Renovating rice production method

The renewal policy on rice production has greatly encouraged farmers to focus on intensive farming. The total rice cultivation acreage increased from 6.3 million hectares in 1991 to 7.67 million hectares in 2000, thanks to irrigation development and soil reclamation activities. Rice export achievements in recent years have been attributed not only to farmers’ efforts but also to the proper policies of the State and Government. Thousands of billions of VND have been invested in irrigation projects in the Red River and Mekong Deltas. Rice output rose from 14.4 million tonnes in 1991 to 34 million tonnes in 2002. This was a great achievement ever recorded by more than 10 million farmers and local authorities and organisations.

Currently, Vietnam is one of the world’s leading rice exporters, rising from a country which used to import one million tonnes of rice each year. This fact is testimony to the success of the renewal process going on in the country.

Stabilising the rice market

Such rice export achievements have also been attributed to the efforts of rice trading and export enterprises. In recent years, many economic sectors have participated in purchasing rice from farmers.

In the northern and central regions, private enterprises directly buy rice from farmers. However, when price hikes occur, State-owned enterprises, particularly the Northern Food Corporation, regulate the market. The rice market in the north has remained stable for the past 10 years. In addition to promoting rice exports to traditional markets, the corporation has also exported rice to demanding markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In addition, the corporation is responsible for supplying food to far-flung areas. In the Mekong Delta rice granary, the State-owned enterprises and owners of major rice fields with good transport and storage facilities play a key role in consuming the rice of local farmers. Thanks to adjustments by the State and the quick issuance of suitable policies on rice consumption in accordance with businesses’ interest, the domestic rice market has been stabilised and the whole country has become a united market. Policies on granting loans to help farmers develop rice production and intensive farming, irrigation networks and processing activities have actively contributed to the development of the country’s rice sector.

In the current process of renovation and national economic development, it is essential to attach importance to rice production. Agricultural development is a key task at any stage of history. To resolve and meet the demands for food of the whole nation, which will have an estimated population of 100 million in the near future, particularly considering a global food crisis may take place, it is imperative to pay due attention to national food safety, which is considered the key to ensuring the nation’s political and social stability. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has built a strategy to develop the rice sector and target the national food safety programme towards restructuring the rice industry, increasing rice quality, reducing costs, establishing high-yield rice production areas, as well as combining processing with consumption activities in order to meet the increasing demand for food by around 90 million people in 2010. Accordingly, the rice sector has set the targets of maintaining 4 million ha of rice cultivation land achieving a 36-million tone rice output by 2010, exporting 4 million tonnes of rice/year, and increasing processing capacity and business skills to gain a firm foothold on international markets.

In the first quarter of this year, domestic enterprises exported 1.5 million tonnes of rice and signed contracts to export 2 million tonnes, representing positive signs for the industry.