Farmers urged to plant corn, soybeans in lieu of rice

VOV.VN - A group of ‘so called experts’ is encouraging farmers in Vietnam to plant crops such as corn and soybeans for use as animal feed in lieu of rice because it will increase gross revenue for the nation collectively.

According to these experts, in the first nine months of 2016 the agriculture segment collectively exported 3.7 million tons of rice valued at US$1.69 billion but imported 7.0 million tons of corn and soybeans for use as animal feed valued at US$2.46 billion.

First, these experts go so far as to allege that the US$2.46 billion is a waste of Vietnamese dong by the government. 

However, they are the ones that fail to recognize that the ‘wasted dong’ that went to purchase feed was incorporated into the cost of the livestock.  Assuming the livestock was subsequently sold at a profit, then all the dong that went to purchase the feed was recuperated on the sale.

Thus, there is no loss of dong, and in fact, there is an increase in Vietnamese dong resulting from the profits and their allegations that the dong are being wasted is completely meritless and baseless.

Secondly, these so-called experts’ analysis is void in its entirety of any reference to profits.

One would logically think that any responsible analysis coming from ‘so called experts’ suggesting the nation’s farmers switch to raising corn and soybeans from rice would include a detailed analysis of profits and opportunity losses.

Apparently, profits are not important to these ‘so called experts’.  

There may be some legitimate basis to the claim that it might be more profitable for a limited number of farmers to raise corn or soybeans in lieu of rice but no one could ever tell from the faulty analysis that these experts have put forth.

Nor did these experts even begin to address the question of cost to convert from rice to the alternative crops in terms of machinery and equipment, technology, costs to convert small farms to larger farms.

These ‘so called experts’ simply just made up their whole argument out of thin air.

Mời quý độc giả theo dõi VOV.VN trên

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