Dialogue on Land Accumulation and Concentration in Agriculture – Reality and Policy Related Issues

Hanoi, January 25^th, 2019, fifteen experts attended a dialogue on land accumulation and concentration in agriculture, organized by the Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development – (CISDOMA) and Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VERP) with the support of Oxfam in Viet Nam.

Vietnamese government is expressing great interest and taking different actions to promote commercialized agricultural production with larger scale and high-tech application. At the Resolution of the 5^th Plenum, Parties’ Central Committee of the 12^th National Party Congress on completing the socialist-oriented market economy mechanism have set tasks of completing legal framework on land, especially supporting land accumulation and concentration to develop agriculture and services in rural area and large scale, high-tech agriculture associated with ensuring sustainable jobs and income for farmers, and stabilizing rural socio-politics.  However, there are many questions relating to agricultural land accumulation, in particular how to ensure small-scale farmers’ rights in this process?

On January 25^th, 2019 the Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development – (CISDOMA) coordinated with Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VERP) to hold a dialogue on land accumulation and concentration.  The dialogue is within the agenda of Agriculture Coalition, with the support from Oxfam Vietnam, to consult experts on reality and issues relating to land accumulation and concentration.

Mr. Truong Quoc Can – Director of CISDOMA, delivered a speech at the dialogue

At the dialogue, VERP research team had a presentation on the reality of land accumulation and concentration in Vietnam, points of view and world experiences. On behalf of CISDOMA, Mr. Truong Quoc Can – Director of CISDOMA talked about legal framework and policies relating to agriculture land accumulation and concentration in Viet Nam. From these initial research results, participated experts discussed and contributed their ideas to identify objective, methodology, and orientation for the intensive research on the subject, which will then feed in to the Coalition’s policy advocacy strategy in the next phase.

Sharing and discussion between experts at the dialogue

 The dialogue devoted most of its time to share, discuss and analyze about issues of land accumulation and concentration, small-scale farmers’ rights. Many questions are raised such as Is it necessary to accumulate land? How to accumulate land? How to manage, monitor this process? Which policies need to develop to ensure small-scale farmers’ rights? Those questions will be intensive research topics for Agriculture Coalition in order to support policy advocacy plan in the next phase, which ensures small-scale farmers’ rights and orients to sustainable and effective agriculture.

The dialogue devoted most of its time to sharing, discussing and analyzing issues related to land accumulation and concentration, and small-scale farmers’ rights. Many questions have been raised such as: Is it land accumulation is the only solution? How to accumulate land? How to manage, monitor this process? Which policies need to be in place ensure small-scale farmers’ rights during this process? All these questions will be considered in the coming intensive research of Agriculture Coalition and formation of the Coalition’s policy advocacy plan in the coming time, to ensures small-scale farmers’ rights and in a sustainable and effective agriculture.