The Mekong River delta is Vietnam’s most important and main agricultural area with many high quality agro-forestry and seafood exports. However, there are many things to be done to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor in the region as well as eliminating discrimination between urban and rural areas.

In your opinion, what strategies do we have to carry out to make these things become true?

There are two ways. The first one is to develop agriculture and rural areas comprehensively by using natural resources efficiently. The second one is to change agricultural structure by introducing light industries to rural areas.

In future, redundant labourers should be used in agricultural development activities. In many developing countries, the immigration of people from rural to urban areas has caused many difficulties such as environmental pollution, crime, and a lack of housing and services.

Currently, the Mekong River Delta accounts for 90 percent of the country’s export rice output. However, it has not yet made a name for itself to raise its position in foreign markets. Therefore, it is important for the region to invest in better land areas to produce high quality rice to meet the export requirements of foreign markets and build up its own prestigious trademark.

The Mekong Delta now grows nearly 200,000 hectares of fruit trees, 50 percent of the whole country. Tropical fruits are a really unique product of the region. The State should protect the production of these fruits in terms of farming techniques, post-harvest preservation technologies, processing technology and support marketing activities in foreign markets.

The Mekong Delta has great potential for aquaculture. The region has brought huge benefits to farmers and has an excellent environment for developing the processing industry, and preserving and packaging technology. Currently, aquaculture is developing well in the region but it is necessary to have an overall plan for farmers to produce the right aquatic products.

What does the region have to do to be successfully in this area?

I think in future, it is necessary to improve the competitive edge of every worker in the region, especially in professional and business skills. The region is still weak in these fields compared to other countries. For example, when transporting litchis from north to south, it is important to keep them fresh. However, no single enterprise has done this yet.

Therefore, the region should focus on educating, as the level of skills remains low among farm workers.

What do you think about the region’s major investments and the State’s key role?

I agreed with the State that it is necessary to develop the region into the biggest agricultural area and an attractive ecological tourism site. However, there remain shortcomings in state management. The region has not yet produced high-quality rice and fruits or built up its own trademark.

The state should pay attention to investing and upgrading the transportation system to avoid wasting the natural resources here. Many investors said the Mekong River Delta has great potential but its transport system is not up to scratch.

Although farmers produce many products, they remain poor and the reason is that they have to buy production materials at higher prices due to bigger transport costs. Therefore, it is very difficult to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor as well as between urban and rural areas.

In future, the state should do more to instruct farmers and enterprises organize production activities, and develop tourism and services.

It is also necessary to arrange for scientists to train farmers so that they can get used to modern techniques to produce high quality products and establish their own trademarks.

The State and businesses should also have policies for farmers to encourage them to produce competitive products.

To reduce the annual impact of floods on the country, it is important to build additional overflow channels and set up a modern flood warning system.

The state should also put more capital sources into ensuring food safety and hygiene and offer incentive policies to mobilise more capital from Vietnamese nationals living inside and outside the country. International organisations and financial support for research on rice varieties and modern technologies is also needed.

It is high time that the Mekong Delta advanced forward in order to fully tap its potential to reduce the gap between rich and poor, and eliminate discrimination between urban and rural areas. If this happens, Vietnamwill surely catch up with other “Asian dragons” in the future.

Source: VOV