Reduce rice growing area or change agricultural thinking?

Former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan assessed that if 2 million hectares of rice land were reduced, these steps would have a comprehensive impact on Vietnam's economy, society and agricultural thinking.

Right at the time when the agricultural restructuring project started to move, strong voices were raised proposing to reduce the rice growing area and rice output.

A weighty voice was the proposal to reduce 2 million hectares of rice fields by former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan, who was in charge of Vietnam's agriculture sector during the years when Vietnam went from a country lacking food to becoming the world's number 1 or number 2 rice exporting power.



In fact, this is not the first time that the idea of ​​reducing rice growing area has appeared. Not long ago, when rice prices were at an unprecedented low, the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), the agency representing rice exporters, proposed reducing production and area. However, former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan was the first to point out the exact number of 2 million hectares of rice land that needed to be converted.

Thus, after 25 years of large-scale rice exports, proposals to reduce rice growing areas, which also means reducing rice export volume, have become more drastic than ever.

Commenting on the proposal to reduce 2 million hectares of rice land, Dr. Dang Kim Son, Director of the Institute of Agricultural and Rural Development Policy, said: "Clearly, there are two ways to increase agricultural product prices: increase demand and reduce supply. The proposal of former Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan to reduce the supply of rice is reasonable in theory. In terms of calculation, we need to consider more carefully."

According to the research of VTV reporters, in the condition that our country's population increases by 100 million people (including factors caused by climate change), with an area of ​​about 3 million hectares of rice, we can also ensure stable food security for the country. Basically, we can reduce rice production, convert a part of the area that is primarily for planting to growing vegetables and high-value crops to increase farmers' income and increase rice prices.

Meanwhile, rice expert Nguyen Dinh Bich said: "In my opinion, if the rice area is reduced by more than 2 million hectares, it is not certain that the income of rice farmers will double. If we ensure enough supply for the entire Vietnamese population every year, we cannot increase the price of rice for farmers, because when supply meets demand, the price of rice on the Vietnamese market cannot double."

Different opinions about keeping rice or converting rice, growing other crops or planting other seedlings are being raised in the context that we are still having to implement the Resolution to keep 3.8 million hectares of rice land.

This is the policy that the Party and the State are currently setting out to ensure national food security, for the industrialization and modernization process, especially when Vietnam is one of the five countries most heavily affected by climate change. However, how to preserve rice in the context that many farmers are tending to abandon rice because the income from rice cultivation is too low and the economy does not benefit much from rice.

According to (VTV News)- LC