Agriculture reveals barren FDI vista

Red River - photo source Dang cong san 

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat told a workshop held last week in Hanoi on the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) into agriculture, that despite robust exports of agricultural products worth $28.5 billion last year, there had been an alarming plunge in FDI inflows into the sector.

Fifteen years ago, FDI into agriculture, forestry and fisheries accounted for 15 per cent of Vietnam’s total FDI volumes, but the rate had plummeted to 0.5 per cent over the past three years.     

Nguyen Ba Cuong, deputy director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s (MPI) Foreign Investment Agency, said by the end of April this year, Vietnam’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries attracted only 520 foreign-invested projects of the country’s total number of 16,300.  

“Almost all the FDI projects in the sectors are in the Red River and Mekong Delta regions. Remote provinces have barely attracted any FDI projects in these sectors. FDI projects in agriculture, forestry and fisheries mainly focus on areas with quick capital returns such as farm produce, timber and food processing, animal husbandry and animal feed,” said Cuong.

Nguyen Van Toan, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-invested Enterprises attributed the sharp fall in FDI in agriculture to the lack of material zone development planning and sudden changes in planning and policies by the local authorities.  

Meanwhile, Bui Tat Thang, director of the MPI’s Development Strategy Institute said the lack of a long-term FDI attraction strategy and weak rural infrastructure still constituted major barriers for FDI inflows into Vietnam’s agriculture sector.

Determined to address the issue, Minister Phat said, “We realise that a review of the mechanisms and policies is required to stimulate foreign investors into the agricultural sector as we know it would bring about benefits for both businesses and farmers.”

The minister also promised to create a favourable agricultural investment environment, shorten administrative procedures, cut costs and remove the inconsistencies between policies and implementation.

According to Phat, in order to encourage foreign investors in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) was considering allowing foreign businesses to directly procure farm produce from farmers instead of through intermediaries.         

According to the MARD, it needed to create large-scale domestic businesses capable of partnering with foreign firms, while at the same time improving the quality of human resources in the sector.