High standards: A farmer inspecting his crops in Ha Nam province outside of Hanoi. Vietnam will continue to call on Japanese enterprises to pool investment into farming value chains such as rice, fruit, vegetable and seafood value chains. — AFP
HANOI: Vietnam will further promote cooperation with Japan in the field of high-tech agricultural development, according to an official of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (Mard).
To attract Japanese investors into the agricultural sector, especially high-tech agriculture, the ministry is reviewing and building the Medium and Long-term Vision for Vietnam-Japan Agricultural Cooperation for the phase from 2025 to 2028.
This will supplement two new fields of developing green and sustainable agriculture with the application of advanced technologies, and vocational training in the agricultural sector, said Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, director of Mard’s Department of International Cooperation.
“Vietnam’s enterprises must have qualified human resources and business plans meeting green and sustainability standards of foreign investors, including Japanese investors.
“In addition, Vietnam will continue to call on Japanese enterprises to pool investment into farming value chains such as rice, fruit, vegetable and seafood value chains.”
Besides that, Vietnam needs to attract capital from Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) to upgrade the quality management system, animal and plant quarantine system, and food safety control system, thereby meeting international standards as well as Japanese standards.
The two countries have recently promoted cooperation in developing Vietnam’s agriculture. Japan has provided ODA to Vietnam in the agricultural sector for over US$1bil in total.
At present, Mard coordinates with the Planning and Investment Ministry to review criteria for attracting investors meeting green standards, and having technology exchange and connection to farmers and local businesses, Tuan said.
“The foreign investors who meet that criteria will enjoy more incentives than regular investors,” he said.
Mard will continue to strengthen dialogue with foreign investors, of course including Japanese enterprises, through an office specialising in sustainable development and modern agriculture, according to Tuan.
“We will also develop handbooks to guide the investors in each specific field of the agricultural sector and have orientation for investors in terms of green investment and close connection with Vietnamese farmers.”
According to Tuan, Japanese investment in Vietnam’s agricultural sector now is not commensurate with the potential of the relationship between the two countries.
Japan’s investment in hi-tech agriculture in Vietnam is still small-scale and the investors are also small and medium-sized enterprises.
They have mostly invested in developing areas of vegetable and flower or tea with an investment of only about US$1mil to US$2mil for each project.
“Japan’s total investment capital in Vietnam’s agricultural industry is only about US$250mil,” Tuan said. “Of which, Japanese investors have often focused on high-tech agriculture in terms of gene, seed, preservation technology and deep processing technology.”
For instance, Fujitsu has a joint venture with FPT Corp to provide digital technology platforms such as smart agriculture and precision agriculture, and a number of Japanese livestock enterprises have also invested in Vietnam.
Vinamilk and Sojitz Japan have started work on a breeding and beef processing complex called Vinabeef in Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc Province. The project, with total investment of three trillion dong, is a joint project by Vilico – a member of Vinamilk –and Japan’s Sojitz Corp.
This is one of the projects in the investment and collaboration plan between the leading corporations of Vietnam and Japan in high-tech agriculture, cattle breeding, and beef processing, with a total value of up to US$500mil in cooperative agreements signed between the governments of the two countries in 2021.
Cooperation between Japan and Vietnam will reap successes if Vietnamese businesses meet the standards and conditions of Japanese partners. — Viet Nam News/ANN
