Tran Du Lich, director of HCM City’s Institute for Economic Research, talked with Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) on the pressing need to construct roads in rural areas to develop the agriculture sector and improve farmers’ lives.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s draft plan, to be submitted to the Party Central Committee’s seventh conference in July, calls for more investment in agriculture. What do you think about the agricultural industry demanding such large amounts of money?

‘When asked what he would do if given money for agriculture, he answered: build roads.’

The problem isn’t the amount of investment in agriculture; it’s the way agricultural production is organised. Is it appropriate for Vietnam as it integrates into the world economy?

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development statistics show that the country’s 4 million hectares of agricultural land are divided into millions of smallholdings.

With each rural household farming just a small area of land, the agricultural sector isn’t set up for large-scale production that could supply a stable output and meet demand for exports.

Agricultural industrialisation can also produce more standardised products. For example, a crop’s mangoes should ripen at the same time and be of a similar quality, size and weight.

To achieve this, the State should have good planning for farmed land and help change the structure of land possession to encourage the development of farms and co-operatives.

But, the current division of agricultural land has achieved good results with proper investment and advanced technology. Don’t you think that we already have decent agricultural export products?

Some of our agricultural exports just about meet the quantity demanded, but we must also focus on their quality.

The quality of our rice, pepper, cashew and coffee products doesn’t match up to those of Thailand, India and Brazil. This means the prices that our products can fetch on international markets are lower than other countries’ exports are sold for.

Also, the profit that each farm makes from exports isn’t much, meaning life continues to be difficult for farmers in this country.

What do you think we should focus on if we increase the budget for agriculture?

I will take the advice of the UK’s Minister of Agriculture in the 18th century. When asked what he would do if given money for agriculture, he answered: build roads.

Why should we focus on roads rather than crops or farming technology?

The reason is very simple. Because investing in rural transportation develops agriculture.

An advanced road network means traffic and goods flow faster, and new farming equipment can reach the farms.

Leading agricultural countries pay special attention to transportation. For example, France spends a considerable amount on roads and the electricity system for the benefit of the agricultural industry.

If someone wants to open a dairy farm, the French Government will subsidise the construction of a road to it, and connect the farm to the electricity and water systems.

And, the French State encourages private enterprises to invest in technology, crops and irrigation systems.

When private enterprises have easy access to farms they will be willing to invest in them.

(Source: Viet Nam News)

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