A video conference has been held between the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (IDEA)’s Centre of Information and Digital Technology (CID) and global payment technology company VISA to discuss cashless payment solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Several farmers proposed to borrow money as unsecured loans instead of secured loans and interest rate needs to be approved monthly instead of quarterly as currently at the dialogue with the Ho Chi Minh City government, themed ‘Policy to support the restructuring of agricultural economics: reality and solutions’, held by the People’s Council of HCMC in association with the Voice of HCMC’s People on November 30.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam is among top agro-forestry-aquatic product and food exporters in the world with export turnover growth of around 8-10 percent annually but raw material export still accounts for a large proportion.

The departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mekong Delta provinces warned that farmers should be cautious about abandoning rice, sugarcane and other crops to massively shift to grow Thai variety jackfruit trees as the price of Thai jackfruit is usually volatile. 

More than 70 percent of the Vietnamese population is working in the agricultural sector, yet they contribute only around 20 percent of the GDP. Therefore, to raise the revenue of this mass sector, beside taking full advantage of the integration process, new technologies must be applied more widely in the whole nation.

Urbanization has gradually increased its pressure on agriculture land of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) year by year. Yet thanks to the application of advanced technologies, especially biotechnology, into crop growing and harvesting, agricultural performance witnessed an impressive rise.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has advised the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong to capitalize on its strengths in agriculture, tourism, and mining for its future overall development.