Members of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on April 13 discussed the draft Law on Crop Production, focusing on the Government’s responsibility should planning fail and farmers become out of pocket.
Phan Thanh Binh, Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Culture, Education, Adolescents and Children, said the law only regulated the role of provincial-level People’s Committee in carrying out the crop production strategy but was silent about what would happen if farmers cannot sell their abundant crops.
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| A pig farm owner in Van Lam district, Hung Yen province, feeds his livestock__Photo: Pham Kien/VNA |
“This matter should be made clear. If there is a crop strategy and the People’s Committee is involved in it, there should also be a subsidy policy so that the Government can buy the extra yields when things go wrong,” he suggested.
NA’s Committee for External Affairs Chairman Nguyen Van Giau, meanwhile, questioned the responsibility of authorities in such a case.
“The draft law says any crop production must follow planning. So if the planning turns bad, who’s going to be responsible for it?” he asked.
The NA Standing Committee also discussed the draft Law on Livestock Production. While almost all lawmakers expressed unanimous support for the law, there remained voices asking to clarify the role of the Government to orient the national husbandry sector toward a modern and value chain-based one which must also guarantee food safety and environmental protection.
NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong wanted the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the drafter of the law, to identify and regulate the cooperation between the ministry and other agencies in livestock production management and promotion.
“There should be regulations to fix inconsistency in livestock production policies, from the production stage to the processing and consumption ones,” she said.
Some members of the NA Standing Committee also asked for inclusion in the draft law of specific provisions on state investment and support for the husbandry sector such as setting up livestock disease-free zones and those to grow livestock fodder crops.
Once passed, the Law on Crop Production and the Law on Livestock Production would replace the 2004 Ordinance on Plant Varieties and the 2004 Ordinance on Animal Breeds, respectively.- (VLLF)
