At the 9th National Farmers' Forum in 2024 with the theme "Listening to farmers speak", many opinions and recommendations were raised about the concerns, enthusiasm, and "heartfelt voices" of farmers regarding production, markets, etc., on how to develop sustainable agriculture and increase the value of agricultural products.

Avoid the refrain "good harvest, low price"

As a business with many years of experience in the field of agricultural production and processing for export, Mr. Nguyen Duc Menh - Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024 from Hai Duong said: His Tan Huong Agricultural and Food Processing Joint Stock Company currently produces and trades over 30 vegetable and fruit products such as carrots, onions, garlic, chili... fresh and dried. The company has signed contracts with nearly 40 partners across the country and exports to Korea, Japan, Europe... To move towards sustainable export, enhance brand value for key agricultural products, investing in cold storage systems and deep processing centers is essential.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Menh, an outstanding Vietnamese farmer in 2024 from Hai Duong, said: On average, his business purchases about 10,000 tons of carrots each year.

“The characteristic of Vietnam’s agricultural sector is seasonal harvesting. When the season comes, agricultural output will be very large. To avoid the refrain of “good harvest, low price”, investing in cold storage to preserve agricultural products is very necessary. For example, with carrots, if there is a cold storage, the preservation time will be extended to 6-8 months while the carrots are still fresh and delicious, retaining their nutritional value,” said Mr. Menh.

Mr. Menh added: “Our business principle is not to force farmers to lower prices when purchasing agricultural products. Therefore, investing in processing lines and cold storage to preserve agricultural products is very important. We have 7 cold storage warehouses with a capacity of about 600 tons of agricultural products; 1 frozen warehouse. When we have enough business capacity, the enterprise will cooperate in production and purchase more agricultural products for farmers.”

Conveying his thoughts and wishes to the President of the Vietnam Farmers' Association and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Menh expressed: “To ensure production needs and expand production towards sustainable export, enhancing the brand value of Vietnam's key agricultural products, four conditions are needed.

Specifically, it is necessary to plan and build areas of growing materials that meet standards, such as good quality, unpolluted water quality. At the same time, expand the scale of production, invest in modern machinery to meet production needs immediately after purchasing agricultural products from farmers. Build warehouses to preserve agricultural products that meet standards to store products after harvest. Accordingly, it is necessary to replicate the direct production model from the implementation of growing material areas to reduce transportation costs. Train staff and workers directly involved in production, with priority given to local people”.

Mr. Menh shared: "Businesses like us want to access preferential loans to invest in factories and warehouses to meet the needs of purchasing after harvest and storing products after processing."

Proposal to optimize agricultural market

Binh Minh Cooperative was established in 2017, in Ea Po commune, Cu Jut district (Dak Nong). After more than 6 years of operation, the Cooperative has achieved many outstanding achievements in production and business. The Cooperative is currently cooperating with 825 farming households to grow pepper according to international standards. This is one of 13 cooperatives that have achieved Rainforest Alliance certification (an international certification for agricultural products and forest-based products, requiring compliance with strict standards on environmental protection, social equity and sustainable business) in Vietnam.

In the context of Vietnam leading in the production and export of coffee and pepper in the world, Binh Minh Cooperative offers practical solutions to stabilize prices and increase export value of agricultural products.

Director of Binh Minh Cooperative - Mr. Le Anh Son shared that Vietnam is currently one of the leading countries in the production and export of coffee and pepper. In particular, the Central Highlands region plays the role of the "capital" of these two strategic agricultural products.

However, after nearly 7 years of operating in the pepper and coffee sector, Binh Minh Cooperative has recognized many challenges that farmers face in optimizing profits from production.

One of the biggest difficulties is that farmers still lack knowledge about the market and do not have the conditions to properly preserve agricultural products.

In fact, after harvesting, many farmers have to sell in bulk or send coffee and pepper to agents due to the lack of standard warehouses to store goods. This increases the oversupply during the harvest time, leading to a severe impact on export value.

To maintain stable prices and increase income for coffee and pepper growers, Binh Minh Cooperative has proposed a number of specific solutions to optimize the agricultural market, helping to stabilize agricultural prices.

Binh Minh Cooperative proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommend the Government and local authorities to support the construction of standard warehouses, helping farmers preserve coffee and pepper more effectively. This will not only help stabilize prices but also enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products in the international market.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that through the recommendations sent by the people, he himself has seen the concerns and enthusiasm of farmers for agricultural production, with the problems arising in production practices.

The Forum is an opportunity for us to listen to and propose, reflect, and aspire to the aspirations of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, as a basis for the upcoming 2024 Prime Minister's Dialogue with Farmers Conference.

"Through the Forum, we will continue to study and propose to perfect mechanisms and policies for agriculture, farmers, and rural areas. We also hope that people will gradually change their production methods; because when farmers change, agriculture will change...", emphasized Minister Le Minh Hoan.

Source: Kinh Te Nong Thon Newspaper