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Investors told $2.5 bil needed for farms
From 2011 to 2015, Viet Nam will need US$2-2.5 billion in agriculture development investments, an increase of 1.5 times against the previous five years’ figure.
Le Van Minh, Director General of the International Co-operation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made the statement at the International Support Group (ISG) meeting 2009 for ODA for agriculture and rural development from 2011-15 yesterday, October 28.
Minh said that each year the industry needed $400-500 million in official development assistance (ODA).
According to Minh, most of the money will be spent on the "Tam Nong" programme - building infrastructure for agricultural production, improving the livelihoods of poor people and improving the quality of agro-forestry and fisheries products.
In his speech, Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat said that ODA played an important role in the country’s agriculture and rural development.
"From 1993-08, the amount of ODA reserved for agricultural development and the national programme for poverty reduction was about $5.5 billion, accounting for 40-50 per cent of programmes and development projects managed by the ministry, or 15.66 per cent of the total ODA in the country," said Phat.
He said that the ODA had actively contributed to increasing the productivity of agricultural products and supporting the formulating and adjusting of the sector’s strategies and policies for development.
He expressed his hope that Vietnamese farmers would continue to receive active support from international donors.
In her speech, WB Country Director Victoria Kwawa spoke highly of the restructuring of the primary industry in Viet Nam.
She said that the restructuring had allowed Viet Nam to achieve great successes in poverty alleviation programmes over the past years.
Agriculture and rural development remained the top priorities of international donors, said Victoria.
She said that the World Bank and the Germany Bank KwF had reserved 20 per cent of their ODA commitments for Viet Nam for agricultural and rural development.
Viet Nam had used the ODA fund efficiently, though the disbursements of some projects were a bid behind schedule, she said.
Chu Van Chuong, Deputy Director General of the MARD International Co-operation Department, agreed that there was a slow disbursement of some projects, particularly in fisheries and agriculture.
He said that though the total ODA invested in agriculture was rather large, the scopes of the projects had remained modest.
"The number of projects with investment budgets between $70-100 million accounts for about 1.7 per cent, and that with investment budgets over $100 million accounts for 1.3 per cent," said Chuong.
Many participants agreed on the imperative to have a master plan for development so that they could attract more ODA. In addition, the ministry should focus on strengthening the capacity of the staff involved in project implementations.
The WB Country Director said that if Viet Nam wanted to increase the ODA fund, it should expand the list of ODA users for the cause of agriculture and rural development.
She said that Viet Nam should also set priorities according to eco regions and put in place a monitoring and evaluation system for ODA programmes and projects.
According to experts, the decrease in the ODA fund in the 2003-08 period was due to Viet Nam’s passiveness in formulating plans and coming up with a priority list for investments.
In order to attract more ODA funds, MARD has introduced new models with an aim to raising farmers’ incomes and improving their living conditions, particularly for the poor and those living near the poverty line. In addition, Minister Phat also wanted to use part of the ODA to invest in infrastructure to enable the agriculture sector to develop sustainably and use natural resources efficiently.
MARD was committed to doing all it could to streamline the administrative procedures so that disbursements would get quicker, including the fund for "Climate Change", Phat said.
The ministry also asked the Government to give more ODA priority to agricultural and rural development, and to quickly issue guiding documents on using and managing the ODA fund.
vietnamnet, vietnamnews
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