Rice problem for Vietnam

Vietnamese rice has surpassed Thai rice and is currently selling at the highest price. Rice exports have not only increased in volume but also in value and price.

Bargaining power has shifted from rice buyers to sellers when we are holding a scarce supply. Vietnamese rice is creating a new shift from quantity to quality, from rice production to rice economy.

But the past rice miracle and present glory are no sure guarantee for new success in the future. Rice exports are expensive, but food businesses also face many challenges. Although the harvest is good and the price is good, rice farmers are still not rich.

The shortcomings in the rice value chain from input, production organization, processing and consumption have been resolved, but there are still many bottlenecks that have been identified and analyzed through many practical studies.

Many questions are still being asked: What operating system is for the rice industry? What is the solution to the cost-benefit equation so that rice farmers can really make high profits and get rich?

A multi-sectoral approach and inter-sectoral coordination are needed, including strengthening substantial links with the orientation of a 1 million hectare high-quality rice raw material area to have a larger production scale, organize production and require farmers to have professional expertise and professionalism. This is an opening up that needs to be continued to be implemented and perfected.

In the current conditions and certainly in the future, food security is not only a national issue but a global one.

This issue needs to be approached and resolved harmoniously on three aspects, not only nutritional needs, to avoid hunger, but also to harmonize economic interests, people's livelihoods and social harmony, to avoid creating inequality in people's access to food, and the legitimate interests of rice growers.

While being excited about the situation of rice production and consumption, we also do not forget the long-term orientation, the requirement to shift the agricultural structure of the Mekong Delta according to Resolution 120/NQ-CP of the Government from "rice, fruits, seafood" to "seafood, fruits, rice" has been clearly defined.

That thinking does not downplay the role of rice but requires increasing its value, shifting from supply to demand, from production to agricultural economy as the mainstay. We need to persevere with the transition from "full bowl of rice to delicious bowl of rice".

Rice cultivation should only be considered as one sector in the overall picture of the agricultural sector and rural development strategy, non-agricultural services.

We need to have a large production base, apply better technology and appropriate management, combine deep processing, develop post-rice industries, brand products... surely the rice industry will have many times more added value.

Farmers need to gather together with strong enough businesses to develop production according to value chains managed from input to output. The position of the world's number 1 export power is not unnecessary, but more importantly, the values ​​it brings.