Many agricultural projects are behind schedule.

The delegation supervised the renovation of 2 fishing ports and 1 anchorage and storm shelter area in Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town. Photo: Mai Hoa

According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the period 2011 - 2016, the Department was the investor of 4 large projects using foreign loans, with a total investment capital of more than 6,125 billion VND, of which more than 5,160 billion VND was foreign capital and more than 964 billion VND was counterpart capital.

Up to this point, many works and items of the projects have been completed and put into use, contributing to solving many urgent problems. For example, the rescue routes invested from the WB5 Disaster Management project have contributed to meeting the requirements of traffic infrastructure; reducing human and property damage for local people in communes of Do Luong, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan and Thanh Chuong districts during the flood season...

Or through the project on Competitiveness in Livestock and Food Safety, a system of fresh food markets that ensures food hygiene and safety has been built to serve as typical model markets in Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Thanh Chuong, etc. Through that, a link in the safe meat product chain from farming, slaughtering to consumption has been established.

The Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recommended that the province should pay attention to arranging counterpart funds to ensure the implementation of projects on schedule. Photo: MH

Or the Coastal Resources for Sustainable Development project has contributed to supporting fisheries management agencies to improve management efficiency, strengthen biosafety management, manage seed quality, improve environmental management in farming areas; implement co-management of coastal exploitation activities with the participation of more than 1,500 fishing households; renovate 2 fishing ports and 1 anchorage area to avoid and shelter from storms in Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town...

At the meeting, the monitoring delegation raised many issues related to the progress of project implementation; the implementation of loan capital and counterpart capital as committed; the replication of agricultural economic models after the project ended; the difficulties between the regulations of donors and Vietnam's legal policies...

Mr. Hoang Anh Dung - Deputy Head of Foreign Economic Affairs Department, Department of Planning and Investment, said: Currently, there are still some projects, although the end date is 2017, there are still items that have not been completed, such as the Disaster Risk Management Project; Sustainable Coastal Resources Development Project. Or the Northern Irrigation System Restoration and Upgrade Project, according to the schedule to end in 2019, but currently, the project has only disbursed 5.64% of foreign capital, while the implementation time has taken 2/3.

The project to renovate two fishing ports and one anchorage and storm shelter area in Quynh Phuong ward, Hoang Mai town has been and is being effective. Photo: Mai Hoa

Acknowledging the slow progress of some projects, Mr. Phung Thanh Vinh - Head of the Project Management Board of the Agriculture and Rural Development sector, said: The biggest difficulty currently facing the loan projects being implemented is that the counterpart capital has not been met; including projects that were invested in since 2005, ended in 2013, and still owe counterpart capital.

Just counting the three projects to urgently overcome the consequences of natural disasters in 2005; the comprehensive rural development project in the Central provinces; and the natural disaster management project in Nghe An province, there is currently a corresponding debt according to the commitment of 28.5 billion VND.

According to Mr. Phung Thanh Vinh, the delay in counterpart funding not only affects project progress and the risk of capital cut, but more importantly, it affects the trust of sponsors when the province mobilizes future projects.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation chaired the meeting. Photo: Mai Hoa

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation highly appreciated the role of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the process of mobilizing, using and managing foreign loan capital in accordance with the bilateral funding agreements and the State's legal policies as well as fully implementing the project implementation process.

Pointing out some shortcomings and limitations that need to be addressed, the Deputy Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation requested the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to focus on urging and implementing projects on schedule, especially projects committed to be completed in 2017. The Department also needs to pay attention to improving the capacity of project management boards, ensuring true professionalism in mobilizing, planning, bidding, monitoring, and implementing projects; at the same time, directing effective coordination between boards in implementing projects with many management boards.

Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation Nguyen Thanh Hien also noted that the department should strengthen management, maintenance and promote the effectiveness of completed works, items and projects; pay attention to overcoming the shortcomings and limitations that inspection delegations had previously pointed out.

On the responsibility side, the National Assembly Delegation will synthesize and study the recommendations and proposals of the department related to legal policies on management and use of foreign loans to report to the central ministries and branches for appropriate adjustment, amendment and supplementation./.