Ministries to remove land policies for agricultural tourism development

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam (2nd, L) visits a display booth at the "One Commune, One Product" (OCOP) fair in HCMC. (Photo: SGGP)

The development of agricultural tourism is one of the solutions and key missions of the National Target Program on building new-style rural areas with the goal of turning agricultural production into agricultural economic development, the Deputy Minister emphasized.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development determined that the policy of developing agricultural and rural tourism will be associated with the consumption of OCOP products on the basis of multi-value integration to consume typical products of localities, businesses and cooperatives, and the tourism community across the country.

The Ministry has implemented programs promoting and supporting the development of agricultural and rural tourism products based on the advantages of agricultural production, cultural and ecological characteristics of localities, and positioning the rural tourism destination brands, he noted.

Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is building a pilot plan for developing rural tourism in accordance with the types of community tourism, agricultural tourism, eco-tourism, tourism associated with nature and wildlife conservation, craft village tourism, smart tourism village, and net-zero emission tourism.

The country currently has more than OCOP products and has seen the establishment of a number of OCOP centers. OCOP products not only help increase agricultural value but also diversify local tourism products. Each product has unique characteristics of its locality and region to attract visitors. Provinces and cities in the country need to continuously develop their key products.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has assigned the Central New Rural Coordination Office to establish a training center for OCOP products and rural tourism development.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that in terms of policies for tourism development, the country has encouraged the development of agricultural tourism. However, according to the current regulations, accommodation facilities, rest stops, and roads are not allowed to be built on agricultural land, especially the areas planned for agriculture.

Additionally, agricultural tourism is often related to farm development while Vietnamese land law has only regulations on the farm economy. Agricultural tourism has not been officially identified yet. Therefore, policies in the land law need to be amended to develop agricultural tourism.

The purposes of agricultural and rural tourism development are multi-value integration and exploitation of tourism advantages to develop agriculture, agricultural product consumption and increase the value of agricultural products.

When many countries have been fighting the effects of climate change, rice plays a huge role in ensuring food security. Hence, Vietnam needs to protect agricultural land, he stressed.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to review policies related to farmland and cooperative agricultural land and build a decree on the farm economy, including farmland, and regulations on a certain rate of agricultural land to ensure production.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will also cooperate with relevant ministries and departments to complete mechanisms, policies, and resources to create favorable conditions for agricultural and rural tourism development.