Seminar talks high-tech agriculture in Mekong Delta

With the participation of domestic and foreign experts, the event provided a general overview of high-tech agriculture in Vietnam, as well as some of the difficulties and solutions. 

Ole Henriksen, a senior technical expert from the Integrated Coastal Management Programme, said high-tech agriculture is an inevitable modern day trend, and one that requires synchronous policies and top-quality infrastructure, machinery, and workforce. 

Dang Kim Khoi from the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) said high-tech content was only seen in 10.1% of Vietnam’s processed industrial products for the 2006-2010 period. As of late 2017, only around 1 percent of firms were recognised as high-tech agricultural enterprises. 

In order to improve the situation, Khoi suggested making macro-changes in policies on high-tech agriculture and incentives on land and taxation. 

He underscored the need to prioritise policies that build high-tech agricultural zones for strategic farm produces of national significance, and attract investment from the private sector in the form of public-private partnership. 

Participants proposed several measures to refine policies supporting the transfer of scientific research results. 

Regarding taxation incentives, they called for tax exemption for incomes that relate to sci-tech research contracts and sales of products using new technologies. 

Technological and intellectual property transfer activities, along with imported machinery for research that is yet to be produced at home, should be subject to a zero percent tax, they said.

The event was co-organised by Can Tho University, the German Agency for International Cooperation, the IPSARD, and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture.