Many “hot” issues in agriculture and environmental management

Leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Nai Province recently held a meeting and dialogue with enterprises and cooperatives operating in the fields of agriculture and environment in Dong Nai Province in 2025.

A specialized pepper cultivation area for export in Song Ray Commune, Dong Nai Province. Photo: Binh Nguyen

At the conference, nearly 20 enterprises and cooperatives voiced their opinions, focusing on pressing issues in agriculture and environmental management. Many enterprises and cooperatives expressed their hope for timely support in removing obstacles and creating a favorable environment for investment and production development.

Investment and production still face major obstacles

According to feedback from enterprises and cooperatives, agricultural investment and production, especially clean production and building value-chain linkages, continue to face numerous challenges.

Nguyen Van Dung, Director of Tam Minh Quang Production, Trade and Services Cooperative (Tan An Commune, Dong Nai Province), said: Export agricultural products, especially key items such as durian, are encountering many problems. Specifically, chemical residue in produce makes markets reject shipments, causing losses to farmers and damaging the reputation of Vietnamese durian. This directly affects agricultural production and the livelihoods of farmers. He hopes specialized agencies will strengthen control of agricultural input quality, from pesticides to fertilizers, because these are the main factors affecting product quality. Currently, oversight of agricultural products remains loose. These are two extremely practical issues that the agricultural sector must treat as priority tasks requiring immediate action.

In addition, waste and animal carcasses appearing in irrigation reservoirs raise questions about ensuring safe water sources for agricultural production. There must be strict penalties for littering, especially plastic bags, into rivers and streams to protect the environment and water resources.

Le Thanh Hung, Director of Procurement and Sustainability Development at Nedspice Vietnam (a 100% foreign-invested spice processing company in Dong Tam Commune), said: The company processes and exports about 30,000 tons of pepper per year. One of its main export markets is Europe. After about 10 years, the company has built a linkage chain with around 3,000 farmers, tied to planting area codes and product traceability. However, a major difficulty is that farmers still produce in a fragmented and inconsistent manner, making it difficult to control product safety. Meanwhile, export markets strictly regulate pesticide residue. This is a major challenge, and the company hopes for greater support from local authorities in production and quality management. Additionally, quality control over crop varieties remains an issue, as both buyers and sellers find it difficult to verify the true origin of seeds.

From another perspective, a representative of Le Gia Truong Phat Company (Loc Son Commune, Dong Nai Province) shared: The company invested in a livestock project in 2021, which was completed in July 2023. However, after the Government issued the bauxite zoning plan, the company’s project has been effectively frozen for more than two years, causing heavy financial losses. The enterprise is on the brink of bankruptcy and hopes the province can remove these difficulties.

In the environmental sector, enterprises and cooperatives raised concerns related to land-use planning, guidance on environmental procedures and documentation, environmental treatment standards in industrial zones, solid waste classification at source, and assistance in accelerating procedures for social housing projects.

Working alongside enterprises and farmers

During the meeting and dialogue with enterprises and cooperatives in agriculture and environmental fields in 2025, leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Environment responded to many of the enterprises’ and cooperatives’ concerns.

For issues that could not be addressed immediately, the department recorded all feedback and promised written responses for each specific case. Matters beyond the department’s authority will be submitted to the Provincial People’s Committee and relevant ministries. Feedback gathered at the conference will serve as a basis for future meetings, workshops, and training sessions to further assist enterprises and cooperatives.

In the coming period, the Department of Agriculture and Environment will promote the expansion of planting area codes for export; implement synchronized solutions, including communication, guidance, and direct support for farmers, enterprises, and cooperatives regarding related procedures and documentation. The department is committed to continuing administrative reforms and shifting its mindset from "management" to "service" in order to create a favorable environment for enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers to invest and develop production.

NGUYEN TUAN ANH, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment

According to Le Thi Anh Tuyet, Deputy Director of the Department, unsustainable production practices remain one of the major challenges in agricultural exports. Farmers, cooperatives, and production teams must comply with production protocols required by export markets to obtain planting area codes and packing facility codes. The province has identified 10 key crops and, based on this, developed high-tech and organic agricultural zones tied to standardized production chains capable of controlling output and quality. The province also provides various support policies, especially those related to building and expanding value-chain linkages. The department affirms its commitment to continuing to support enterprises and cooperatives in implementing these policies in practice. Agricultural inputs are currently a hot issue, particularly the rising problem of counterfeit and low-quality supplies. The department and related agencies regularly conduct scheduled and unscheduled inspections. However, farmers and cooperatives must also take part by acquiring knowledge and serving as key informants to report violations. By establishing value-chain linkages, the sector can better manage inputs and outputs, ensuring more sustainable production.

By Binh Nguyen - Translated by Quynh Nhu, Thu Ha