Numerous hi-tech agriculture enterprises licensed: ministry
As many as 40 hi-tech agriculture enterprises have been granted licenses so far, including 12 ones operating in cultivation, 19 in aquaculture and nine others in animal husbandry, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
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As of June 2018, Vietnam has 35 hi-tech agricultural zones established under decisions issued by the Prime Minister and local authorities.
Under Decision No. 575/2015/QD-TTg on approving the master plan of hi-tech agricultural areas and zones by 2020 with orientation to 2030, eight hi-tech agriculture zones have been implemented. They are in Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho city, and Binh Duong, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa and Quang Ninh provinces.
Meanwhile, there are five zones recognised in Kien Giang, An Giang, Phu Yen, and Lam Dong provinces, which specialise in shrimp farming, flower and rice growing.
MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said although the number of hi-tech agricultural areas is small, thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong have been invested in the field by enterprises and localities in order to promote hi-tech application in agriculture production since issuance of the Law on High Technology.
The hi-tech application has been also included in national target, socio-economic and sci-technology development programmes at State and ministry levels as well as development tasks of sectors and localities, he added.
Corporations, companies and cooperatives have cooperated with farmers in applying high technologies to produce goods in a large scale, thus bringing high economic efficiency.
Many hi-tech agricultural production areas have been developed nationwide such as high quality rice variety and rice production areas; fruit production areas meeting VietGAP standards; organic and safe vegetables production areas; and industrial-scale livestock areas meeting VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards.
A credit package worth VND100 trillion (US$4.32 billion) has been launched to encourage hi-tech and clean agriculture development.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam, by the end of May 2018, outstanding balance for the field was estimated at about VND40 trillion (US$1.73 billion), with 14,723 clients. The interest rates are around 5.3-6.5% per annum for short-term loans, and about 8.5-10% per annum for medium and long-term loans.
