Building agricultural hi-tech parks is vital, says Tu Minh Thien, DeputyDirector of the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City AgriculturalHi-Tech Park. He spoke with Nhan Dan (The People) newspaper about theissue.
*What is the city's plan to develop Agricultural Hi-Tech Parks in Ho Chi Minh City?
Thefirst agricultural hi-tech park in the city was established in April2010 in Cu Chi district, some 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City. We now planto establish three more.
One park is adjacent to the Cu Chi park, the second is in Can Gio district and the third is Binh Chanh district.
Thekey objective of building these agricultural hi-tech parks is tointroduce new technology to farming activities and helping farmers buildtrademarks for their agriculture produce.
With lessons learnedfrom the Cu Chi agricultural hi-tech park, we'll try to build new parkssuitable and practical to farmers. For example, we want the three newparks to be able to apply some of the advanced technology, including theregeneration, water saving and information technology.
We thinkit is important for these parks to involve detailed planning to turnthemselves into sites for university students to visit and study the newtechnology on modern agricultural production.
In these parks we have decided to reserve large areas for investors who are interested in agricultural hi-tech development.
Ofcourse, in these parks we'll try to develop new high quality productsfor farmers while developing viable production models, such as thefarm-to-forks supply chain.
Last but not least, these parks will become a good training school for future workers looking to work in hi-tech agriculture.
*Can you tell us a bit more about the Cu Chi park's achievements over the past four years?
By now the park is full. It has three centres which are affiliated to the Cu Chi park and 14 investors are operating here.
Activitiesin the park are diverse, including the production of vegetable seeds,mushroom production and processing, bio-produce production, post harvestheat treatment, and flower production, particularly of orchids.
Thepark's main function is to apply new technology and introduce new plantspecies and then transfer technology to farmers or agricultureenterprises.
In addition, the park also serves as a venue for school and university students to come and learn about agricultural technology.
Atfirst, the park got 152 billion VND (7 million USD) from the Ho ChiMinh City authorities and about 21 million USD from the investors. It iscalculated, the investment cost per hectare in the park is about 8billion VND (380,000 USD).
Right from the beginning, the park'smanagement board set the objective to make the best of the investmentmoney and use it efficiently.
As a result, in 2013 the totalrevenue earned by 14 enterprises operating in the park was 980 billionVND (46 million USD). Their product focused mainly on vegetable seeds,watermelon, orchids and bio-products.
Vegetable seeds produced atthe park have helped the farmers increase the production yield to atleast 20 percent compared with traditional seeds.
Higher yields help improve farmers' living conditions.
Furthermore,agricultural technology development helps improving product quality andmeeting export standards, particularly in demanding markets.
*Thereare no foreign investors on the list. Does that mean the policy is notlucrative enough to attract foreign investors in these parks?
Rightnow there are no direct foreign investors in the park. However, someVietnamese investors have worked closely with foreign companies inexporting their products or in technology transfer.
In myopinion, there are several reasons for the lack of foreign investors inthe Cu Chi park: the land is too small, the policy setting is not veryattractive and the administrative procedures are cumbersome.
*Do you think the city authorities will make policy changes to attract foreign investors to the three new parks?
Thecity has issued the Decision 13 giving preferential policies to supportagricultural restructuring in the period between 2013 and 2015.
Principallyspeaking, enterprises investing in agricultural high-tech parks will begiven red carpet welcome, including low land lease fees, preferentialtax policies in equipment imports and human resource training.
Inmy own opinion, the city should pay more attention to providing a legalframework for all sectors of the economy, including for foreigncompanies to invest in agricultural hi-tech parks.-VNA
*What is the city's plan to develop Agricultural Hi-Tech Parks in Ho Chi Minh City?
Thefirst agricultural hi-tech park in the city was established in April2010 in Cu Chi district, some 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City. We now planto establish three more.
One park is adjacent to the Cu Chi park, the second is in Can Gio district and the third is Binh Chanh district.
Thekey objective of building these agricultural hi-tech parks is tointroduce new technology to farming activities and helping farmers buildtrademarks for their agriculture produce.
With lessons learnedfrom the Cu Chi agricultural hi-tech park, we'll try to build new parkssuitable and practical to farmers. For example, we want the three newparks to be able to apply some of the advanced technology, including theregeneration, water saving and information technology.
We thinkit is important for these parks to involve detailed planning to turnthemselves into sites for university students to visit and study the newtechnology on modern agricultural production.
In these parks we have decided to reserve large areas for investors who are interested in agricultural hi-tech development.
Ofcourse, in these parks we'll try to develop new high quality productsfor farmers while developing viable production models, such as thefarm-to-forks supply chain.
Last but not least, these parks will become a good training school for future workers looking to work in hi-tech agriculture.
*Can you tell us a bit more about the Cu Chi park's achievements over the past four years?
By now the park is full. It has three centres which are affiliated to the Cu Chi park and 14 investors are operating here.
Activitiesin the park are diverse, including the production of vegetable seeds,mushroom production and processing, bio-produce production, post harvestheat treatment, and flower production, particularly of orchids.
Thepark's main function is to apply new technology and introduce new plantspecies and then transfer technology to farmers or agricultureenterprises.
In addition, the park also serves as a venue for school and university students to come and learn about agricultural technology.
Atfirst, the park got 152 billion VND (7 million USD) from the Ho ChiMinh City authorities and about 21 million USD from the investors. It iscalculated, the investment cost per hectare in the park is about 8billion VND (380,000 USD).
Right from the beginning, the park'smanagement board set the objective to make the best of the investmentmoney and use it efficiently.
As a result, in 2013 the totalrevenue earned by 14 enterprises operating in the park was 980 billionVND (46 million USD). Their product focused mainly on vegetable seeds,watermelon, orchids and bio-products.
Vegetable seeds produced atthe park have helped the farmers increase the production yield to atleast 20 percent compared with traditional seeds.
Higher yields help improve farmers' living conditions.
Furthermore,agricultural technology development helps improving product quality andmeeting export standards, particularly in demanding markets.
*Thereare no foreign investors on the list. Does that mean the policy is notlucrative enough to attract foreign investors in these parks?
Rightnow there are no direct foreign investors in the park. However, someVietnamese investors have worked closely with foreign companies inexporting their products or in technology transfer.
In myopinion, there are several reasons for the lack of foreign investors inthe Cu Chi park: the land is too small, the policy setting is not veryattractive and the administrative procedures are cumbersome.
*Do you think the city authorities will make policy changes to attract foreign investors to the three new parks?
Thecity has issued the Decision 13 giving preferential policies to supportagricultural restructuring in the period between 2013 and 2015.
Principallyspeaking, enterprises investing in agricultural high-tech parks will begiven red carpet welcome, including low land lease fees, preferentialtax policies in equipment imports and human resource training.
Inmy own opinion, the city should pay more attention to providing a legalframework for all sectors of the economy, including for foreigncompanies to invest in agricultural hi-tech parks.-VNA
