The place where Decree 98 of the Government 'enters the people’s hearts'

Over 1,300 farmer households participate in 29 linked value chains

In five years (2018–2023) of implementing the Government's Decree No. 98/2018/ND-CP dated July 5, 2018 (referred to as Decree 98) on policies to encourage cooperation and linkage in production and consumption of products, the Tien Giang agriculture sector has 109 approved lists of joint projects or plans (referred to collectively as projects).

As of July 2023, there are 29 projects deployed, mainly on rice (15 projects), with the remaining on vegetables and livestock. The value chains mobilized 29 agricultural cooperatives, 55 businesses, and 1,320 farmer households to participate in the linkage. Notably, up to 28 cooperatives preside over linkage chains.

In terms of scale, rice has a great advantage, with an average area of nearly 40 hectares and about 50 farmer households, followed by fruit trees (26 hectares and about 50 farmer households) and vegetable crops (about 17 hectares and 40 households). The final is livestock farming, with a scale of only about 10 households.

Linkage subjects organize production, harvesting, pre-processing, or processing associated with the consumption of agricultural products or additional supply of input materials and services, such as the model of rice consumption linkage in Hoa Hung Cooperative (Go Cong Tay).

"In the linkage, farmers produce rice according to market requirements, know the selling price in advance, calculate the profit of the production crop, are not afraid of consumption output, and are not afraid of price squeezing. This is considered an optimal planned production chain and the first step in changing people's thinking and awareness from agricultural production to the agricultural economy. Thereby, the above-mentioned mechanisms need to be promoted," Mr. Mai Van Mai, COB of Hoa Hung cooperative, evaluated and affirmed that this is a decree that “enters the people’s hearts”.

Difficulties need to be resolved

The total capital to support 29 projects is over VND 107 billion. Of which, the state budget supports over VND 19 billion for consulting activities to build linkages, building infrastructure, agricultural extension, training and coaching, seeds, materials, and product packaging and labels. However, due to many difficulties, only approximately VND 7 billion had been disbursed by the end of 2022.

Businesses and cooperatives said that there were many difficulties and obstacles in implementing the project. Accordingly, the policy to support infrastructure for linkage has a high reciprocal rate (70%), so many subjects are unable to reciprocate. Support under Decree No. 98, such as infrastructure, seeds, materials, packaging, etc., is implemented according to the provisions of the Investment Law and Law on Bidding, so the subjects do not grasp or do not have enough capacity to implement documentation procedures for bidding, construction investment, and settlement procedures. Because of the complicated situation surrounding African swine fever, some places have asked to stop the project.

In addition, the subjects do not clearly understand the contents and policies of the Tien Giang Provincial People's Council. The subjects that are agricultural cooperatives have average or weak operations and unstable linking activities in production and consumption, so they face difficulties and obstacles in project implementation.

On the local side, the coordination between the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Finance in districts and towns is not close and proactive in guiding subjects to implement projects. The district agricultural service center has not yet promoted its role in carrying out project consulting and writing tasks.

More importantly, the output of agricultural products is not stable, with a shortage of associated businesses for consumption, most of which are local traders.

Reorganize production and launch consumption cooperation

"Happening the pandemic has shown the meaning and importance of joint ventures and linkages. Therefore, it is necessary to access funds to create capital for production development. Develop Tien Giang’s specialties that are decreasing sharply, such as Lo Ren star apple and Go Cong acerola cherry, due to small businesses. It is also necessary to reorganize production to promote cooperation and consumption," shared Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Pham Van Trong.

According to Mr. Tran Hoang Nhat Nam, Deputy Director of the Tien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the period 2021–2025, 109 approved projects must be completed, but so far only 29 projects have been implemented. In the coming time, it is necessary to have good coordination from the leaders of relevant departments and branches. The Department of Economics and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development need to link for early implementation. In particular, local leaders need to pay attention to resolving difficulties.

The agriculture sector will continue to implement the plan of the Provincial People's Committee on linking production and consumption of agricultural products in Tien Giang province in the 2021–2025 period. In addition, continue to disseminate and raise awareness of the spirit of cooperation among people and grassroots officials on policies to support production linkages associated with the consumption of agricultural products.

In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development continues to effectively implement policies to support agricultural cooperatives to improve their capacity in production and business activities. Call on businesses to invest in building concentrated production raw material areas with quality and traceability and to participate in consumption linkage chains from input to output.

Along with that, invest in infrastructure, transfer scientific and technical advances, and apply high technology to associated fields, especially redesigning fields to facilitate mechanization. Implement support policies under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Program for products that participate in linkages such as displaying, promoting products, building labels, participating in digitization, and anti-counterfeit activities.

Vice Chairman of the Tien Giang Provincial People's Committee Pham Van Trong said projects with difficulties and obstacles in implementation need to soon propose directions and solutions. Decree 98 is very meaningful and suitable for the local situation, so he directed departments, branches, and district People's Committees to continue studying Decree 98 and related resolutions of the Provincial People's Committee and Provincial People's Council. Subjects participating in the project need to expand linkages.

Regarding future direction, Mr. Pham Van Trong said that Tien Giang province continues to implement Decree 98. Specialized agencies, mainly the agriculture sector, need to reassess the difficulties and find ways to overcome them. The Decree was issued in 2018, which may not be appropriate, so it needs to be proposed and amended accordingly.