NA deputies discuss sustainable pathway
for agriculture sector
HA NOI (VNS)-
Sustainable agricultural development, husbandry growth and forest protection
were among hot issues raised at the National Assembly's Question and Answer
session with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat
yesterday.
Deputies Nguyen Thi Bich Nhiem from northern
Phat said the most important solution was to implement the
Government plan to restructure the economy, including the agricultural and
rural development sector, to add value and develop sustainably together with
the construction of a new style rural area.
The Government had a programme to buy rice from farmers for
the nation's reserve and to support farmers to maintain the rice price while
instructing the banking sector to provide credit to farmers, he said.
"The Government also requires ministries to work with
businesses to help boost their exports," he said.
For long-term solutions, the ministry would work with relevant
ministries and agencies to promote technology transfer for farmers to help
improve productivity, reduce production costs and improve product quality
while studying to improve the quality of breeding stock and plant varieties,
Phat said.
Regarding questions about measures to fight against epidemics
and animal food price hikes , Phat said the ministry had worked with
localities to supervise and tighten prevention and controls over diseases,
such as bird flu, blue-ear and foot-and-mouth disease, which were basically
under control.
"The ministry has tightened control over the quality of
animal feed and breeding stock to ensure farmers get high-quality
products," he said.
The ministry planned to review the husbandry sector to define
the most appropriate kinds of animals to develop for each region and
encourage production of animal feed at a reasonable price and increase the
transfer of production techniques, he said.
Concerning questions about forest protection amid increasing
deforestation, Phat said the ministry had co-operated with ministries and
agencies to adopt measures to deal with the situation.
Deforestation was still happening in many areas, although the
number of cases reported had dropped by 19 per cent in the first five months
of this year in comparison with the same period last year, Phat said.
He said the Prime Minister had issued a decree on increasing
measures to prevent deforestation and a number of policies on forest
development and protection.
"The ministry is building a plan for forest fire
prevention and control and a plan to improve the capacity of forest wardens.
The ministry and localities have inspected and punished 127 forest wardens
found to be involved in deforestation activities, seven of whom were
sacked," he added.
It was also essential to work with localities to continue
allocating forest land for local residents to join hands with local
authorities in protecting forest, he said.
Deputy To Van Tam, from central
Phat said the ministry was working with localities to check
and guide businesses to fulfil their commitment.
Regarding the production and distribution of plant protection
chemicals and fertilisers and other agricultural materials, particularly
those of low-quality or fakes, along with unjustified price hikes, some
deputies asked the Minister to introduce stronger measures to deal with the
issues.
Deputy Tran Ngoc Vinh from northern
In response, Phat admitted that this was an urgent matter of
public concern but most important was to build an effective legal framework.
Fire safety
The trail of destruction left by six large fires, which
injured at least 15 people and caused billions of dong worth of damage in Ha
Noi and HCM City over the past week, has sparked a heated National Assembly
debate on the draft amended law for Fire Prevention and Fighting yesterday.
NA deputies analysed and added specific regulations on budget
and requirements for regular improvement of fire fighting equipment. They
also focused on the legal responsibilities of agency leaders and heads of
households regarding mobilisation of task forces – particularly the Civil
Defense Force – and ensuring fire prevention.
Deputy Nguyen Ngoc Phuong of central
He asked how firefighters could be expected to safely perform
their duties in such poor working conditions.
Deputy Luu Thi Huyen of northern
Deputies agreed there should be specific regulations to
safeguard a regular budget for necessary firefighting equipment.
Meanwhile, Deputy Thich Bao Nghiem of Ha Noi said fund
contributions from local enterprises should also be regulated to ensure a
regular budget for local fire prevention.
Lawmakers discussed the necessity of not only improving
firefighters' skills, but also mobilising more forces to assist with this
task.
Deputy Huyen said the Ministry of Public Security's
firefighting force served as the only team tackling fires and claimed this
manpower was not sufficient.
The Civil Defense Force should receive regular firefighting
training so they can be mobilised to support professional firefighting forces
in their localities, she said.
However, the assistance mechanisms and benefits for these
forces in case of injury should be defined to encourage participation, she
added.
Legislators said the Civil Defense Force must also take
responsibility for improving local people's knowledge in fire prevention via
dialogues and practical exercises.
Deputy Huyen also noted that the responsibilities of agency
leaders, organisations and heads of households in fire prevention had been
mentioned in the draft amended law, but were too general and largely
unfeasible.
She said the regulation should clearly define which types of
fire prevention equipment heads of households should obtain for their
households to fulfil their responsibilities. She also called for clarity on
whether leaders would have to pay for firefighting services and compensate
for losses if fires were due to their negligence.
Deputy Nguyen Anh Son of northern
However, he suggested equipment requirements for each
household should be based on the scale of each property and the
socio-economic situation of each locality.
Nguyen Van Phuc of central Ha Tinh Province and other deputies
also proposed the NA hasten the amendment of the law so that it can be passed
in this session.
Previously the amendment had been expected to be passed in the
next NA session at the end of this year, before taking effect in June 2014. -VNS
|
Thứ Năm, 13 tháng 6, 2013
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét