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Looking back at 2021, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh affirmed that the agricultural sector achieved spectacular growth with unexpected numbers.
Digital transformation is the central task of the agricultural industry
According to Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh , in 2021, the export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products is estimated at about 48.6 billion USD, far exceeding the target of 42 billion USD set by the Government. Vietnam's agricultural industry has overcome the difficulties of 2021 spectacularly.
To further clarify this issue, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh affirmed: “This result shows the great efforts of farmers, localities and the business community, along with the close direction of the Government. Government and Prime Minister”.
Export reached unexpected destination
In 2021, the country faced many difficulties, especially the Covid-19 pandemic, but the agriculture and rural development sector still achieved impressive results; export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products reached a record of 48.6 billion USD. Where is this result achieved? And this affirms what role the agricultural sector plays during the country's difficult times, Deputy Minister.
2021 is a special year, the country faces many difficulties, especially the Covid-19 pandemic that has occurred since April until now, having a strong impact on the economy, including agriculture. The agricultural sector has been under great pressure in the past year.
Agriculture is a very broad production industry, involving all localities and people, including many stages from input material supply, production, processing, and export...
On May 19, during a meeting with key leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested to identify the main pillars of the industry as agriculture, rural areas and farmers, these pillars will contribute part to continue political stability and promote the development of industrialization and modernization of the country.
In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, many people return to their hometowns, although it helps to supplement an abundant labor source for agriculture , but in return the agricultural industry must also have conditions to welcome them back. The weather and natural disasters in the past year, although not extreme, are not peaceful, drought and salt still exist, rain and floods still appear..
However, up to this point, it can be said that we are very happy because the added value of the whole industry has reached 2.85 - 2.9%, exceeding the target assigned by the Government. In which, food production alone reached nearly 44 million tons, while the cultivated area still decreased; The quality of rice continues to be improved when the selling price sometimes reaches more than 530 USD/ton.
In terms of export value, the Government assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development a target of 42 billion USD but we have surpassed it spectacularly, reaching the finish line with an unexpected figure of 48.6 billion USD.
It can be said that this result shows the great efforts of farmers, localities and the business community, along with the close direction of the Government and the Prime Minister. In addition, there is a smooth coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, localities, ministries, and units within the Ministry.
This is the result of a whole process of directing and operating with conditions prepared for many years.
Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said that 2021 is a very proud year for the agricultural industry. Photo: Tung Dinh.
In addition to impressive growth, the agricultural sector also cooperates extensively with the international community. Our agricultural products are increasingly asserting their position by quality, meeting the requirements of fastidious markets.
In addition, the force of export associations and enterprises has also become more experienced, more warlike with an increasingly professional level of negotiation.
Not to mention the selection of Vietnam's market, we already have big customers, for example the US, from 2019 to now, I have come to negotiate directly 3 times because we are a trade surplus country, great pressure.
But up to now, our position and prestige has been confirmed, even the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) also called the negotiation on Vietnam's timber as "a exemplary model of negotiation" and assessed Vietnam Nam is a responsible and reliable partner.
All in all, 2021 is a very proud year for the agricultural industry under the close direction of the Party, State, especially the Government and the Prime Minister to overcome difficulties and achieve spectacular growth figures.
Export turnover of agricultural products reached 48.6 billion USD
The added value of the whole industry in 2021 is estimated to increase by 2.85 - 2.9%, of which agriculture increases by over 3.18%, forestry by over 3.85%, fisheries by over 1.85%; forest coverage rate 42.02%; the percentage of communes meeting new rural standards is 68.2%; export turnover of the whole industry reached 48.6 billion USD.
Export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products in 2021 has broken a record in the context of many difficulties. Photo: NNVN.
In particular, the export turnover of agriculture, forestry and fishery reached a record high of 48.6 billion USD, up 14.9% compared to 2020; in which main agricultural products are 21.49 billion USD, up 13.5%; forest products 15.87 billion USD, up 20.7%; seafood over $8.89 billion, up 5.6%; animal husbandry USD 434 million, up 2.1%.
There are 10 groups of products with export turnover of over 1 billion USD (one more item is animal feed and raw materials), of which there are 6 items with export turnover of over 3 billion USD (wood and wood products). , shrimp, vegetables, cashew nuts, rice, rubber). Industry-wide trade surplus of 6.44 billion USD.
In 2021, the whole country will establish 1,250 new agricultural cooperatives, bringing the total number of agricultural cooperatives to 19,100. The force of agricultural enterprises is growing stronger and more enthusiastic to invest in agriculture and rural areas, becoming the core in the value chain of agricultural products.
By the end of 2021, the whole country has 5,614 communes (68.2%) meeting the rural standards. Three more provinces and cities with 100% district-level units meeting the standards of rural areas (Thai Binh, Can Tho, Hai Duong), are completing the procedures to submit to the Prime Minister for recognition at the provincial level for completing the task of building new rural areas.
In 2022, the Agriculture and Rural Development sector sets some basic goals to strive for: The growth rate of the whole industry is 2.8 - 2.9%; growth rate of production value of agriculture, forestry and fishery 2.9 - 3.0%; Total export turnover of agricultural, forestry and fishery products is about 49 billion USD; The percentage of communes meeting new rural standards is over 73%; Rate of rural population using clean and hygienic water 92.5%; The forest cover rate is stable at 42% and the forest quality is improved.
Flexible adaptation, transformation
Deputy Minister, over the years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has actively coordinated with localities to direct the adjustment of production plans, crop structure, change crop structure, arrange seed structure in accordance with the local needs. weather movements and market signals. How are these macro adjustments developed when we place crop production in the “circular economy” development strategy?
The agricultural sector has been making flexible changes. Photo: LHV.
Regarding rice , it is worth mentioning that the area is decreasing year by year, giving up land for other fields such as short-term crops, long-term crops, aquaculture, even to non-agriculture.
From more than 4 million hectares, we need to ensure flexibility in 3.5 million hectares of rice land, which means there is a time to switch but when needed, we have to ensure at least 3.5 million hectares. This is for rice.
Although the acreage decreased, the production of rice still increased, the quality also improved markedly. Up to now, up to 87% of Vietnam's rice area has reached high quality, the selling price has increased.
To get this result, many factors are needed, including improved irrigation, good seed sets, application of technological advances and proactively changing seasons to respond to climate change. .
For example, from the experience of 2016, to 2018 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proactively organized a conference in the Mekong Delta to accelerate the crop season for 8 coastal provinces, flexibly respond to drought and salinity, and ensure high productivity. capacity for the whole region in a completely natural way.
This can be called a lesson from practice to apply and change accordingly. We stick to each case, each region, and each time there is a conference to have the most practical guidance.
Along with that, it is necessary to mention the coordination of units under the Ministry, typically between the Department of Crop Production, the General Department of Irrigation, the Department of Plant Protection to be able to provide accurate and appropriate management from time to time. the point. For example, planning to irrigate fruit-growing areas in the Mekong Delta in the drought season by means of internal garden ditches and water-storing ponds.
With crop products, especially industrial crops, it is said that we have just experienced a long downtrend and are thriving again, so what is the view of the Deputy Minister on this issue? ?
Regarding coffee , the product has been very successful in the past year. The good news is that after a long price reduction cycle, we are still standing and have approximately 700,000 hectares with export turnover of over 3 billion USD in 2021.
According to Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh, items that have prospered in export prices in 2021 need to continue to be maintained in depth, quality, sustainability, reduce input costs and protect the environment. Photo: Tung Dinh.
First of all, we still managed to maintain a high yield to survive the years of deep price declines and have since rebounded strongly. Besides, our coffee tree is highly appreciated with an average yield of 2.8 tons/ha, 3.5 times higher than the world average yield.
This is the result of Vietnam's methodical development of coffee trees, originally a set of varieties that the whole world is admiring, entirely created by our research institute.
Followed by the program of replanting coffee trees since 2014, the initial time was very hard, the mortality rate was high, but the localities were very creative in planning where to plant new trees and where to renovate the grafted area. This process is a golden opportunity to change coffee varieties, so the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is very strict about varieties because if we use poor quality seeds, we owe farmers decades.
We set a goal of replanting coffee by 2020 at 120,000 ha and so far it has reached 162,000 ha, very successful. In the future, with coffee trees, we will focus on developing deep processing because currently there is an increase but not as expected.
Breakthrough in the wood industry
Forest product exports are a bright spot in 2021 when export turnover reaches nearly 16 billion USD. Where do these efforts come from? How does the forestry sector act to implement the sustainable forestry development strategy, Mr. Deputy Minister?
The wood industry this year has written a very spectacular story, no one expected. Simply because there was a period due to the Covid-19 epidemic, up to 70% of wood processing units located in the Southeast region (including Ho Chi Minh City) had to stop working, while Binh Duong was approximately 50% of wood processing enterprises. stopped working because this is the epicenter of the epidemic, especially during the very stressful period from July to August 2021.
Faced with many challenges, the wood industry has created a big surprise in terms of export turnover in 2021.
However, we still have some advantages, the first is that the market's demand is very large, orders are constantly being added. Besides, there is a very effective, responsible and methodical operation of associations in the wood industry to connect businesses and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Associations in the wood industry soon recognized the situation and came up with a production recovery scenario right when the Covid-19 epidemic was complicated. As a result, the forestry industry has exported 15.87 billion USD. It is also worth mentioning that most of the processing materials are from Vietnam's plantations , and very little is imported.
It must also be mentioned that the progress in processing technology, if before the glue only sold chips and pulp, now it can be made into furniture for export.
In addition, the growth in export of wood products also has the effect of closing the US Government's 301 investigation into Vietnam's timber exploitation and trade.
With the wood industry, there are still some issues that need attention, the first is the raw material area. In 2022, the Ministry will coordinate with associations to develop sustainable material areas. The objective is to develop a system of large trees, using appropriate production methods such as thinning to ensure that people can both have income and grow perennial crops.
When developing the material area, we not only have wood, but also can collect from forest environmental service fees and carbon credits, creating conditions for people to plant and maintain forests.
The overall goal we set out for the forestry industry is to reach a value of 20 billion USD by 2025 and with this development momentum, it is completely feasible.
The fundamental role of science - technology
How important is the application of science and technology, especially high technology to agricultural production? What is the development strategy of the industry when food and food users are more and more interested in clean and safe food and become "Green consumers"?
Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said that science and technology have created sustainable foundations for the entire industry. Photo: Tung Dinh.
Science and technology has always been a spearhead in agriculture, but if you only look at it within a few years, it is difficult to realize its role, but if you look at the stage, it will be clearer. For example, the results of the rice, fruit or coffee industries are due to the achievements of science and technology, namely varieties, production processes...
In addition, the development of agricultural enterprises also has a great contribution of science and technology, in terms of production and processing...
When there is scientific synchronization in terms of technology, equipment, administration and management, enterprises will achieve good results in their production and business activities.
Besides, I think that the role of State Institutes is also very important because this is the research place for each field to get core technology to serve the people.
We need to determine that, to mobilize the participation of businesses to improve research efficiency. There must be a closer and more substantive combination between the Institutes and enterprises. Units will invest together, exploit resources together and share benefits equally.
However, it must also be said that in the coming period, more innovative policies and mechanisms will be needed to remove difficulties for the Institutes. In addition, Institutes can also promote international cooperation.
Affirming to the world about a responsible agriculture
2021 also marks many international cooperation events in the field of agriculture? What are the standout results? What are the priorities in the coming period when we commit to the international community to build responsible, transparent and sustainable agriculture, Deputy Minister?
In the next period, the orientation of the agricultural sector will have many new things, shifting from agricultural production to an agricultural economy, integrating multi-values and green development.
This shows that the role of international cooperation is very important, especially the coordination with big organizations such as World Bank, ADB... which tends to restructure capital sources to support green agriculture. , especially reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2021, we have had a series of external events in the form of live combined online to adapt to the epidemic situation. In particular, the Minister has participated and chaired many seminars and events to consult on developing strategies for the development of the agricultural sector assigned by the Prime Minister.
Vietnam is trying to transform itself into a responsible agriculture. Photo: Tung Dinh.
At the COP26 conference in Glasgow (UK), many international organizations have pledged to accompany the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the agricultural sector to support us towards a green, environmentally friendly agriculture. reduce emissions.
At present, it can be said that Vietnam's agricultural industry has deeply integrated, in the past year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, we still developed and continued to negotiate to open the market for agricultural products in many forms. .
Together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we are implementing many options to take advantage of free trade agreements. Specifically, in 2021, we have the first 2 agricultural counselors in the key markets of Europe and the US.
However, we must understand that the more integration, the greater the competition, especially the technical barrier system in difficult markets. But with its clear goodwill, Vietnam can solve this problem, for example dealing with the wood problem with the US.
Thereby, we further affirm to the world that Vietnam has a transparent, responsible and quality agriculture that meets all the requirements of consumers.
Thank you Deputy Minister for this exchange!
Source: Le Ben - Tung Dinh (performed)_nongnghiep.vn
