The process of agricultural mechanisation in Vietnam needs to"leapfrog" and apply the latest advances instead of outdatedtechnologies, experts say.
Agricultural machinery manufacturinghas failed to meet targets set 10 years ago by a prime ministerialdecision to develop the country's engineering sector, they said at aconference held last week on promoting mechanisation to facilitaterestructuring of the agriculture sector.
Vu Anh Tuan of theAgriculture Ministry's Department for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries and SaltProcessing said the sector met just 32.6 percent of the market demandfor agricultural machinery, far below the 40-50 percent target set.
While mechanisation happened at various stages of agricultural production, the machinery used was outdated, Tuan said.
Forinstance, the tillers used were of low capacity and mainly suitable forhousehold production, not larger farms. Most of the mechanizationhappened in rice cultivation.
"Mechanised energy used inagricultural production in Vietnam is around 1.6 horsepower (HP) perhectare and 2.2HP/ha for rice production, much lower than that inThailand, the Republic of Korea and China at 4HP/ha, 10HP/ha and 8HP/harespectively," he added.
At the workshop organised by theministry on promoting mechanisation to facilitate agriculturerestructuring, participants said there were many shortcomings in thestudy of science and technology in general and agricultural engineeringin particular.
Slow application of science and technology inproduction was also a feature of Vietnamese agriculture, they said,adding that many projects in this area were "impractical, inadequate anduncreative."
Renovation in State-owned enterprises had beenvery slow, while the private sector was focusing on the production ofsmall-sized tractors and other agricultural machinery, participantsagreed.
Doan Xuan Hoa, deputy chairman of the VietnamAgricultural Engineering Soceity (VSAE), said there were about 100machinery makers in the country, most of them small-sized, producing lowquality, unprofessional products.
A lack of cooperation in the manufacturing sector was also hurting the sector, he said.
"Thelevel of agricultural mechanisation is one of the measures to gaugemodernisation of production as well as competitiveness in the sector,"Hoa said. "Experience from other countries show that themechanisation of agricultural production must be carried out step bystep to gradually replace manual labour. However, the process also needsto leapfrog and apply the latest advances in agricultural production."
Hoasaid that the situation could be blamed on policy shortcomings. Thepolicies were adequate, but their enforcement left much to be desired,he said, explaining that farmers and enterprises still found itdifficult to access financial assistance for modernising theiroperations.
Building on this argument, Tran DucVien, Principalof the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, said specificmechanisms had to be put in place for easier enforcement of policies.
"Ifwe do not invest properly in promoting domestic scientific studies,machines will continue to be imported from China and installed at home,"he said.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Vu Van Tam, informed the workshop that in order to double the level ofagricultural mechanisation from the current 1.6HP/ha to 3.2HP/ha, theministry would ask relevant agencies to establish working groups thatwould review, supplement and complete mechanisms as well as redressshortcomings.-VNA
Agricultural machinery manufacturinghas failed to meet targets set 10 years ago by a prime ministerialdecision to develop the country's engineering sector, they said at aconference held last week on promoting mechanisation to facilitaterestructuring of the agriculture sector.
Vu Anh Tuan of theAgriculture Ministry's Department for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries and SaltProcessing said the sector met just 32.6 percent of the market demandfor agricultural machinery, far below the 40-50 percent target set.
While mechanisation happened at various stages of agricultural production, the machinery used was outdated, Tuan said.
Forinstance, the tillers used were of low capacity and mainly suitable forhousehold production, not larger farms. Most of the mechanizationhappened in rice cultivation.
"Mechanised energy used inagricultural production in Vietnam is around 1.6 horsepower (HP) perhectare and 2.2HP/ha for rice production, much lower than that inThailand, the Republic of Korea and China at 4HP/ha, 10HP/ha and 8HP/harespectively," he added.
At the workshop organised by theministry on promoting mechanisation to facilitate agriculturerestructuring, participants said there were many shortcomings in thestudy of science and technology in general and agricultural engineeringin particular.
Slow application of science and technology inproduction was also a feature of Vietnamese agriculture, they said,adding that many projects in this area were "impractical, inadequate anduncreative."
Renovation in State-owned enterprises had beenvery slow, while the private sector was focusing on the production ofsmall-sized tractors and other agricultural machinery, participantsagreed.
Doan Xuan Hoa, deputy chairman of the VietnamAgricultural Engineering Soceity (VSAE), said there were about 100machinery makers in the country, most of them small-sized, producing lowquality, unprofessional products.
A lack of cooperation in the manufacturing sector was also hurting the sector, he said.
"Thelevel of agricultural mechanisation is one of the measures to gaugemodernisation of production as well as competitiveness in the sector,"Hoa said. "Experience from other countries show that themechanisation of agricultural production must be carried out step bystep to gradually replace manual labour. However, the process also needsto leapfrog and apply the latest advances in agricultural production."
Hoasaid that the situation could be blamed on policy shortcomings. Thepolicies were adequate, but their enforcement left much to be desired,he said, explaining that farmers and enterprises still found itdifficult to access financial assistance for modernising theiroperations.
Building on this argument, Tran DucVien, Principalof the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, said specificmechanisms had to be put in place for easier enforcement of policies.
"Ifwe do not invest properly in promoting domestic scientific studies,machines will continue to be imported from China and installed at home,"he said.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,Vu Van Tam, informed the workshop that in order to double the level ofagricultural mechanisation from the current 1.6HP/ha to 3.2HP/ha, theministry would ask relevant agencies to establish working groups thatwould review, supplement and complete mechanisms as well as redressshortcomings.-VNA
