Rice

General information

Rice plays an important role in terms of economics, politics and environment in Vietnam. Rice accounts for 88.6% of total grain production and accounts for 7.3% of total agricultural, forestry and fishery exports of Vietnam (MARD, 2017). In 2017, Vietnam exported about 5.9 million tons of rice, gaining 2.66 billion USD, increasing 22.4% in volume and 23.3% in value compared to 2016. In the period 2013-2017, Vietnam rice export growth decreased -2.77% / year in volume and -2.32% / year in value due to the impact of Thailand's stockpiling policy (starting from April 2015) and the demand for some traditional markets decreased.

Over the past few years, the value chain of the rice sector has faced major challenges, including: (i) growth mainly horizontally, less competitiveness, unsustainable production, slow in organizational and institutional reform, and no brand in the international market; (ii) The income of rice farmers is low, inadequate compared to other actors involved in rice trading and therefore does not motivate farmers to invest in rice production; (iii) Rice production has caused many negative impacts on the environment due to resource use and overuse of fertilizers and pesticides in intensive farming; (iv) export price, competitiveness is not high, cannot meet the diverse needs of domestic and international markets; Production efficiency and business is low, not corresponding with the potential and advantages.

In the orientation of restructuring the rice industry, business sector is determined to be the center of coordinating and promoting the value chain of Vietnam rice industry in the direction of developing high-value, high quality and sustainable rice sector. The investment in rice business has focused on developing large fields, linking directly with sustainable rice farmers, tracing and branding; to increase long-term competitiveness of rice in both domestic and international markets.

Organization and objectives:

The new PPP TF on Rice was established in 2017, currrently co-chaired by the National Agricultural Extension Center (NAEC) and Bayer Vietnam. 

The TF is expanding its membership, including domestic and foreign businesses, local leaders, cooperatives / farmer groups, research institutes and universities, international organizations to promote activities, Promote the development of Vietnam's rice industry.

Objectives of the PPP TF on Rice:

- Capture and communicate difficult issues in the chain to policy makers for solutions

- Advise and recommend to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in policy formulation for the sustainable development of the rice value chain.

- Mobilize partners to develop and implement programs / projects to promote the sustainable development of rice value chain, improve rice quality and income for farmers.

- Providing, sharing information, promoting trade, promoting public-private partnerships and improving the capacity of the rice sector.

- Connect actors in the chain effectively.

- Seeking export opportunities, enhancing market access for enterprises, and introducing sustainable rice products.

- Popularize the process of sustainable rice production for farmers and encourage the expansion of production by process

Key outcomes:

Since the establishment of the PPP TF on Rice, the TF has mainly focused on improving the organization structure, membership and developing the charter of the TF.

There are a number of pilot projects to be implemented in the locality such as the project of Bayer Company in collaboration with Vinafood2 and the rice cultivation project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions funded by SNV. The new Bayer project was started while the SNV-led project brought about positive effects on productivity, quality and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. However, new projects are in the pilot stage with modest scale.

In the coming time, the working group will focus on expanding the TF's activities in developing and applying sustainable rice production standards, implementing pilot projects to build sustainable rice value chains and attract more participating businesses, especially domestic ones.

Members

MARD–National Agricultural Extension Center (NAEC) (Co-Leader)

Bayer VietNam Ltd. (Co-Leader)

Bui Van Ngo Industrial & Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd.

German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)

Loc Troi Group JSC

MARD–Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade)

MARD–Department of Crop Production (DCP)

MARD–Department of Plant Protection

MARD – Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) 

SNV Netherlands Development Organization

Thai Binh Seed Group JSC