Prime Minister's instruction on implementing measures to quickly restore agricultural production after typhoon No. 3 in Vietnam

Prime Minister's instruction on implementing measures to quickly restore agricultural production after typhoon No. 3 in Vietnam​ (Image from the internet)

On September 27, 2024, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam issued Official Telegram 100/CD-TTg focusing on directing and carrying out quick measures to restore agricultural production after typhoon No. 3 and subsequent heavy rains and floods.

Prime Minister's instruction on implementing measures to quickly restore agricultural production after typhoon No. 3 in Vietnam​

Address the consequences caused by typhoon No. 3 and subsequent heavy rains and floods, restore and develop agricultural, forestry, and fishery production, ensure food supply, contribute to controlling inflation, and stabilize the lives of the people, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam requires:

- Ministers, heads of relevant agencies, and Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and cities directly under the central government to focus on directing and implementing coordinated, decisive, and effective solutions to promote production, maintain growth in the agriculture sector, and ensure the stable lives of the people. Special attention should be given to the execution of six key tasks and solutions according to Resolution 143/NQ-CP dated September 17, 2024, of the Government of Vietnam to urgently address the consequences of typhoon No. 3 (Yagi), quickly stabilize the situation for the people, strongly restore business production, and actively promote economic growth while keeping inflation well controlled.

- Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and cities directly under the central government, especially the provinces and cities affected and damaged by the storm, heavy rains, and landslides, must:

+ Focus on directing relevant agencies to urgently review and accurately tally up damages to agricultural production; proactively and actively mobilize maximum local resources (local budgets, disaster prevention funds, and other legal resources) to immediately implement support policies for damaged entities in conformity with the law.

In cases where the local budget does not have enough resources for support, the provincial People's Committee should send a document to the Ministry of Finance for handling advances for local implementation according to the provisions of Decree 02/2017/ND-CP.

+ Focus on directing and actively promoting the organization of agricultural, forestry, and fishery production under the orientation and direction of competent authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; guide and support people to promptly implement solutions for production recovery, especially in cultivation, aquaculture, and livestock, particularly the supply of plant and animal varieties in areas affected by natural disasters to promote business production and ensure people's livelihoods in the last months of 2024, especially during the Lunar New Year 2025.

+ Organize monitoring, supervision, and grasp tightly the situation to boost agricultural production and business, especially the supply and demand of essential agricultural products, input costs for agricultural production in the area, to proactively have solutions to ensure supply and control prices, preventing illegal profiteering, price manipulation, and unreasonable price spikes, affecting people’s lives.

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, in coordination with relevant ministries, agencies, and localities:

+ Focus on directing and implementing comprehensive measures to address the aftermath, and restore agricultural production in affected and damaged localities due to the storm, heavy rains, and landslides; proactively review production plans, restructure plants and animals, organize production flexibly and effectively, adapted to climate change, and actively prevent and combat natural disasters, especially ensuring the supply chain of plant and animal breeds to overcome storm and flood consequences.

+ Review production plans and options, consider accelerating production in localities not affected by the storm and floods to proactively regulate and ensure adequate food supply in the upcoming period, especially for the end of the year and the Lunar New Year 2025.

+ Review, summarize, and promptly cooperate with relevant ministries and agencies to resolve under authority or report to competent authorities to address local requests for support of materials, chemicals for environmental treatment, plant and animal breeds, and aquatic species to help people restore production. Complete before October 5, 2024.

+ Urgently complete the draft Decree amending and supplementing Decree 02/2017/ND-CP, in which review the subjects, scope, form of support, procedures, and levels of support to promptly address practical issues and difficulties in policy implementation, ensuring budget balance capacity, and submit to the Government of Vietnam in October 2024.

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in coordination with relevant ministries, agencies, and localities:

+ Proactively and actively direct and organize close monitoring of the situation and developments of supply and prices of agricultural products, especially in severely affected localities due to the storm and heavy rains; promptly implement measures to regulate and ensure supply, control prices, and prevent profiteering, hoarding, price manipulation, and the circulation of fake and substandard goods, taking advantage of natural disasters for profit.

+ Lead and cooperate with relevant ministries and agencies to research and propose necessary support policies to restore production and business activities of processing, logistics, and storage facilities damaged by the storm and heavy rains to ensure the food supply chain is not disrupted.

- The Ministry of Finance of Vietnam in coordination with relevant ministries, agencies, and localities:

+ Direct and guide the immediate implementation under authority of financial support policies, exemption, reduction, and extension of taxes, land rent, and water surface rent... for affected localities, entities damaged by the storm and floods, especially agricultural production according to the legal provisions; continue to research policies for fee and charge exemption and reduction for affected entities.

+ Direct insurers to urgently review and pay insurance benefits to affected customers according to the law. Initially, immediately implement advance compensation for customers as per the regulation.

+ Timely consider and immediately implement under authority the advance of funds for localities to implement agricultural production support policies to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters and diseases according to the provisions of Decree 02/2017/ND-CP.

+ Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies to research, review, and promptly submit amendments and supplements to agricultural insurance support policies (already issued by the Prime Minister under Decision 13/2022/QD-TTg) to promptly address practical issues and difficulties in policy implementation.

+ Monitor closely domestic market price fluctuations; coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies under authority and legal provisions to proactively and promptly take necessary measures to control the prices of input materials and agricultural products, preventing sudden price spikes, especially with essential goods and services that significantly impact general price levels and the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment, in coordination with relevant ministries, agencies, and localities: Urgently report to competent authorities to consider supplementing resources for the Social Policy Bank according to Resolution 143/NQ-CP dated September 17, 2024, of the Government of Vietnam for loans to restore production and stabilize lives according to regulations. Proactively and promptly advise the Government of Vietnam and the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam on growth plans and scenarios (including the agricultural sector), directing and managing suitably to strive to achieve growth goals assigned by the Central administration and the National Assembly, ensuring macroeconomic stability and controlling inflation.

- The State Bank of Vietnam:

+ Continue to direct credit institutions and commercial banks to proactively calculate support plans, restructure repayment terms, maintain debt group classification; be more active in considering interest rate exemptions and reductions for affected customers, build new credit programs with suitable preferential interest rates, and continue to lend to customers to restore production and business after the storm according to current legal regulations.

+ Accelerate implementation and disbursement of loan packages for the forestry and fishery sectors currently being implemented, prioritizing the severely affected localities due to the storm and heavy rains, and consider expanding the scale if effective and necessary according to authority.

+ Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies to review and evaluate the implementation results of Decree 55/2015/ND-CP, Decree 116/2018/ND-CP on credit policies for agricultural and rural development, and propose amendments and supplements to meet practical requirements and develop sustainable agriculture and rural areas in the context of climate change adaptation and disaster prevention.

- Farmers, people, cooperatives, enterprises, etc., continue to promote self-reliance, self-resilience, creativity, and proactively overcome difficulties, and recover production and business; at the same time, provide feedback and suggestions to the authorities for suitable, effective, and prompt solutions to jointly address the consequences caused by storms and floods.

- Ministries and central authorities and localities continue to proactively and actively mobilize partners, domestic and international donors to gather financial resources, aid goods, and promptly support affected people and localities.

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