Developing linkages between production and consumption of agricultural products would be the top priority for the sector for developing sustainably, a meeting heard in HCM City on Friday.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held the meeting to seek feedback for a draft decree on encouraging co-operation and linkages between producers and consumers.

It was attended by officials from agriculture departments, schools and businesses from many provinces and cities in the south like HCM City, Can Tho, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Dong Thap.

Le Duc Thinh, deputy head of the Agency of Cooperatives and Rural Development, said the Government in 2013 issued Resolution No 62/2013/QD-TTg to encourage co-operation and linkages and pooling of farmlands to upsize them.

Now, after more than three years, linkages under the large fields model has developed significantly, he said.

But the resolution has shortcomings like complicated procedures, failure to spell out the rights and obligations of each stakeholder in the linkage contracts, and only applies to cropping and not animal husbandry, aquaculture or forestry, he said.

In reality, the large-scale linkage model is not always suitable in agricultural production, he said.

Delegates at the meeting called on the ministry to clearly state what kinds of linkages the decree addresses, the rights and duties of all parties in a linkage contract and sanctions for violating the contract.

They also suggested adjusting the support ratio based on the investment size and sector and issuing specific instructions.

They urged relevant agencies to disburse funds before the project starts.

Le Thanh Tung of the Crop Production Department said violations of contracts between businesses and co-operatives and farmers are a hurdle in developing linkages in the agricultural sector.

To overcome the situation, besides clearly stating the rights and obligations of each side, agricultural agencies should also educate farmers in the law and instruct businesses, co-operatives and farmers to honour contracts, he said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said stable outlets would help promote agriculture.

There are many support policies for the agricultural sector, but they have not proved very effective since they are hard to apply in practice, he said.

The ministry has been holding many meetings to collect feedback from localities, institutes, schools, businesses, co-operatives and farmers to complete the decree before submitting it to the Government in October. — VNS