Workshop on Revising Irrigation Fee Policy

(Baonghean) On the morning of March 7, in Vinh City, the General Department of Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Department of Finance and Enterprises, Ministry of Finance, organized a Workshop to collect opinions on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 143/2003/HD-CP dated November 28, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Ordinance on Exploitation and Protection of Irrigation Works.

On November 14, 2008, the Government issued Decree 115/2008/ND-CP regulating collection rates, exemptions and beneficiaries to reduce costs for users of water from irrigation works, especially rice farmers. The popular policy has quickly entered life.

However, up to now, the regulations on collection, exemption and compensation of irrigation fees are no longer suitable due to the high inflation rate compared to the time of issuance of Decree 115 in 2008, affecting the quality and efficiency of production services and maintaining construction capacity.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance have drafted a new decree to replace Decree 115/2008/ND-CP in the direction of synthesizing input prices and actual costs and expanding the policy beneficiaries, especially for households receiving contracts from farms, ranches and land areas used for scientific research.

Quang Hoa