Science and technology brings higher efficiency
In terms of agriculture, thanks to technological innovation, farmers have adopted high yield rice varieties and modern farming methods via the use of fertilizers and pesticide to post-harvest technique and processing. Therefore, Vietnam's rice production and export capacity has always been ranked among the world's top five rice exporters in recent years.

In terms of industry, thanks to technological innovation, enterprises, groups and corporations have improved their competitiveness and obtained successes. For example, a 90m jack-up drilling rig could be seen as a major scientific and technological achievement for the Vietnamese oil and gas industry.

Another example is the Son La Hydropower Plant. The plant was put into operation after Vietnamese engineers, experts and workers successfully implemented their largest project ever, applying many new technological solutions. In addition, Vietnam's other industrial sectors have dominated the domestic and international market thanks to technological innovations in shipbuilding, automobile and motorcycle manufacturing and power generation.

The application of science and technology has brought higher efficiency. Therefore, enterprises and corporations have actively established scientific research and development funds. The Viettel Group in the 2010-2011 period spent nearly VND2.5 trillion and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group spent about VND2 trillion for the establishment of a development fund.

Limitations

Scientific research and the application of technology in production and business activities in recent times have unevenly taken place in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to many factors. According to the General Statistics Office, more than 93 percent of small and micro enterprises have limited capital. Therefore, most of them have focused on technological innovation rather than implementing research activities. In addition, more than 30 percent of Vietnamese enterprises have not yet become fully aware of the importance of scientific and technological activities, leading to the absence of scientific and technological development strategies in their corporations and state-owned enterprises. Moreover, foreign-invested companies in Vietnam have not interested in scientific and technological research and development because its work has been done in their parent companies. In particular, the establishment of a technological innovation fund among enterprises has not become mandatory. Therefore, it has not affected the perception of business leaders. The lack of information in terms of state policies in supporting scientific and technological research activities; information on technology; and necessary equipment have also been underlined.

According to Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan, Vietnam's scientific and technological activities in recent times have mainly been based on the State budget and its budget has only accounted for 0.5 percent of GDP. In particular, the State budget for scientific and technological activities in 2012 totaled US$700 million.

How to improve efficiency
The government still considers investing in science and technology as a national policy and the driving force for socioeconomic development in 2013. Therefore, the government will adopt policies to support enterprises and corporations in scientific and technological research and development. Minister Nguyen Quan said that if scientific and technological activities were mainly based on the State budget, it would not have opportunities to develop. Therefore, the government needed to mobilize all resources in society and issue a number of support mechanisms for all economic sectors participating in scientific and technological research.

To focus on developing scientific and technological research activities, the state should provide budgets for scientists to survey the actual situation among enterprises and corporations; and for scientific and technological topics and projects. In addition, each enterprise should establish a technological innovation fund and provide annual reports on their research activities./.