Resolution No. 09/2000/NQ-CP on certain guidelines and policies regarding the restructuring of agricultural economic structure and the consumption of agricultural products.

RESOLUTION

On certain policies and guidelines regarding

restructuring the economic structure and consumption of agricultural products

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Implementing the renewal policy of the Party over the past years, Vietnam's agricultural production (agriculture, forestry, fisheries) has continuously achieved significant accomplishments. The greatest achievement is that within a relatively short period, from a self-sufficient and backward agricultural base, it has become a commodity-based agricultural sector ensuring national food security with an increasing rate of commoditization, holding a considerable position in both regional and global markets. Our country has become one of the leading exporters in the world for four major commodities: rice, coffee, cashew nuts, and pepper.

In the process of industrialization, modernization, and integration into the regional and global economy, Vietnam's agriculture must continue to address many fundamental and urgent issues to meet the aspirations of farmers and the interests of the nation.

I. On the economic structure of agriculture:

Leveraging the significant advantages of Vietnam's agricultural sector in terms of natural potential, long-standing agricultural traditions, and the diligence, dynamism, and creativity of farmers, aiming at building a strong, sustainable agricultural sector that applies advanced and new technologies, gradually modernizes, and rises to become an agricultural sector with large-scale commodity production industries, increasingly competitive in the process of international integration, achieving high productivity and income per unit area, meeting the demand for food and raw materials for industry, rapidly increasing export turnover, protecting the ecological environment, contributing to improving the living standards of farmers, stabilizing the national economy and society.

The selection of the structure, scale, and types of agricultural products must exploit the advantages of the entire country and each region, closely align with domestic and international market demands, and have the ability to consume goods effectively, yielding high economic, social, and ecological benefits.
Over the next ten years, the important commodity-producing sectors of Vietnam's agriculture need to develop according to the following directions:

1. Food production:

a) Rice: This is a sector with a strength in our country, especially in the Mekong Delta and Red River Delta regions. It must ensure food security, sufficient national rice reserves, and a necessary amount for export. The stable rice production volume should be around 33 million tons/year, of which about 25 million tons/year are for consumption and reserves (excluding the increasing amount of wheat flour mainly imported), the remainder for export and other needs. Rice production mainly relies on intensive cultivation using high-quality seeds, effectively meeting the requirements of the domestic consumption and export markets. Maintain approximately 4 million hectares of land with conditions for active irrigation and drainage for rice production. For less efficient rice-producing lands, switch to higher-yielding products such as dryland areas being converted to cash crops, low-lying and coastal areas to aquaculture, peri-urban areas to vegetables, flowers, and fruit trees... In remote areas, continue to invest in developing rice production where conditions permit (especially small-scale irrigation and paddy field construction) to ensure people's livelihoods, quickly stop the practice of deforestation for shifting cultivation and nomadic farming.

b) Other grains: mainly corn, continuing to develop to reach a level of 5-6 million tons/year, sufficient for animal feed.

2. Short-cycle industrial crops:

a) Sugarcane: No new sugar factories will be built, focusing instead on optimizing and utilizing existing factories' capacity. Establish stable sugarcane supply areas, intensify cultivation. Develop other processing industries to enhance the efficiency of sugar factories, promote the food industry (candy, baked goods, milk, fruit juices with sugar) to consume all produced sugar. In the future, when domestic market demand increases, consider deciding on a higher development level for the sugar industry.

b) Oilseed crops: Vietnam has the conditions to solve its own oilseed needs, particularly edible oils. Vigorously develop oilseed crops such as peanuts, soybeans, sesame, sunflower, etc., to provide edible oil for the population at a rate of 4-5 kg/person/year, eventually eliminating the need for imports. During development, if there is a large market and favorable prices, seize opportunities to develop strongly to potentially export edible oil.

c) Fiber crops: Cotton and mulberry have a long-term position in the agricultural structure. Develop cotton fiber in suitable areas to achieve partial self-sufficiency in cotton fiber demand for the textile industry, reducing imports. Continue to develop mulberry planting linked with silk reeling and weaving industries to create more jobs and increase exports.

d) Tobacco: In some suitable areas, develop tobacco production for domestic cigarette manufacturing, quickly reduce the import of tobacco raw materials.

3. Some traditional perennial crops with high economic value:

a) Coffee: This is a major commodity-producing sector of Vietnam's agriculture. Maintain the current 400,000 hectares of robusta coffee, with annual replanting, emphasizing intensive and comprehensive management, without expanding new areas. Focus on developing arabica coffee in truly suitable locations. Vietnam's future coffee production will maintain a level of about 600,000 tons/year.

b) Cashew nuts: Vigorously develop cashew trees based on renovating old cashew orchards and opening new areas, mainly in central Vietnam, increasing the cashew area to about 500,000 hectares, reaching a production level of about 100,000 tons of cashew kernels/year.

c) Pepper: This is a perennial crop with high economic efficiency. Increase the area to about 50,000 hectares, producing about 100,000 tons/year. Must closely follow global market demand to determine appropriate production levels, ensuring the sustainable effectiveness of this production sector.

d) Rubber: concentrate on intensively cultivating 400,000 hectares of existing land to achieve high yields. Continue developing rubber in suitable areas to ensure effective business operations, mainly in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands, especially border regions. In the future, the dry rubber production volume will reach approximately 600,000 tons/year. Develop deep processing industries for rubber products and wood from rubber trees to enhance the effectiveness of rubber cultivation.

e) Tea: is a key perennial crop in northern mountainous provinces. Increase the tea planting area to 100,000 hectares with intensive cultivation technology, particularly high-quality tea varieties grown at high altitudes. Must produce various types of tea that meet domestic market preferences and the diverse requirements of international markets. The annual processed production volume is about 100,000 tons of various types of tea.

4. Vegetables, fruits, flowers, and ornamental plants:

a) Vegetables: develop various types of vegetables, focusing primarily on high-quality vegetables. Besides traditional vegetables, promote the cultivation of new high-end vegetable varieties such as soybeans, corn, bamboo shoots, edible mushrooms, and medicinal mushrooms, which have high nutritional value and great market potential, creating additional jobs and reducing poverty in many rural areas of the country.

b) Fruit trees: develop tropical, subtropical, and temperate fruit trees, effectively utilizing all ecological advantages of the country to meet people's living needs and large-scale exports in the future. In addition to common fruit trees that satisfy general living needs, it is necessary to develop certain competitive fruit tree varieties for export such as lychee, longan, pineapple, dragon fruit, etc.

c) Flowers and ornamental plants: are types of plants with increasing demand, especially in urban areas. Establish flower and ornamental plant production areas to meet market demands.

5. Forestry:

Continue to direct the implementation of the program to plant five million hectares of forests. In addition to protecting, nurturing, regenerating, and planting special-purpose and protective forests, it is necessary to strongly develop productive forests, focusing on the following major directions:

a) Wood and bamboo species for paper and artificial wood panels: Develop bamboo, acacia, pine, eucalyptus, and other species as raw materials for the paper industry to make this sector the largest in terms of forest product processing in the country, producing about one million tons of various types of paper annually, aiming to eventually export pulp and paper.

Gradually develop the production of artificial wood panels including finger-jointed panels, particleboard, and fiberboard to meet domestic demand.

b) Specialty tree species, timber trees, and raw material trees for handicrafts and fine arts.

Develop cinnamon, clove, and other species in suitable areas to meet international market demands.

Develop some rare timber tree species such as agarwood, teak, rosewood, padauk, and others; develop timber trees for mine pillars and construction.

Develop the production of outdoor furniture, household furniture, fine art wood products, and woven rattan and bamboo products, mainly for export.

6. Livestock:

a) Pigs: focus on developing pig herds to meet domestic consumption market needs. In some suitable areas, develop high-quality pig farming according to industrial production methods to ensure disease safety, mainly for export.

b) Cattle: develop beef cattle, mainly focusing on high-yielding Zebu cattle with good meat quality to meet meat and leather needs. Particularly emphasize the strong development of dairy cattle herds, mainly in midland and mountainous regions. Within ten years, increase the dairy cattle herd to around 200,000 heads, including about 100,000 lactating cows, producing about 300,000 tons of fresh milk annually to provide raw materials for the dairy industry, reducing imported raw milk.

c) Poultry and eggs: develop poultry herds mainly consisting of chickens and ducks to meet people's meat and egg needs. Strongly develop high-quality poultry farming for export of meat, eggs, feathers, etc.

7. Aquaculture:

Is a production sector of animal protein with increasing demand in the domestic market and large-scale exports, capable of becoming the most advantageous production sector in Vietnam's agriculture. The aquaculture production volume reaches 3-3.5 million tons/year, meeting domestic market needs and increasing export turnover to be among the top in Southeast Asia.

Along with developing distant-water fishing, it is necessary to focus on sustainable development of aquaculture, following the following major direction:

a) Shrimp: is a key sector in the country's aquaculture industry. Develop brackish water shrimp (mangrove shrimp, whiteleg shrimp) and freshwater shrimp (green tiger shrimp), combining intensive industrial-style farming with semi-intensive and ecological farming, where the area of intensive and semi-intensive shrimp farming increases to over 100,000 hectares, bringing the production volume of various shrimp farming technologies to about 300,000 tons/year.

b) Various fish and other aquatic products: strongly develop the farming of various freshwater, brackish water, marine fish, and other specialty aquatic products.

Following the above orientation, Vietnam's agriculture ensures national food security, provides sufficient raw materials for industry, and increases export turnover to about 8-9 billion USD/year.

II. Some policies to enhance the consumption capacity of agricultural products (agriculture, forestry, fisheries):

1. Widespread application of new scientific and technological achievements in agricultural production.

Science and technology must serve the goal of developing a sustainable agricultural sector, focusing on meeting the requirements of increasing productivity, product quality, and lowering production costs, while creating many new, valuable, and off-season products to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products.

In the coming decade, the level of science and technology in many sectors of Vietnamese agriculture must catch up with other countries in the region and increase the contribution of scientific and technological progress to the value added of agriculture from about 30% currently to over 50%. Continue to intensify and improve the quality of agricultural extension work, forestry extension, and fishery extension down to the grassroots and households, aiming to help farmers understand and apply scientific and technical advances to enhance productivity, quality, and reduce production costs. Focus on applying new scientific and technological achievements in the following areas:

a) Regarding seeds: ensure that more than 70% of seeds used in production are advanced technology seeds. Most high-quality seeds should be produced domestically. Strengthen research on hybridization and application of hybrid advantage seeds. Investment must be ensured to meet the requirements for building infrastructure for seed research and production work. Adequate funds must be allocated to import genetic resources and advanced technology seeds to serve research, hybridization, and rapid propagation of high-quality seeds for widespread production.

Gradually expand the application of genetic engineering techniques in seed breeding for crops and livestock with high economic efficiency, while ensuring biological diversity and environmental protection.

b) Regarding crop and animal care and protection: Intensify research and application of biotechnology in crop and animal care and protection, including the development of biological fertilizers and plant protection products, and technologies serving the production of clean agricultural products.

Intensify research and application of integrated measures effectively preventing pests, diseases, and epidemics affecting crops and livestock, stopping dangerous epidemics threatening animal husbandry and aquaculture.

c) Regarding irrigation, drainage, and mechanization:

Science and technology must provide solutions to achieve the goal within ten years, basically completing investment in water conservancy development to serve the irrigation and drainage needs of high-value crops and aquaculture.

Intensify research and wide application of water-saving irrigation technologies such as sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, and seepage irrigation for suitable crops in appropriate ecological zones.

Research, select, and design the manufacture of suitable machines to serve mechanization in land preparation at over 70%, seeding of short-cycle crops, cultivation, and harvesting of necessary production sectors. Improve the manufacturing level of some equipment so that domestic products can compete with similar foreign products currently available in the Vietnamese market and aim for export.

d) Regarding storage and processing:

Apply modern technology to store, pre-process, and process agricultural products to reduce post-harvest losses, increase product value, meet international quality standards, and diversify products for domestic consumption and export. Initially, accelerate the modernization of existing production facilities and use advanced new technologies for newly established facilities, meeting the preferences of each export market.

2. Increase additional resources and develop contractual forms with farmers, effectively linking agriculture, processing industry, and agricultural product consumption.

Implement well the land policies according to the provisions of the Land Law. Complete the issuance of certificates of land use rights for farmers' agricultural land. Fully inventory unused land. Within ten years, all land capable of agricultural production must be put into effective use.

Based on developing household economies in agriculture, continue to develop various types of farm economies, primarily in midland mountainous and coastal areas, to effectively utilize land and water resources for agricultural production. Encourage various economic components to develop agricultural product processing industries, mainly small and medium enterprises, including traditional craft villages. Gradually transform state-owned enterprises in agricultural product processing to attract a large number of farmers producing raw materials to buy shares, aligning farmers' interests with those of enterprises. Localities plan land reserves for industrial development in necessary and suitable communes, allocate land for traditional craft villages, ensuring production requirements and environmental protection.

Vigorously reform the activities of agricultural cooperatives. Persistently mobilize farmers to build new-style cooperatives. Create favorable conditions for cooperatives to fulfill their role in marketing agricultural products through contracts with farmer households.

Encourage businesses engaged in processing and trade under various economic components to expand contract-based sales with cooperatives or directly with farmers, linking production with processing and domestic consumption and export of products.

Following this direction, in the coming years, rapidly expand the number of farmer households and farm economies producing agricultural products under contract.

Implement comprehensive measures to develop human resources in rural areas. Develop vocational training schools for rural residents. Urgently implement training and instruction to improve the production and business management skills of cooperative managers, enterprise managers, and farm owners.

Consolidate and establish new commodity associations to protect the legitimate interests of producers and traders of agricultural products.

3. Some financial policies.

a) Regarding tax policy:

In addition to current tax policies, apply the following new policies:

High income tax for farm households operating farm economies will be implemented after specific bases are studied and proposed, such as Resolution No. 03/2000/NQ-CP dated February 2, 2000, of the Government on farm economies.

Exempt turnover tax on the trading of agricultural products. For forestry trees grown for raw materials such as paper, wood, and specialty trees like cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, betel nut, etc., resource taxes shall not be levied and they can circulate freely.

Consider value-added tax on agricultural products to make necessary adjustments.

As for agricultural land use tax, apart from exemptions and reductions according to existing policies, starting from 2001, further exemptions and reductions will be considered when encountering market risks and price fluctuations.

b) On investment, credit, and insurance:

Along with policies to mobilize people's resources for developing agriculture, the State increases budget capital for investing in infrastructure serving agriculture. Investment levels in water conservancy, roads, bridges, ports, warehouses, and other facilities are increased to meet production and circulation requirements, enhance productivity, and reduce product costs. The State supports investment in developing wholesale agricultural markets and rural markets to facilitate transactions and consumption of agricultural products.

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Fisheries, and relevant ministries and sectors to study and develop support policies from the Development Support Fund with favorable conditions and interest rates for agricultural production projects that are difficult to recover capital quickly, such as long-term crops, large livestock farming, fisheries, and the development of processing industries, to be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision.

Establish a credit guarantee fund to create conditions for households, farm owners, small and medium-sized business owners, and cooperatives to borrow sufficient capital for production and business under difficult collateral conditions. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating with the State Bank of Vietnam to develop a proposal for establishing the fund along with accompanying policies and solutions to be submitted to the Prime Minister for decision by the third quarter of 2000.

Agricultural commodity markets often face risks affecting farmers' and businesses' interests. In addition to current financial support policies, the State encourages the establishment of export industry insurance funds. Industries with large export values such as rice, coffee, rubber, tea, cashew nuts, black pepper, fruits, seafood, and timber should establish these funds. Each industry's fund shall be used to insure that industry. Producers and traders in each industry shall establish their own associations to manage the fund's income and expenditure according to a financial mechanism proposed by the Ministry of Finance and decided by the Prime Minister. The State will subsidize the insurance fund for certain special industries.

4. Strengthen external market work, improve information and marketing capabilities.

Promote trade cooperation with countries, linking foreign relations with agricultural exports. Continue expanding bilateral and multilateral government commitments regarding agricultural exports. Expand the range of agricultural products in the list of goods used to repay foreign debts. Enhance rights, responsibilities, and create conditions for diplomatic and trade agencies abroad to participate in seeking export markets for agricultural products.

Continue improving trade mechanisms and policies to facilitate the consumption of agricultural products domestically and internationally. Diversify markets, forms of foreign trade, and payment methods suitable for the conditions and benefits of all parties involved, reducing price risks for producers and traders.

Effectively organize the collection and processing of domestic and international market information to provide for production and trading entities; gradually develop electronic commerce for agricultural products.

Expand and enhance the effectiveness of trade promotion activities, aligning these activities with economic restructuring requirements and agricultural product consumption. Encourage and create conditions for organizations, individuals, and enterprises to intensify trade promotion activities both domestically and internationally, such as organizing overseas trade fairs, building physical and technical facilities to serve trade promotion activities; strengthen training and capacity building to enhance the expertise of export agricultural product sales staff.

5. State management of agricultural product consumption.

Enhance the effectiveness of state management over agricultural product consumption to ensure smooth production, processing, and consumption of products. It is necessary to review the specific division of responsibilities for state management of consumption and export of agricultural products between the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Fisheries, and provincial people's committees to leverage the role of state management and enhance the responsibility of each ministry and localities in this field. The Government's Organizational Cadre Department, together with relevant ministries and sectors, shall study and submit proposals to the Government for adjusting the functions and tasks of these ministries in 2000.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies shall guide specific contents stipulated in this Resolution according to their functions and tasks.

Provincial People's Committees shall be responsible for widely disseminating and implementing this Resolution.