Forum discusses Vietnam – Japan cooperation in hi-tech farming
A forum on high-tech agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Japan took place in Ho Chi Minh City on June 8.
The event, the second of its kind this year, aimed at connecting southern enterprises with their Japanese peers and helping Vietnamese high-tech farming centres promote their products and indicate their collaboration needs.
Tu Minh Thien, deputy head of the management board of HCM City's High-Tech Agricultural Park, said constructive relations between the two countries have brought mutual benefits for their people, with Vietnam seeing more opportunities to export goods to Japan.
Japan is a demanding market with strict requirements on food safety and quality, which is a challenge to Vietnamese firms, he added.
Vietnam has zoned off 29 high-tech industrial parks in 12 provinces and cities, seven of which have been operational in cultivation, aquaculture and animal husbandry. The Vietnamese Government has also issued various incentives and support policies targeting hi-tech agriculture, with the latest being a credit package worth 100 trillion VND (4.4 billion USD).
Representatives of Vietnamese high-tech agricultural parks said they hoped for not only Japanese investment but also cooperation in human resources training, laboratory research and technological transfer.
Participating Japanese firms stressed their willingness towards the cooperation.
They asked the Vietnamese Government to offer more incentives and help them remove barriers when investing in the local high-tech farming, particularly land issues.
As part of the forum, a pact was signed among the management board of the HCM City High-Tech Agricultural Park, Fuji Consulting Japan Co. Ltd, and Nakashima Bussan Co. Ltd. Under the deal, they will pilot the fine-bubble water treatment system and the use of bio-microorganisms in aquaculture.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-15
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UN’s FAO promotes advancements of innovative agro-aquaculture systems to enhance Asian-Pacific growth
The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing considerable advancements and innovative approaches that combine agriculture and aquaculture leading to improved livelihoods for smallholders, according to senior officials from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
While the practice of adding fish to flooded rice paddies was established hundreds of years ago in China, and is now recognised as one of the country’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, the approach is being practiced in many other countries around the region. In more recent years, other agro-aquaculture systems have followed, such as mixing shrimps into flooded paddies. The fish eat the pests in the water and in turn the fish excrement fertilises the plants.
Now, FAO and member countries are studying and promoting new innovations in these traditional practices, taking into account varying socio-economic and environmental conditions. Different from traditional integrated fish farming, the innovative integration of agro-aquaculture is characterised by a number of different approaches.
Introducing these methods helps to improve the income of small rice farmers where innovation in agro-aquaculture can easily double the economic return. These can significantly improve productivity from the crop system. For instance, good rice-fish farming practice can increase the rice yield by 20 per cent while producing tonnes of fish and other aquatic animals.
The methods are being introduced at a regional workshop on innovative agro-aquaculture for blue growth in Asia-Pacific with 25 senior government officials from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines and Viet Nam. The workshop is convened jointly by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and FAO’s Strategic Programme on Sustainable Agriculture this week in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS).
This work is helping to strengthen food systems in order to make them more productive and sustainable, one of FAO’s main strategic objectives.
“In promoting innovative integrated agro-aquacultural systems-such as rice-farming systems to areas where these are still not common practices, it is key to take up a truly multi-stakeholder approach. There is an increasing potential to promote such systems in a number of Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Philippines, Lao PDR or Myanmar, but also in other areas of the world. South-South Cooperation is a very appropriate platform to scale up innovative rice-fish and other IAA farming systems,” said Hans Dreyer, Director of FAO’s Agriculture Production and Plant Protection Division.
The participants will also visit field sites and share the status of adoption of different systems/practices among the participant countries, both successes and failures. The country teams are also expected to draft national strategies and develop business plans for scaling up appropriate innovative Agro-Aquaculture farming systems and practices based on the in-depth analysis of major constraints and gaps in each of the individual countries.
Source: FarEasternAgriculture.com Date: 2017-06-15
Asia emerges as lucrative market for Illinois cattle farmers
There’s growing demand for U.S. beef in Asian markets, and the Illinois Beef Association sees an opportunity for cattle farmers in the state to expand operations as the call for high-quality beef in Japan and South Korea increases.
Reid Blossom, executive vice president of the association, said Japan is one of the best markets for Illinois cattle farmers, and President Donald Trump is working to open the Chinese market for U.S. beef, which would add an additional 1.4 billion potential consumers.
“An increase in exports to the Pacific Rim and Asia will absolutely lead to higher consumer demand and an increase in cattle prices,” Blossom said.
Approximately 15 percent of domestic beef production in Illinois is exported every year, and roughly $275 of the price of an animal in an Illinois feedyard can be attributed to international demand, Blossom said.
“With some of our largest and strongest export markets being Japan and South Korea currently, it’s obvious that those markets are having a very positive impact on cattle farmers in Illinois,” Blossom said.
The cattle population has grown over the past several years. Blossom said that while it’s not tied to market access or international trade, increased trade opportunities are welcome.
Cattle producers operate with the market fundamentals of supply and demand. The way to augment demand is to add more consumers and give them more opportunities to purchase Illinois beef products without changing supply, according to Blossom.
“That increases the price we get for our animals, and so we’ve been very supportive of efforts on the national level to increase market access overseas,” Blossom said.
China has been a target for Illinois cattle farmers for quite some time because it has the largest population in the world, according to Blossom.
Blossom said there are other beneficial opportunities in the future for Illinois cattle farmers.
“Looking further ahead beyond China, we think the European Union is a wonderful, tremendous target to expand access, as is the Middle East and, after the Brexit vote last year, the United Kingdom,” Blossom said.
Source: Illinois News Network. Date: 2017-06-15
Australia – potential market for Vietnam goods
Australia is a choosy but promising market with large consumption capacity, Vice President of Australia-Vietnam Business Council Cann Lee has said.
He noted that penetrating this market is tough, but maintaining a foothold is even more difficult.
Speaking at a recent Australia and Vietnam investment and trade expo in Hanoi, Lee said a delegation of 70 Australian businesses operating in real estate, finance, environment, mineral and hi-tech agriculture have arrived in Vietnam to seek cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese partners.
Vietnam is the second most attractive market in Southeast Asia to Australian firms, only after Indonesia, due to Vietnam’s political stability and dynamic market, he noted.
Notably, the Vietnamese Government has devised incentives to support enterprises seeking business opportunities in the country.
Bilateral trade has increased in recent years after the two countries joined a free trade agreement signed between Australia, New Zealand and ASEAN in 2009.
In 2016 alone, two-way trade reached 5.26 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 6.5 percent, according to Vietnam Customs.
Vietnam exported 2.87 billion USD worth of goods to Australia while importing 2.39 billion USD from the market.
As of May 2017, Australia ranked 19th among the total 119 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 404 projects worth nearly 1.9 billion USD.
Andrew Martin, Managing Director at Moelis said the company recognised the huge investment opportunities in real estate and finance in Vietnam due to the sectors’ stable growth.
Despite huge import demand, many Vietnamese staples have struggled to conquer the Australian market, Lee said, with quality of goods the biggest difficulty for Vietnamese firms.
Director of Hoang Lan Co. Ltd. Nguyen Thi Nga said businesses should follow international standards to meet the requirements of consumers and improve competitiveness and improve the quality management system of factories.
She suggested Vietnamese firms invite experts to inspect the quality of products and bring skilled Australian workers to Vietnam to increase the quality of products and popularise Vietnamese goods in the market.
Australian business representatives advised Vietnam to seek partners in Australia to better understand the host’s law and market to enter the market more easily.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-15
Firms promote pork demand, farmers struggle
With farmers still having difficulty selling pigs, many businesses in HCM City have stepped up programmes to stimulate pork demand.
Vissan Co., Ltd is offering discounts of up to 49 percent on VietGap type 1 pork from June 11 to 15 at all of its fresh meat sales points including at its shops, Saigon Co.op’s retail system, Vinmart supermarkets, Vinmart , Satrafoods, Aeon Citimart, Giant Hypermarket, Auchan, Cocomart, Queenland mart, HQC Mart, and My Duc.
With the discounts, the prices are down to 40,000 VND a kilogramme for pork chops, 62,000 VND for thighs, 57,000 VND for shoulders, 66,000 VND for minced pork, 31,500 VND for pork spine and so on.
From June 12 to 15, the company is also implementing a programme to sell cuts of pork at just 25,500-36,000 VND a kilogramme depending on type.
Dang Thi Phuong Ninh, the company’s deputy general director, said more than 530 tonnes of pork were sold in the period between June 6 and 10, when the company cut VietGap type 1 pork prices by 30-42 percent, an increase of more than 51 percent over normal, with the increase reaching 130 percent on some days.
A programme to sale retail pork at wholesale prices by An Ha Services Co., Ltd this month has been very successful in stimulating demand for the products of pig farmers in Cu Chi and Hoc Mon districts.
Nguyen Thi Hong Tham, director of An Ha Services Co., Ltd, said within a week VietGap pigs weighing 120kg were sold out.
Now the company has started to sell animals weighing 90-100kg, and sells around 40 a day, and 70 on occasions, she said.
The number of customers has increased so much that its sale points have to issue tokens, she said.
Many customers want the company to open shops in other locations so that they do not have to travel long distances, but the company lacks the space and human resources for that, she said.
According to experts, the response of consumers and the active support provided by city businesses would help resolve the difficulties faced by pig farmers.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-14
'Golden offers' look to draw people back to the countryside
The capital of Hubei province has started a program to allow businesses to flourish in run-down and abandoned villages. Zhou Lihua and Liu Kun report from Wuhan, with Chen Mengwei in Beijing.
At a time when large cities are still sucking in rural residents from across the nation, a major city in Central China is working hard to reverse the trend by encouraging people to move to the countryside.
In April, Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, proposed a program - the "20 Golden Terms", as it was dubbed by the media - that would allow urban residents to conduct business in the city's rural areas.
The drive came in response to rapid urbanization which has seen villages in and around the city sucked dry of residents.
According to research conducted by the municipal government, more than 116,000 houses, nearly 16 percent, of the 1,902 villages around the city have been abandoned. By the end of last year, nearly 1 million of Wuhan's rural residents had moved to the city's central areas.
Tan Benzhong, director of the Wuhan Municipal Agriculture Committee, said the rising number of empty houses in villages has been caused, in part, by the rapid pace of urbanization.
Some villagers have obtained hukou, or household registration, in Wuhan, while many young people are leaving to look for work in big cities.
When government officials conducted a random survey in 38 villages, they discovered that more than 78 percent of those interviewed were willing to lease their empty homes to gain extra income. There was only one problem - who would rent the properties?
In response, the government came up with the "golden" package, which essentially cleared the way for people who want to make money in the countryside, and promised hard cash encouragements for qualified applicants.
The policy ensures that outsiders enjoy the same business terms as their rural counterparts, no matter which village they choose to invest in. Green lights and express passes will be provided for all application procedures.
The city government is committed to spending large sums to improve the infrastructure, including providing private and public toilets, to ensure that newcomers and tourists enjoy their time in the city's villages. The final details of the funding arrangements have yet to be released.
Most attractively, entrepreneurs are eligible for cash stipends of as much as 100,000 yuan ($14,700) for undertaking certain types of business, such as agritainment (farm-based entertainment) and agritourism.
Positive expectations
Zhang Qun, chief of the new countryside development department at the Wuhan Municipal Agriculture Committee, said the government has positive expectations for the campaign, mainly because nearly 3 million urban residents, or 30 percent of the population, are age 60 or older in Wuhan.
"Quite a few of these people have both the enthusiasm and financial capability to move to the countryside and enjoy life after retirement," Zhang said. "If 10 percent of them want to do this, that's 300,000 people. That could present a huge market opportunity."
Despite the benefits on offer, Zhang conceded that there are potential problems for tenants, landlords and regulators.
Some tenants are concerned that house owners may not honor long-term agreements and will terminate contracts when they feel like it.
Moreover, others want to buy the houses as an investment, but the current laws only allow outsiders to rent properties for no longer than 20 years.
Some villagers are worried that the tenants will adapt the houses for business purposes to such an extent that they will not be able to live in them in the future.
Some government regulators, especially those in charge of housing, doubt whether people who rent houses for business purposes will abide by the rules and refrain from expanding the properties illegally.
"But one thing is for sure, if your business loses money, the government will not cover your loss. The current policy does not even consider that," Zhang said.
"Our stipend policy is equal for everybody. We will put our focus on providing guidance in advance. People should act based on their own situations."
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-14
Pig overproduction problem heats up parliament’s Q&A session
Pig overproduction was a hot topic that many National Assembly (NA) deputies asked Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong about on June 13 morning.
At the question and answer (Q&A) session, part of the parliament’s ongoing third sitting, deputy Nguyen Son of Ha Tinh province said while the plan for the animal farming sector aimed at 32 million pigs raised in 2015, an overproduction crisis occurred in 2016 when there were just 27 million pigs. Deputy Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan of Bac Ninh province asked about solutions to the oversupply of pork, which made farmers suffer from losses of up to 50 percent of production costs.
Minister Cuong attributed the situation to the rapid growth in meat production, especially in pig farming, over the past years. While the good control of animal diseases has contributed to the oversupply of food in a certain point of time, consumers’ diverse food options have substantially reduced the demand for pork.
The connectivity between production and processing steps remains weak, he said, adding that there are few businesses with a complete chain of breeding, farming, slaughtering and distribution.
More than 90 percent of pork is still sold through traditional channels. Meanwhile, Vietnam has exported pork, mainly of suckling pigs, to just three countries. It has also just shipped pork to China, a big neighbouring market, via small cross-border trade activities.
He said among the three steps of production, processing and seeking markets, the country has just done a good job of production, leading to the recent excessive pork supply and falling prices.
However, deputy Nguyen Thanh Hong of Binh Duong province said the minister’s answer was not persuasive and it did not mention the state management in this field.
Giving more details about this issue, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said it is important to base on the domestic and foreign markets’ demand to make development plans.
The animal farming sector has recorded fast growth, but the expansion of markets hasn’t been truly effective, he said, noting that much room remains for Vietnam to export pork but the product hasn’t satisfied importing countries’ requirements.
Anh pointed out that Vietnam’s pork can compete with that of regional producers like China, the Philippines and Malaysia. But as there are 10.6 million small and separate farming households, it makes Vietnamese pork prices higher than those imported from the US and other countries.
He said coordination among ministries, sectors and localities needs to be reviewed to make better plans on animal farming. State agencies must devise plans that align production with the market demand and ensure that products will overcome technical barriers.
At the Q&A session, deputies also grilled Minister Cuong about counterfeit and inferior quality fertilisers and the state management in this area.
Source: VNA Date 2017-06-14
Australia seeks hi-tech agriculture link with Mekong Delta
The Australian Consulate General in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City worked with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on June 12 to explore cooperation in hi-tech agriculture in the coming time.
Cao Thi Thanh from the Consulate General said Australia has developing hi-tech agriculture, while Vietnam and the Mekong Delta particularly boast large potential in this sphere.
She cited Australian statistics that only one percent of land in the country is suitable for agricultural production with the involvement of four percent of the population.
However, Australia has the highest proportion of self-supplier of farm produce in the world. Averagely, an Australian farmer could produce farm produce for 190 people.
Apart from domestic provision, 80 percent of the farm produce is exported. The income of an Australian farmer amounts to 100,000 USD per year.
She noted that Australia wants to seek cooperation opportunities with the Mekong Delta in technology and human resources training.
Vice rector of Can Tho University Le Viet Dung said the delta has recorded significant strides in the field of high technology with many products receiving good feedback.
Such partners as Japan and China are stepping up investment in agricultural machines. Thereby, Australia should conduct fact-finding trips to produce highly competitive machines.
Professor Le Van Hoa said the weakness of the Vietnamese agriculture lies at post-harvest losses, especially for rice, animal husbandry, vegetables and fruits.
This is attributed to the country’s limitations in processing, preservation and transport, he said, adding that Australia is strong in technology, harvest chain, processing and transport of farm produce.
He hoped Australia will introduce the latest machines to increase the region’s post-harvest efficiency, quality of products, and farmers’ income.
This will be a key factor to help Vietnamese farm produce meet Global Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP), he added.
Dung also suggested exchanging experts and opening training courses and workshops as well as expanding effective production and processing models.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-13
ASEAN agricultural trade fair held in Zhanjiang
The 2017 Zhanjiang-ASEAN Agriculture Trade Fair was held at the Zhanjiang International Convention Center from June 9 to 11, attracting 200,000 visitors and amassing 2.89 billion yuan ($425.2 million) in agreements, including 1.87 billion yuan in letters of intent.
It is the second time that the city in southwest of Guangdong has held the three-day international agricultural expo – the largest of its kind in the province.
Sponsored by Guangdong Agriculture Industrialization Association and South Subtropical Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Science, the expo provides a platform for exchanges and business cooperation on plantation, cultivation, processing, logistics, services, talent, and market.
More than 900 enterprises attended this year, an increase of 11 percent from the previous session, including 269 from 30 overseas, especially ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which has been the largest export market for Zhanjiang since 2013.
The fair set up various exhibition areas featuring ASEAN agricultural products, fruits, leisure tourism, Internet Plus creative agriculture, and poverty alleviation.
A total of over 4,900 new and special quality products such as fruit, tea leaves, and red wine were showcased at the fair, including the best from Zhanjiang to demonstrate its geographic advantages and advanced technology.
E-commerce giants such as Alibaba and Taobao provided more insight into modern agriculture by displaying their latest mobile and online platforms designed to expand sales channels.
There were also over 50 economic activities including investment promotion and networking events, as well as signing ceremonies.
Dozens of sales promotion events held in the hall attracted a number of buyers and sellers of flowers, crops, fruit, and horticultural products.
Merchants from ASEAN countries tour exhibition stalls to seek business cooperation and opportunities. [Photo/yinsha.com]
High-end forums including a summit forum for the tropical fruit industry were attended by famous entrepreneurs and experts who shared the latest developments in brand agriculture, financing, and overseas sales promotion.
The fair also hosted a creative agriculture park and farm tourism experience to invite professional suggestions as well as attract investment.
As a modern agriculture pioneer in China, Zhanjiang has intensified its efforts to facilitate exchanges with countries along the Belt and Road route as well as ASEAN members through exhibitions and trade fairs, according to the city's commercial bureau.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-13
Thua Thien-Hue focuses on agricultural restructuring
The central province of Thua Thien-Hue is focusing on 12 priority projects worth nearly 1,196 billion VND (52 million USD) to speed up agricultural restructuring between now and 2020.
They include the upgrading of a storm-proof wharf and expansion of Thuan An fishing port, construction of infrastructure for aquaculture in Phong Hai commune, Phong Dien district, and for shrimp breeding in Phu Vang and Phu Loc districts, coastal forest and lagoon development, forestation, and rural infrastructure construction.
The province also pools resources for a project on enhancing food safety management and building a food safety production and trade chain for the 2016-2020 period, and others regarding the development of coastal forests, the improvement of grapefruit output and quality, large-scale fields for rice, groundnut and vegetables, and breeding pig and cow farms.
It aims for a sustainable agriculture in combination with new rural development and environment protection.
Priority fields for restructuring include cultivation, animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries, irrigation, processing industry, and key agricultural commodities.
In cultivation, about 3,300ha of rice growing in mountainous, coastal and water-scarce areas will be shifted to corn, groundnut, vegetables, flowers growing and aquaculture.
By 2020, the forest area will reach 293,250ha, including 122, 100ha of commercial forests.
Meanwhile, around 900ha will be for shrimp breeding on sand for export with a capacity of about 13,500 tonnes.
A fleet of offshore fishing vessels with a capacity of at least 90CV will be increased by 30 percent by 2020, towards raising seafood output by over 70 percent.
Thua Thien-Hue strives for an agriculture growth of over 3.5 percent, with seed and fisheries outputs of 310,000 – 320,000 tonnes and 73,000 tonnes per year, respectively, and double income of rural families by 2020.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-13