Improving Competitiveness in the Agricultural Sector

Dynamically and rapidly develop high-quality human resources, especially leading experts. Build a number of universities that reach regional and international standards.

Quickly develop an educational reform strategy from content, teaching methods to examination systems at all levels. Encourage cooperation and exchange programs with foreign countries, invite foreign experts to teach in the country. At the same time, we need to strengthen international cooperation in education, access advanced teaching methods in the world.

2.1.6. Improving competitiveness in the agricultural sector

When implementing Vietnam's commitments to the WTO in the field of trade in goods, agriculture is the most vulnerable and vulnerable sector. The reduction of tariffs and the elimination of prohibited subsidies have put great competitive pressure on domestic agricultural products. In the WTO, Vietnam's agricultural production is still small-scale, with low productivity and quality; meanwhile, many WTO members have highly developed agriculture. American agriculture, Western and Northern European agriculture, and agriculture in some Asian countries have all developed. Therefore, in order to limit the negative impacts of international economic integration and better implement commitments to the WTO in the field of trade in goods, the State and the agricultural sector need to implement the following solutions:

Firstly, the State needs to move towards a fundamental, long-term plan as a complete “strategy” for agriculture, rural areas and farmers. That policy needs to thoroughly grasp the viewpoints and goals of industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas, but be placed in new practical conditions - the contents that our country committed to when joining the WTO and have reached the time of implementation, while taking into account the practical problems of our country's agriculture today. The core content of this “strategy” must include the following issues: overcoming the mindset and working methods of small-scale farmers; building a system of policies to encourage agricultural development;

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policies to serve the goal of agricultural and rural industrialization, development of rural economic and social infrastructure systems; policies on land accumulation, crop restructuring, development of ecological agriculture, development of craft villages; major policies on innovation, improving the quality of human resource training, building a new cultural environment with a system of conditions to ensure corresponding feasibility.

Second, the State needs to take active and drastic measures to overcome the "small-farmer" way of thinking, working and living in the integration process. Although the farmers' way of thinking has changed somewhat after more than two years of implementing the commitment, it is still not completely in line with the market economy at the global level. Therefore, with active measures, not bound by WTO commitments, the State can help farmers in ways such as: innovating and improving the quality of agricultural, fishery and forestry extension activities; implementing the development of productive forces, shifting the labor structure, crop and livestock structure, developing infrastructure; improving the quality of education and training of human resources in rural areas; building a healthy, progressive cultural environment in rural areas to help farmers gradually escape the influence of the small-farmer mentality and effectively integrate into the international economy.

Third, promote the State's management role, take advantage of time to change production and business practices that are not suitable for the integration trend. In addition to improving the competitiveness of agricultural products; farmers must have measures to preserve and protect the brands of agricultural products that have been established in Vietnam such as: rice, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, catfish; attach brands to environmental standards; at the same time, must maintain credibility in business.

Fourth, make the most of WTO incentives for developing member countries to integrate agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

Effective integration. In a "playground" with existing rules, we seriously fulfill our obligations, and at the same time need to fully exploit the rights we enjoy, in order to serve national interests. As one of the developing countries, according to WTO law and agreed commitments, Vietnam enjoys incentives in: the right to expand trade, export, attract foreign capital, raise competitiveness, promote technical progress, boost economic growth, improve living standards and the right to enjoy incentives for developing countries and transition economies. Thus, State agencies need to provide clear and specific information and have measures to exploit the most beneficial incentives in the fields of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, so that on that basis, the State can issue policies suitable to the characteristics of agriculture, rural areas and farmers in our country today, helping them integrate effectively into the world economy.

Fifth, promote the process of economic restructuring in agriculture and rural areas, gradually shift labor from agriculture to industry and services, bring labor-intensive enterprises with low training requirements to rural areas, and develop small-scale handicraft villages. At the same time, the state also needs to increase the investment budget for agriculture and rural areas, along with allocating all previously supported capital sources for encouraging agricultural exports to invest in developing irrigation and rural transport. The state supports the construction of warehouse systems, storage facilities, and drying facilities to reduce loss, ensure the quality of post-harvest products, and create conditions to regulate the amount of goods circulating on the market to stabilize prices and develop rural markets.

Sixth, the State stands up to help establish an effective agricultural association for farmers. In fact, when joining the WTO, farmers have to directly face a great pressure forcing them to change their thinking and working habits. Rural modernization develops thanks to that. However, some

Farmers are not able to adapt to new production conditions. Although the State is not yet able to modernize agriculture and rural areas immediately, it can help farmers organize associations for farmers - businessmen - cooperatives to work, thereby transferring techniques, technology or requirements of domestic and export markets.

2.1.7. Improving competitiveness in the industry

Firstly , to better implement Vietnam's commitments to the WTO in the field of trade in goods, we have reduced tariffs and protection barriers for many industries. Therefore, to improve the competitiveness of industrial goods, we need to correctly determine the competitiveness of industrial goods in both aspects: domestic market and international market. For domestic goods, the requirements are that goods are cheap and of quality not much inferior to imported goods of the same type. As for goods consumed in the international market, higher requirements on quality, uniqueness, ability to quickly change designs, stable supply and many other requirements stipulated by technical barriers must also be met.

Our relatively competitive industrial products include garments, footwear, handicrafts, wood , etc. Products that use a lot of labor and have high comparative advantages are Vietnam's strengths. However, in the long run, the advantages of these product groups will decrease and the industry will face difficulties if it fails to improve the competitiveness of high-tech industries that use a lot of knowledge.

Second, we need to promote production, business, export, exploit the capacity of the whole industry to maintain a reasonable production growth rate. Focus on developing industries and products with high competitive advantages and the ability to expand the market. It is necessary to have appropriate production organization measures to promote the process of shifting product structure towards increasing products with high processing content and export products with high added value. Important

Focus on exploiting products that use local raw materials and materials, and use a lot of labor such as agricultural, forestry and fishery processing, consumer goods, and handicrafts. In the direction of prioritizing each key industry or each enterprise with a key role, it is necessary to develop and implement appropriate production and business programs. Along with the industries, each locality, especially in key areas, needs to have specific measures to support and promote local production enterprises to achieve the highest growth rate. However, because we focus on key export products with high volume and high export value, we should not forget to develop other small and retail products because small and medium enterprises also contribute a significant part to the gross domestic product (GDP).

Third , one of the other important measures to implement the commitments to the WTO in the field of trade in goods that brings the highest efficiency to our country is that we need to invest in building industrial works to improve the production capacity and competitiveness of enterprises as well as industrial products. Invest in supporting industries to increase the rate of using domestic raw materials. Encourage the expansion of production cooperation relationships between enterprises, industrial parks, and industrial clusters in the region. Invest in industrial raw material areas for the processing industry and expand the form of association, effectively implement State capital sources according to the provisions of current law.

Promote the attraction of foreign direct investment in large construction projects. Over the past two years, the amount of capital entering our country has reached a record number, while the amount of capital invested in the processing industry is very large. Therefore, we need to continue to open up and create favorable conditions for foreign capital to invest in our country. For domestic investment, the State needs to create all conditions and strongly encourage economic sectors to invest in business and develop strongly through small and medium enterprises in all localities.

For industrial parks, continue to implement infrastructure construction investment projects to meet the land needs of investors, encourage operating enterprises to supplement investment capital for expansion and in-depth investment to improve the competitiveness of enterprises.

Fourth, we need to strengthen science, technology and training activities. Accelerate the process of technological innovation in the whole industry, focusing on developing and attracting high-tech industries. Along with the common tasks and solutions of the whole industry, for each industry, especially key industries, it is necessary to establish programs to apply advanced science and technology in accordance with strategic development goals. In addition, it is necessary to train a team of managers and workers to improve the quality of human resources, meeting the needs of labor quantity, technical level and industrial style.

2.2. Solution groups for businesses

Implementing Vietnam's commitments to the WTO in the field of trade in goods has forced domestic enterprises to face strong competition from foreign enterprises. Therefore, enterprises need to be proactive in understanding the regulations of the WTO; especially the commitments related to the field of trade in goods to understand the benefits and challenges they face. This also creates a premise for enterprises to rebuild their production and business strategies and plans. After two years of integration, we can clearly see four weaknesses of domestic enterprises: small number of enterprises; small scale, lack of capital; generally backward production and business technology and poor corporate governance capacity. These limitations have objective causes, due to an economy that is still developing at a low level and is in the process of transformation. It is important that businesses are aware of their limitations, take advantage of opportunities brought about by international economic integration to confront and overcome challenges and affirm their position in the international arena.

2.2.1. Implementing business restructuring

Restructuring is considered a long-term and strategic measure for Vietnamese enterprises. Enterprise restructuring is the rearrangement of the organizational structure of the enterprise, by rebuilding the organizational structure chart, changing the functional departments with new names. Restructuring also focuses on the systematic and professional nature of the implementation, coordination and management of work. Enterprise restructuring projects are still being implemented quite widely in Vietnam, especially after Vietnam implemented its commitments to the WTO. The parent company - subsidiary company model, the corporation model are no longer new. Enterprises have proactively welcomed an equal game in the integration trend. There are enterprises that have been able to innovate and adapt to the competitive environment, but there are also enterprises that are not capable enough to face new challenges. Therefore, to promote the process of enterprise restructuring in a deep and synchronous manner, Vietnamese enterprises need to:

Firstly , the organization invited a team of experienced experts to disseminate the views on corporate restructuring to members of the company so that everyone is aware of the importance of this issue. At the same time, thoroughly understand the awareness and actions in member units so that the restructuring implementation is carried out at the right time, with the right focus and with the highest efficiency.

Second , it is necessary to train and equip the workforce with the necessary knowledge to be able to adapt to the new model and new issues after restructuring the enterprise. The process of restructuring the enterprise includes restructuring the organization and management, restructuring assets, products, markets, labor, etc. Cutting or transferring labor between production units or departments will directly affect the workers. When workers do not adapt to the new model, the company will not operate effectively. Therefore, to avoid this situation, businesses need to provide workers with

necessary information related to their benefits and responsibilities, so that they can proactively plan their work. At the same time, businesses need to organize training, equipping employees with the necessary knowledge for their new job positions so that they can complete their assigned tasks well.

Third , restructuring must be done at the right time to achieve the highest efficiency. Enterprises need to actively analyze the internal production and business situation as well as the situation of competitors and the business environment to seize the opportunity to restructure.

Thus, restructuring is one of the initial factors creating success for businesses during the period when Vietnam implements its commitments to the WTO on opening the goods market.

2.2.2. Improve business competitiveness

Enterprises need to be aware that when implementing commitments to the WTO in the field of trade in goods, competition in the market will become increasingly fierce, especially price competition. Therefore, enterprises need to consider the requirement to reduce costs and circulation fees as a vital issue, review each stage in the production and circulation process, thoroughly save costs of raw materials, energy and other management costs, establish production processes, methods of ensuring logistics - transportation and new management technology. The following are some suggestions to improve the competitiveness of enterprises:

Firstly , businesses need to take advantage of their existing comparative advantages and at the same time create new comparative advantages for themselves. The existing advantages that nature has bestowed on our country are abundant resources and a geographical location that is quite favorable for trade. In addition, our country's labor costs are also cheaper than those of developed countries, so we can take advantage of this advantage to produce products at cheaper prices, competitive enough with foreign goods. However, the reduction of import taxes has made the prices of foreign goods cheaper, suitable for

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