Farmers must be 'professional': business leader

After the Covid-19 pandemic outbreaks in the southern provinces had great impacts on farmers in general and shrimp farmers in particular, Bo De Seafood Group has issued many policies to support and help recover production after the crisis.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, General Director of Bo De Seafood Group shared solutions to build a team of professional farmers in the coming time.

Help farmers understand the market economy

After the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, what plans and policies has Bo De Seafood Corporation issued to help shrimp farmers recover production?

In the context of post-Covid-19, all sectors are facing difficulties. The global supply chain has been broken, the price of materials has increased, and even that of some good items has doubled.

However, to cope with that, Bo De has committed to implementing many practical solutions to support farmers including a pledge not to increase the material input price such as yeast, minerals, Mother Water biotechnology products, and other service products that we were providing.

In addition, the company continues to coordinate with the National Agricultural Extension Center (NAEC) to implement a public-private partnership (PPP) program to open training courses on transferring biotechnology applications and organizing a linkage chain for shrimp-rice production in the Mekong Delta provinces.

This program has helped create a value chain and the households participating in it can reduce input costs by up to 75%, contributing to reducing total costs and improving productivity and quality of agricultural products including rice, shrimp, crab, and fish, thereby helping farmers improve their income.

What is the vision and aspiration of Bo De Seafood Group in the coming time, especially for the agricultural sector and farmers?

First of all, we want to thank Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper for always supporting and accompanying businesses and farmers during the past time.

In the current context, the aspiration and vision of our business are to well-perform the PPP contract with the NAEC; promote and expand the implementation scale of the project on "Professionalization for Farmers", with the strategic goal to build a "system of skilled farmers".

In addition to vocational training, we help farmers understand the essence of the market economy, which is also the relationship between goods and brands, and make them realize their role while participating in the market economy.

I think businesses operating in the agricultural sector need a strategy to support farmers in three areas. The first is training and transfer of advanced techniques and technologies. The second is to support them in building production linkages and creating value chains. Finally, businesses should help farmers innovate their thinking, and apply high technology and biotechnology to production to build a responsible production community associated with the protection of the environment and sustainable ecosystems 

That is a solid foundation for farmers to gradually improve their capacity in producing large quantities of high-quality goods meeting the increasing requirements of markets such as Europe, the United States, and Japan.

Farmers placed in the center of development

So in your opinion, what is a "professional farmer"?

In my opinion and also the goal of Bo De Group, professional farmers must be those who possess high knowledge of proficient skills and have a professional attitude in production. They are the ones who know how to locate resources, set specific goals, organize production according to principles and know how to manage risks. 

Moreover, professional farmers must always comply with legal policies, participate in production, behave with high community responsibility and know how to link production goals with environmental protection of the and sustainable ecosystems.

From the perspective of a pioneer enterprise implementing the project "Professionalization of Farmers", what do you suggest for the "commander" of the agricultural sector?

First of all, as an enterprise in the agricultural sector, I am always interested in forums chaired by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Le Minh Hoan. At important forums, the Minister had pointed out the bottlenecks and made strategic decisions for the foundation of agriculture.

It can be seen that Minister Hoan always gives priority to the quality and professional level of the production force, places farmers at the center and regards them as a driving force of development.

Therefore, I boldly recommend the Minister to study the planning for vocational training and granting vocational certificates to farmers in production and supply chain for export.

The policy on granting vocational certificates to professional farmers will ensure their mission in the new era-the period of deep integration into the world economy and the industrial revolution 4.0.

Mother Water products of Bo De Group are applied by farmers and cooperatives to the extensive farming model and high-tech shrimp farming. They are evaluated as suitable for environmental conditions in the shrimp-rice area, helping stabilize the environmental conditions in shrimp farming, especially those of the alkalinity and pH, thereby improving shrimp health and reducing loss.

Thank you!