Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has predicted Vietnam needs at least 4 million hectares of rice-growing land to ensure food security for the future.
The target is outlined in a new food security strategy the ministry is scheduled to finish by August this year.
Food Crop Research Institute Deputy Director Nguyen Tri Hoan said with its current rice acreage of over 4 million hectares and an annual output of 36 million tonnes, Vietnam is yet to face any difficulties ensuring food security.
He said the country is likely to increase its yearly rice output to 40 million tonnes with an average yield of six tonnes per hectare.
However, while the country will be able to ensure food security for around 100 million people, its population is forecast to reach 120 million in the near future.
“If Vietnam fails to maintain a stable rice acreage, it will face the risk of food insecurity,” Hoan said.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) show that up to 366,000ha of farmland, equivalent to 4 percent of the country’s present agricultural acreage, was transformed for other purposes from 2001-2005.
According to MARD’s Cooperatives-Rural Development Department, 10 farmers are affected when one hectare of their land is used for other purposes and this shift has negatively impacted on 2.5 million farmers nationwide, particularly those in the Red river delta and the southeast.
Meanwhile, as millions of farmers lose land for agricultural production, construction of many industrial zones across the country are not started immediately after site clearance is completed.
Both MARD and MoNRE have pledged to address the issue and together monitor farmland use in localities, particularly as fertile agricultural land become urban and industrial zones.
MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat urged provinces and cities to review planned projects that are not yet launched, and minimise the use of farmland for projects.
“We are undertaking industrialisation, but we should take into account long-term benefits,” Minister Phat said.
In early April, the government also ordered the monitoring of land use and management across the country, focusing particularly on farms and land for rice cultivation.-Enditem
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