Vietnam sets high target in agricultural mechanization

Vietnam has set a high target for agricultural mechanization to better tap potentials of the agro-aquatic sector now that local farmers are more reliant on manual labor in their production, a research institute said last week.Production of engines for the agro-aquatic sector should grow by 10% in value annually in the next decade till 2020 so that home-made machines will be sufficient for local use and for export, the Institute for Industrial Strategies and Policies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a report.

Key machines to be manufactured in the next decade will include those for processing rice, cassava, coffee, cashew and others, according to the institute’s report given at a conference last week during the Rice Festival in Hau Giang Province.

Vietnam will also strive for higher export revenue from home-made agro-aquatic machines, which should increase from some US$85 million in 2015 to US$130 million in 2020.

Mechanization of agricultural production now is quite low, an official from the agriculture ministry at the conference said.

Doan Xuan Hoa, a senior ministry official in charge of farm produce processing and trading and salt production, told the gathering that mechanization in Vietnam now was hovering about 20% in the Mekong Delta, meaning 80% of output relied on manual labor.

Furthermore, low mechanization also results in high post-harvest loss, Hop said.

Agricultural mechanization in Vietnam averages out at 1.6 horsepower per hectare, quite low compared to some 4.2 HP per hectare in Thailand and South Korea, and 6 HP in China.

According to the General Statistics Office, the country has some 9.5 million hectares of farm land with over 7.5 million families living on agricultural cultivation.

In the Mekong Delta, Hoa said, there is only one agriculture machine per 62 families. The Mekong Dela as the country’s biggest granary is home to 2.8 million farming families.

He noted said post-harvest loss in Vietnam is estimated at 13% for rice farming and some 15% for corn farming.

The Saigon Times Daily

Tags: Vietnam agricultural mechanization, Vietnam agriculture