Seed production a weak link

Customers shop for vegetable seeds at the Central Fruit and Vegetable Seeds Company under the Vietnam Vegetable, Fruit and Agricultural Product Corporation. About 80 per cent of seeds required for major vegetables and high-quality grass for feeding livestock in Viet Nam are imported. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

In the case hybrid rice, for instance, it can meet a mere 20-25 per cent of demand and the rest is imported from neighbouring countries, especially China, according to figures from the Plant Cultivation Department.

Following 20 years of research, the country has just four varieties of hybrid rice, with five others still being planted on a trial basis.

Some 80-85 per cent of seeds required for major vegetables like tomato, cucumber, and beans and for high-quality grass for feeding livestock are also imported.

In the case of sugarcane, domestic supply met only about 10 per cent of demand for seedlings, the Sugarcane Research and Development Centre said.

In 2006-10 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) approved 19 projects to produce seeds and seedlings.

Sixteen of them have been completed with 120 models established for producing various seedlings, including rice, corn, tea, and vegetables.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong said the projects had cost VND268 billion (US$12 million) but sales of seedlings produced through them had fetched only VND16 billion.

The units carrying out the projects had not focused enough on producing seedlings for mass cultivation, he said.

Experts blamed the shortage of seeds on the country's failure to have long-term strategies and channel investment.

Tran Dinh Long, chairman of the Viet Nam Seedling Association, said the Government should have a comprehensive long-term strategy to develop seedling production and identify some key crop varieties to develop brand names.

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country's rice granary, for instance, could develop one to three high-quality rice strains, thus improving the quality of rice, he said.

Nguyen Tri Hoan, head of the Field Crops Research Institute, said for production of seedlings to be successful, co-operation with businesses was essential since research institutes themselves cannot produce seedlings for mass cultivation.

Nguyen Tri Ng?c of the Plant Cultivation Department said the country had done the task of researching to create new strains but not that of producing seedlings for cultivation.

This needed the participation of businesses, he said, echoing Hoan's opinion.

The Government had, under a decision to increase the output of seedlings in 2011-15, unveiled policies to support businesses involved in their production, including credit and land support, he added. — VNS