The Government has issued supporting policies to encourage agricultural enterprises in applying biotechnology, automation and mechanising technology. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Planning and Investment is drafting a decree to support loans and interest rates for enterprises that invest in agriculture and rural areas in the near future.

According to the draft, which will revise Decree No. 57/2018/NĐ-CP on incentive policies for both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises investing in agriculture, and the rural development sector, the period of interest rate support for projects will be 5-9 years. The interest rate support limit will not exceed 70 per cent of the projects’ total loans.

Enterprises that invest in carrying out scientific research projects or buy copyrights, technologies and scientific research results to serve production and business in agriculture and rural areas, will also get State support.

Besides, enterprises, which implement high technology transfers according to the provisions of the Law on Technology Transfer, will get the State’s maximum aid of VNĐ1.5 billion.

Regarding support for human resource training and market development of enterprises having investment projects in agriculture and rural areas, the State budget will also fund a maximum of VNĐ1.5 billion for each project.

According to the draft decree, every investment project in cattle raising such as buffaloes, cows, pigs, goats and sheep will also receive the maximum aid of VNĐ10 billion from the State.

Other beneficiaries will include projects in aquaculture, seafood exploitation, logistics services for fishing at sea, agricultural product processing and preservation, and livestock and poultry slaughterhouses.

Agriculture is an important economic sector in Việt Nam. Agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry sectors contributed 14.9 per cent to the country’s GDP last year. Although agriculture has doubled in terms of value in the last decade, its share of GDP has witnessed an average annual decrease of 0.3 per cent.

To boost the sustained development of agricultural and rural areas, the Government has issued several supporting policies to encourage agricultural enterprises to apply biotechnology, automation, mechanising technology, and information technology, viewing it as fundamental to implementing sustainable agricultural practices and increasing productivity.

The State Bank of Vietnam along with commercial banks have also offered a financial package of VNĐ100 trillion (US$4.37 billion) to support enterprises applying high-tech farming.

Việt Nam has 12 areas certified for high-tech agriculture. The three most prominent zones are Hậu Giang, Phú Yên and Bạc Liêu provinces. There are more than 20 enterprises in the Central Highlands that have applied agri-tech in their operations and farming including IoT, big data, blockchains, plant growth monitoring cameras, environmental sensors, greenhouses with automatic adjustment systems linked to computers and smartphones, LED light, smart GIS pest management, prediction systems, and electronic traceability. — VNS