapt to international requirements and the increasingly high demands of consumers. At the conference, Mr. Vo Van Phi, Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, said that this is a mandatory requirement of the province to escape from the situation of fragmented and small agricultural production.

"Departments and branches in Dong Nai province need to pay attention to and further promote the linkage between production and consumption of agricultural products. Only the linkage can go far to get goods with a solid name and better compete in the market," said Mr. Vo Van Phi.

Long Thanh Phat High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative is one of the pilot models in Dong Nai’s program of product consumption linkage. Thanks to farming according to chains, buying chicken breed from Bel Ga, and animal feed from De Heus Group, this cooperative implemented closed farming conveniently without having to worry about output. The cooperative has applied digital technology, operated the farm remotely, and sold thousands of chickens to the demanding Japanese market.

"We have exported products to demanding markets such as Europe, Japan, etc., showing that we have integrated and caught up with international requirements. We also expect Dong Nai's products to develop further," said Mr. Le Van Quyet, COB of the Long Thanh Phat High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the whole province has 22 joint projects with the participation of 16 businesses, 20 cooperatives, and 921 farms and farmer households. Out of the total number of production linkage chains approved for support by the province, there are 20 linkage chains in the field of cultivation, 1 chain in the fisheries field, and 1 chain in the livestock field, with a total approved support funding of over VND 63.8 billion.

On average, every year, the linkage chains consume more than 25,000 tons of agricultural products on the market in the form of fresh products, but the proportion of products consumed for processing is still small (mainly cocoa and mango).

The Dong Nai’s current difficulty in supporting production linkages is that the disbursement of support capital is still low, only reaching VND 10.3 billion (equivalent to 16.2%). The delay in the disbursement of support capital likely leads to many consequences.

Mr. Vo Van Phi, Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, highly appreciated the coordination of departments, branches, and localities in the implementation of linkages in the production and consumption of products. However, the number of approved chains is still few, not commensurate with the province’s potential; the scale of projects and plans approved for support is small, with few farmers participating.

"It is recommended that departments, branches, and localities continue to review regulatory obstacles in supporting production linkages and promptly propose and report to the Provincial People's Council to untangle them. Don't let people wait to avoid breaking the linkage chain and wasting the collective effort of the past time," directed Mr. Vo Van Phi.