The Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) has urged its members to strengthen links with rice co-operatives and farming groups to gradually develop their own sources to buy the grain, which is soon set to become one of the criteria for export licences.— Photo baocongthuong

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) – The Viet Nam Food Association (VFA) has urged its members to strengthen links with rice co-operatives and farming groups to gradually develop their own sources to buy the grain, which is soon set to become one of the criteria for export licences.

Speaking at a seminar in HCM City on Tuesday, VFA chairman Truong Thanh Phong said in recent years local authorities and businesses have been working on various linkage models in the rice sector.

They include the large-scale rice field model in which businesses invest the entire costs upfront – from that of seeds to harvest -- and buy the entire output.

This has been implemented by the An Giang Import Export Joint Stock Company and Dong Thap Trading Corporation (Docimexco) among others.

Under other models, businesses provide farmers with seeds or place orders with farmers to produce certain varieties of rice and buy their produce, Phong said.

Companies that have not tied up with farmers for rice supply, he said, should work with co-operatives or small groups of farmers starting from the upcoming winter-spring crop.

Depending on their status, they can choose to invest 100 per cent or just provide seeds and sign deals to buy the output at agreed prices.

They have to also co-operate with local agricultural officials to teach farmers cropping techniques and supervise the farming process, he said.

After the winter-spring crop, the association plans to organise a meeting to review the effectiveness of the models and discuss measures for further expansion.

Pham Van Du, deputy head of the Department of Crop Production, said establishing large-scale rice fields is imperative for ensuring quality, developing brands, and, ultimately, improving farmers' incomes.

More and more areas have switched to the model in recent years, but the biggest remaining difficulty is improving co-operation between the businesses and farmers, he said.

They have only focused on providing inputs like seeds, fertilisers, and insecticides, but not on buying farmers' produce, he said.

He urged the association's member companies to strengthen co-operation with farmers in rice production and purchase, especially the latter.

The seminar also heard attendees hold forth on typical linkage models like large-scale rice field models developed by the An Giang Import Export JS Company and others.

They said that large-scale fields require more investment in seeds and other inputs and warehouses and other infrastructure, but would, if done well, improve rice quality and, thus, the value of Vietnamese rice.

As for farmers, the model has brought them higher profits compared to traditional cultivation methods, Nguyen Thanh Truyen, deputy director of the Long An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said. — VNS