Deputy PM urges development of businesses in agricultural and rural sector

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue stressed the importance of building a solid legal corridor in order to not only encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas but also to develop businesses in this sector.

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue chairs the conference. (Photo: VGP)

The deputy PM raised the issue at a meeting held in Hanoi on April 19 to discuss a draft government decree related to policies to mobilise investment in agriculture and rural areas.

The draft decree aimed to revise Decree No. 210/2013/ND-CP dated December 19, 2013 on attracting firms’ investment in the agricultural and rural sector.

According to the compiling committee under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the new decree will focus on the issues of expanding the list of businesses and projects entitled to State support; developing and applying science and technology; supplementing support mechanisms for enterprises in market development, forming brands and leading products; and reforming administrative procedures and mechanisms on the State’s support capital sources.

In his speech, Politburo member Hue revealed that only 1% of businesses nationwide have invested in agriculture, with an investment value accounting for nearly 3% of the total capital poured into production and business activities by the business community.

The small figure is yet to meet the agricultural sector’s potential alongside the large rural market, he said, attributing it to the limited farmland for businesses, the huge risks caused by localities’ changing land use planning, ineffective agricultural insurance policies and the lack of the State’s support mechanisms and policies for the output of farm produce.

The deputy PM suggested renaming the draft decree as the decree on the development of businesses in agriculture and rural areas instead of only encouraging businesses to invest in the sector, as many farms and cooperatives have huge production capabilities but are yet to develop into enterprises.

He asked the compiling committee to embrace the issue of startup in agriculture in order to increase farming production values, and update the contents of the Law on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (scheduled to be approved by the National Assembly at its upcoming third session) and resolutions of the fifth plenum of the Party Central Committee on the market economic institution.

(Source: NDO)