On the morning of January 24, the Policy Consultation Workshop on irrigation service prices was held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.
According to information at the event, the irrigation system, one of the important pillars supporting agricultural production and socio -economic development of Vietnam, has always received special attention from the Party and the State, especially in the context of climate change. The management of irrigation services in an effective and sustainable manner has become a focus, with many solutions and policies issued and implemented to meet the increasing demands and competition among water-using economic sectors.
Researching and revising the price policy for irrigation products and services, especially Decree 96, is a necessary need. Revising this policy should aim for clarity and simplicity in the method of determining the price of irrigation products and services, while ensuring the correctness and sufficiency of costs in operation management.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep (middle).
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Nguyen Hoang Hiep shared that since the Law on Irrigation and related documents were issued, the price policy for irrigation products and services, specified in Decree 96 in 2018, marked an important turning point from the fee mechanism to the price mechanism.
“After 5 years of implementing Decree 96, some shortcomings have arisen, the price of irrigation services is not suitable to reality. The level of irrigation support fee has remained unchanged since 2012 although many input prices have fluctuated,” said Deputy Minister Hiep.
Regarding the issue of prices, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said that since 2012, the support price for irrigation work has not changed, but the price of input materials has increased from 1.5 to 1.7 times according to statistics. This has caused many great difficulties for the irrigation industry, the revenue of companies is very low, annual maintenance costs are not guaranteed,...
From there, Deputy Minister Hiep said that the shift from fees to prices, calculating the correct and full price and fees is very important. Changing the form of operation of providing irrigation products and services from fee mechanism to price is suitable for the increasingly developing situation of society .
The costs included in the price structure of irrigation products and services and the contents supported in the management and exploitation of irrigation works are transparent . At the same time, this is also the basis for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities to have a basis to collect irrigation products and services and support money for some subjects using irrigation public products and services . Thereby , promptly meeting the needs of management practices, improving the efficiency of state budget use and ensuring normal production and business activities of irrigation works exploitation units.
Overview of the event.
Speaking at the event, ADB Country Director for Vietnam Shantanu Chakraborty shared that pricing irrigation services helps catalyze private investment in irrigation in particular and agriculture in general. At the same time, pricing can encourage efficient use of water resources, promote irrigation systems, and sustainable development. In turn, it will create attractiveness for the private investment sector.
In addition, appropriate pricing mechanisms and irrigation service prices can limit climate change through the application of smart agriculture, efficient irrigation, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, etc.
At the event, Expert Nguyen Tien Thoa said that the development of recommendations to amend and supplement Decree 96 must follow the principle of assessing the practical price mechanism and policies to support the use of public irrigation services. At the same time, the relationship between irrigation services and the budget for supporting the use of irrigation services must be handled according to the principle that the budget must be based on the price of public irrigation services.
“In addition, it is necessary to calculate the entire system cost, from the source to the fields and water users. Ensure consistency, synchronization with relevant legal regulations and transparency in implementation,” said Mr. Thoa.
Regarding the recommendation on pricing of irrigation products and services, Mr. Thoa said that it is necessary to add pricing principles and pricing bases according to the provisions of the Law on Prices and the Law on Irrigation .
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