Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Trần Thanh Nam speaks at a consultation workshop on the establishment of agricultural mechanisation centre in the Mekong Delta. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Liêm

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Trần Thanh Nam told Việt Nam News Agency about plans to implement mechanisation in agriculture and agro-forestry-fishery processing.

Mechanisation in production has made a great contribution to the process of restructuring the agricultural sector and building new-style rural areas. What are the outstanding achievements?

Over the past 10 years, agricultural mechanisation has made progress. The number and types of machinery and equipment for agricultural production are increasing rapidly.

The number of tractors of all kinds increased by 60 per cent, water pumping equipment 60 per cent, combine harvesters 80 per cent, and feed production machines by 90 per cent.

Mechanisation rate for cultivation reached 70-100 per cent and animal husbandry 55-90 per cent.

The increase in equipment and machinery has contributed to increasing productivity and quality of agricultural products, reducing production costs and ensuring quality, food safety and hygiene.

In particular, mechanisation has partly dealt with limitations caused by a lack of labourers in agricultural production.

However, the process of agricultural mechanisation still reveals some limitations.

The number of low-capacity machines remains high, at about 50 per cent. The use of machines in each stage of production is still uneven.

For example, the use of combine harvesters is over 80 per cent but sowing machines is only about 20 per cent.

In order to promote the efficiency of mechanisation, it requires the sector to apply synchronous mechanisation in all stages of the value chain to reduce costs and increase productivity.

Therefore, it is necessary to change the approach and scale of mechanisation in agricultural production.

What are the key solutions to promote the process of mechanisation in agricultural production in the future?

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed to the government to form regional-level mechanisation centres. They will bring together scientists, businesses and cooperatives with capabilities in mechanisation to cooperate, link and provide services in mechanisation and smart technology to serve agricultural production. It will be a place for research and training work of universities and research institutes and support the mechanisation of large-scale raw material areas.

The State plays the role of orienting and encouraging the development of regional-level mechanisation centres in order to accelerate the process of synchronous mechanisation through preferential mechanisms and policies on land, taxes, training support and information.

What will be the role of stakeholders in effectively implementing synchronous mechanisation?

In order to change the approach to synchronous mechanisation in agricultural production, it is necessary to have close coordination of central ministries, agencies and the drastic participation of localities in implementation. The active participation of scientists, institutes, schools, enterprises, cooperatives and farmer households in transforming agricultural production thinking can effectively promote the process of agricultural mechanisation.

The ministry will review and advise the Government to promulgate mechanisms and policies on synchronous mechanisation in agriculture.

The agency will also work with relevant units to issue a scheme for the development of regional mechanisation centres and guide localities to implement the scheme; project on building material areas for agriculture, forestry and fishery. Priority is given to supporting the development of value chain linkages, building a list of occupations, training curriculum and vocational training for rural workers on the use of machines and equipment and agricultural production services.

Localities need to concretise mechanisms and policies on mechanisation to suit the local situation in order to encourage the participation of enterprises, cooperatives, farms, and production households. VNS