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
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
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
China, Kazakhstan sign cooperation deals worth over 8 bln USD
Chinese and Kazakh enterprises and financial institutions have signed at least 24 deals worth more than 8 billion U.S. dollars during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said Friday.
Both sides agreed to push for the progress in cooperation in energy, mining, chemical industry, mechanical manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure, said Zhong.
China signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to supply the latter with super computer equipment, and the two countries are discussing the signing of a renewed investment protection deal, he said.
They also inked a protocol to approve the entry of Kazakhstan's frozen mutton to China.
Zhong said both sides will continue measures to facilitate bilateral trade, expand cooperation in economy and trade, customs and quality inspection, and cement the rebounding momentum in bilateral trade.
China and Kazakhstan agreed to quicken the implementation of plans to align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Kazakh "Bright Path" new economic policy.
The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi in 2013, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.
Kazakhstan's "Bright Path" policy is aimed at revitalizing the country's economy.
Kazakhstan is a comprehensive strategic partner of China and an important member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Xi is currently paying a state visit to Kazakhstan.
During his trip, the two countries reached a broad range of consensuses on trade, investment, energy and financial cooperation, and achieved positive results.
Meanwhile at the Astana summit of the SCO, Xi put forward a series of economic and trade proposals.
To implement these proposals, Zhong said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce will work to advance the mechanism arrangement for regional economic cooperation.
The ministry will actively promote cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and local governments from SCO member countries.
China will also work for the establishment of a union of economic think tanks and strengthen capability building by promoting people-to-people exchanges.
Source: China Daily Date: 2017-06-13
Bac Giang exports lychees to China
The northern province of Bac Giang organised a trade fair to promote lychee consumption in the Pingxiang city, Guangxi province, southwestern China, on June 9.
The province expects to ship 50,000 tonnes of lychees abroad, half of the volume to China.
The locality has nearly 30,000 hectares under lychee cultivation, with a total output expected to reach 100,000 tonnes in this year, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Van Thai.
President of the Pingxiang city-based Wan Li Company, Lu Chunhua said thanks to the zero percent tax of the China – ASEAN free trade area and convenient distribution channel, which takes only three days to get Bac Giang’s lychees in China, his company plans to buy 500 tonnes of Vietnam’s lychees to sell in major Chinese cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Close to Vietnam, Pingxiang is an important gate to bring Vietnam’s lychees to China.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12
Vietnam to attend agricultural technology expo in India
Vietnamese businesses will have their first look at new global agricultural technologies and equipment at the EIMA Agrimach India expo to be held at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi in December.
The 2017 EIMA Agrimach India, the 5th International Exhibition & Conference on Agricultural Machineries, Equipment and Technologies, seeks to showcase the best and latest in agri-machineries besides providing an excellent opportunity for Indian and overseas players catering to the entire value chain through vertical-based national and international pavilions, according to the organisers.
Marco Acerbi, exhibitions department director of the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation (FEDERUNACOMA) – one of the organisers – said the machinery displayed at the show could be adapted for both the Indian and Vietnamese markets.
Jasmeet Singh, head of agriculture at the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said India too, like Vietnam, faced the challenge of small land holdings.
“We have huge lands but cultivable lands for farming are fragmented.”
He added FICCI was working with FEDERUNACOMA to launch all kinds of farm machinery in India and would like to do the same in Vietnam.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12
Vietnam becomes largest shrimp provider in RoK
A year after the Vietnam - Republic of Korea (RoK) free trade agreement became operational, Vietnam is the largest shrimp supplier of the RoK, providing 49 percent of total shrimp imports.
In 2016, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the RoK increased 13.6 percent compared to 2015. In the first quarter of 2017, the RoK’s shrimp imports from Vietnam, Thailand and Ecuador rose 5.3 percent, 24.7 percent and 4.1 percent respectively.
The RoK is the fifth largest market for Vietnamese shrimp after Japan, the EU, the US and China. In 2014, Vietnam surpassed China to become the number one shrimp supplier in the RoK.
After a fall of 12.2 percent in January 2017, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the RoK grew 72 percent in February and 52 percent in March. In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam earned 61.8 million USD from the exports, up 30.8 percent over the same period last year.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, Vietnam enjoys low import tax at 10 percent compared to other competitors such as China, India and Ecuador.
From April 1, 2018, a big change will affect Vietnamese shrimp exports to the RoK, as frozen shrimp imports will be required to show import certificates under adjustments in import regulations of the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service under the Ministry of Ocean Fisheries to protect the country’s aquatic ecosystem.
According to Tran Van Pham, General Director of the Stapimex company in Soc Trang, from April 1, 2018, testing of seafood samples before exporting to the RoK will be implemented in Vietnam, which means Vietnamese firms will have to pay for the costly process.
To deal with the costs, enterprises will lower the price of seafood material, which will affect farmers and the whole sector, he added.
Source: VNA Date: 2017-06-12