From the shortcomings of Decree 02/2017 on support for damage caused by natural disasters and epidemics, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reports to the Prime Minister

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on January 9, 2017, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 02/2017 on mechanisms and policies to support agricultural production to restore production in areas damaged by natural disasters and epidemics. However, after more than 7 years of implementation, some shortcomings have been revealed, specifically:

Support for production establishments that are individuals, households, cooperatives, cooperative unions, and cooperative unions engaged in livestock breeding, aquaculture, production, and aquaculture breeding.

Decree No. 02/2017 stipulates the level of support for farming households, farm owners, cooperatives, and cooperatives that produce and raise livestock, poultry, and aquatic products that are damaged by epidemics. However, the level of support is not detailed and is being regulated according to the support price framework for each type. Therefore, if support is at the lowest level of the framework, it will be much lower than the current production input price (breeding animals, feed, veterinary medicine, etc.) or compared to the actual price in the case of people selling off livestock and poultry when an epidemic occurs.

In reality, provinces apply different levels of support for the same livestock species, so people in neighboring areas have transported sick animals to provinces with higher support levels, spreading diseases and polluting the environment. Similarly, the support level for aquatic animals is much lower than the actual price due to high production input prices, making it difficult for people to recover and reproduce.

On the other hand, it is difficult to determine the damage to aquatic products, there is a lack of basis to calculate the damage of 30-70%; there is no level of support for seed production damaged by disease. Besides, converting all units of calculation to ha or m3 or only distinguishing intensive/semi-intensive farming as in Decree 02 is also not suitable because each aquatic species has its own specific farming form, investment costs/farming density are also very different, so the level of damage when destroyed is very different.

Aquaculture cages in Van Don were destroyed by storm No. 3. Photo: Thu Le.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends solutions: The Government regulates policies on support for livestock, poultry, and aquatic products damaged by epidemics, including specific regulations on support prices for each type of livestock and poultry calculated by raising time or weight for facilities with livestock and poultry that must be destroyed for disease prevention and control, and adds some types of dangerous animal diseases that are supported. Specify specific subjects as well as damage calculation methods to ensure feasibility and effectiveness, and bring the policy into life.

In addition, support for damage when destroying diseased aquatic breeding stock is added. When this subject gets sick, the entire tank will be destroyed, so calculating the feasible support level and the support is truly meaningful to the producer. In addition, because diseased commercial aquatic products can still be used as food, support is only proposed when destroying diseased aquatic products. Providing many support levels suitable for each group of subjects and suitable for the form of farming (related to different investment levels and levels of damage) - thus ensuring fairness and support policies for the right subjects in need of support.

The People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall, based on their budget balancing capacity, production characteristics and actual local requirements, submit to the People's Councils of the same level to prescribe specific and appropriate support levels.

Support for production establishments that are agencies and units of the people's armed forces engaged in livestock breeding, aquaculture, production and breeding of aquatic breeds

Decree No. 02/2017 does not yet have provisions on support for agencies and units of the People's Armed Forces that conduct business and production in the field of animal husbandry and aquaculture and are directly affected by animal diseases. According to Clause 9, Article 27 of the Veterinary Law, when an animal disease occurs, all animals and animal products of any production facility or enterprise (without exception for facilities of the People's Armed Forces and enterprises) must strictly comply with regulations on animal disease prevention and control. Organizations and individuals have the same rights and responsibilities, ensuring fairness in law enforcement among entities participating in the field of animal husbandry, aquaculture, and animal disease prevention and control.

Currently, these units participate in business and production in the field of livestock and aquaculture quite a lot and contribute significantly to the country's GDP, at the same time contributing to improving the quality of meals for officers and soldiers, especially when the state budget is limited, so the spending on meals is limited, food prices on the market tend to increase sharply, ensuring security, national defense and being the core of economic development of the locality, especially in remote, border and island areas. Previously, when drafting Resolution No. 42/NQCP dated June 18, 2019 of the Government, Politburo members, Minister of National Defense and Minister of Public Security proposed that the Government and Prime Minister have support policies for units of the people's armed forces. Therefore, Decisions No. 793/QD-TTg dated June 27, 2019 and 2254/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2020 of the Prime Minister both have provisions on supporting the people's armed forces.

In addition, most of the armed forces' livestock and aquaculture facilities are small and medium-sized, so the risk of disease outbreaks is the same as that of production facilities.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends a solution: The Government regulates policies on additional subjects of application, which are agencies and units of the armed forces that do business and production in the fields of animal husbandry, aquaculture, production and breeding of aquatic species that are damaged by epidemics.

Storm No. 3 destroyed 3 factories of Viet Truong Company Limited (a seafood enterprise in Hai Phong City), causing damage of about 100 billion VND.

Support for production establishments that are public service units engaged in livestock breeding, aquaculture, production, and aquaculture breeding.

Decree No. 02/2017 stipulates the level of support for farming households, farm owners, cooperatives, and livestock and poultry production cooperatives that suffer losses due to epidemics. According to Clause 9, Article 27 of the Veterinary Law, when an animal epidemic occurs, all animals and animal products of any production facility or enterprise must strictly comply with regulations on animal disease prevention and control. Organizations and individuals have equal rights and responsibilities, ensuring fairness in law enforcement among entities participating in the field of animal husbandry, aquaculture, and animal disease prevention and control.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends a solution: The Government stipulates a support policy for public service units engaged in livestock and poultry farming activities that are damaged by epidemics. According to Article 9 of Decree No. 60/2021/ND-CP dated June 21, 2021 of the Government stipulating the financial autonomy mechanism of public service units, classifying the financial autonomy level of public service units, including 4 groups: Self-guaranteeing regular expenses and investment expenses (group 1); Self-guaranteeing regular expenses (group 2); Partially self-guaranteeing regular expenses (group 3); and State-guaranteed regular expenses (group 4).

Support for small and medium enterprises according to the provisions of the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises engaged in livestock breeding, aquaculture, production and breeding of aquatic breeds

- Decree No. 02/2017 was issued in 2017, so the support level for livestock, poultry, and aquaculture damaged by epidemics is much lower than the actual price due to the high price of production inputs (seeds, feed, veterinary medicine, etc.), so people still face difficulties in recovery and reproduction. Difficulties in determining damage, lack of basis to calculate damage of 30-70%... (for aquatic products); besides, there is no support level for damage when seed production is damaged by epidemics. Besides, converting all units of calculation to ha or m3 or only distinguishing intensive/semi-intensive farming as in Decree 02 is also not suitable because each aquatic species has its own specific farming form, investment costs/farming density are also very different, so the level of damage when destroyed is very different.

Due to the above difficulties, after more than 7 years of implementation, no province has been able to implement activities to support damage caused by aquatic diseases, so it can be said that this policy has not "reached" aquaculture farmers; has not supported farmers to restore production despite difficulties and great losses. Therefore, it does not encourage farmers to carry out activities to prevent and stop the spread of diseases. In fact, in addition to the above subjects, when animal diseases occur, all animals and animal products of any production facility or enterprise must strictly implement regulations on animal disease prevention and control. Organizations and individuals have the same rights and responsibilities, ensuring fairness in law enforcement among subjects participating in the fields of animal husbandry, aquaculture, and animal disease prevention and control.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends the following solutions: The Government's regulations on support policies for (small and medium-sized) enterprises inherit the provisions of Decision No. 793/QD-TTg dated June 27, 2019 and Decision No. 2254/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2020 of the Prime Minister.

During the drafting process, the agency in charge of drafting the Decree considered and selected subjects to be included in the subjects receiving support for damage caused by the epidemic. Through review, there are no support policies for large enterprises and FDI enterprises. In addition, according to Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW dated May 21, 2018; Resolution No. 23/2021/QH15 dated July 28, 2021: "Do not issue new policies, regimes, programs and projects when resources are not balanced". It can be seen that the group of small and medium enterprises is at higher risk of epidemics than large enterprises and FDI enterprises. When an epidemic occurs and they are forced to be destroyed, these units need support to ensure and continue to maintain production activities and apply policies to support disease prevention and control. Therefore, the draft Decree does not stipulate support for large enterprises and FDI enterprises because it is necessary to balance resources and ensure feasibility.

Support for participants in animal disease prevention and control

Decree No. 02/2017 does not stipulate support policies for forces directly participating in epidemic prevention and control. The support regime for those participating in epidemic prevention and control work is being implemented according to the provisions of Decision No. 1442/QD-TTg dated August 23, 2011 on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decision No. 719/QD-TTg dated June 5, 2008 of the Prime Minister on support policies for preventing and controlling livestock and poultry epidemics. However, the support level stipulated in this Decision is currently much lower than the average working day of local laborers, making it difficult to deploy and mobilize human resources directly participating in epidemic prevention tasks (especially those who do not receive salaries from the state budget).

There are no regulations on support regimes for people participating in animal disease prevention and control, specifically: people who directly perform one or more of the following activities: (i) Statistics; confirmation of damage caused by animal diseases; (ii) Handling outbreaks; sampling; autopsy, diagnosis, testing of animal diseases; investigation and verification of animal diseases; capture, detention, transportation, and destruction of animals and animal products; (iii) Vaccination; sanitation, disinfection, sterilization to prevent and control animal diseases; (iv) On duty at teams, checkpoints, and stations to control animal diseases. Meanwhile, at the grassroots level today, the number of staff directly participating in animal disease prevention and control is very small, and the workload is very large, even dangerous.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommends solutions: The Government stipulates support policies for people participating in animal disease prevention and control, including provisions on support for people directly participating in animal disease prevention and control tasks as assigned and mobilized by competent agencies and units to perform one or more of the following activities: Statistics; confirmation of damage caused by animal diseases; handling outbreaks; sampling; autopsy, diagnosis, testing of animal diseases; investigation and verification of animal diseases; capture, detention, transportation, and destruction of animals and animal products; vaccination; sanitation, disinfection, sterilization to prevent and control animal diseases; on duty at teams, checkpoints, and stations to control animal diseases.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tu-bat-cap-cua-nghi-dinh-02-2017-ve-ho-tro-thiet-hai-do-thien-tai-dich-benh-bo-nnptnt-bao-cao-thu-tuong-20240923132352015.htm