APEC Ministers and CEOs Dialogue: Promoting investment in value chains for sustainable agriculture development.

On the afternoon of August 24^th, The Policy Dialogue of APEC Ministers and CEOs on responsible use of resources to enhance sustainable Food production and Agri-business was taken place in Can Tho province.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural development Ha Cong Tuan attended and discussed with 25 delegations with nearly 150 delegates from APEC member economies. Two main topics discussed by the delegates are: - Responsible use of resources to ensure sustainable food production and bringing high profits to all participants of the value chain; - Investment in food production and sustainable food processing: the role of public and private sectors.

Food security and climate change have become one of the topics of primary concern in APEC economies due to the growing challenges in the food chain around the world. Therefore, this dialogue participated by the APEC Ministers and CEOs reaffirmed the general view of the important role of the regional business community as well as the general commitments to further cooperation among relevant stakeholders in the efforts to cope with common issues such as food security, resource scarcity and the impact of climate change.

Minister Tran Hong Ha said at the meeting, “In recent years, the private sector has actively participated in the research and promotion of the application of science and technology in production to utilize all natural and human resources effectively and meet consumer demand. However, the reality has proven that these efforts are not enough: the quality of agricultural land has not been improved, water availability is increasing scarce, the production and exploitation are still not efficient, and businesses are facing a lot of difficulties in connecting with farmers in the value chain. The use of natural resources in a cost-effective, responsible and efficient way is being set up as an urgent need.”

In order to use resources effectively, the mobilization of public-private partnership is recommended as a solution for sustainable agriculture development. Mr. Jean-Pierre Dawance, Technical Director of Nestle Vietnam, expressed his concern that “few farmers are interested in working in farms, their children want to work in Ha Noi, or Ho Chi Minh City.” Therefore, 5-6 years ago, the company started to share their knowledge in irrigation, fertilizers, and best practices for farmers in the Central Highlands. Thanks to the application of pruning, economical irrigation and replacing old trees with new trees, after a few years, the coffee production had increased by 40%. “So we have increased farmers’ incomes by 40% while saving 40% of irrigation water , reducing emission by more than 50%”, said Jean-Pierre Dawance. This is one of the successful models thanks to public-private partnership. Currently, this model is being extended to apply for other items such as tea, pepper.

Speaking about sustainable agricultural development orientation in the coming future, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural development Ha Cong Tuan stated: Viet Nam is deeply aware of two existing issues: first, the country is currently being affected by climate change; secondly, the traditional agricultural country is in transition period, facing a lot of difficulties in the context of a fully open market economy. Therefore, Viet Nam affirms the commitment to develop clean and organic agriculture using the green agricultural model. According to the Deputy Minister, the Government of Viet Nam has promulgated two important programs of action to adapt to climate change and restructuring the agriculture sector towards sustainable development in association with new rural construction.

In order to achieve these goals, the Deputy Minister emphasized: “We view businesses as both motive and success factors in chain linkage. Viet Nam has 14 million farming households, over 70 million plots of lands for farming. The non-aligned, household-based stage is now at the threshold of transferring to a new stage of sustainable development”. He also hoped to promote international cooperation to harmonize mechanisms and institutions, especially food safety control and remove barriers to attract investment in agriculture./.