New technological advances are being applied effectively and infrastructurein service of agricultural production, especially irrigation systems, has beencontinually improved, raising the output of almost all major cropsyear-on-year.
Animal husbandry has been developing stably and the African swine fever wasbasically brought under control. Policies and mechanisms in support ofagriculture restructuring, including animal husbandry, have been effectively implemented.
At the same time, prices for livestock products are relatively high, resultingin profits for local people and creating favourable conditions for productionto develop.
In the first nine months of this year, poultry output rose over 7percent, eggs more than 8 percent, and fresh cow milk over 36 percent, with annualgrowth of 3.47 percent recorded in animal husbandry.
Added value in the agro-forestry-fisheries sector reached 3.622 trillionVND (157.4 million USD) during the period, up 2.15 year-on-year, contributing0.13 percentage point to the province’s growth.
As a developed industrial province, the land available for agriculturehas been declining on an annual basis. In recent years, however, the economicvalue brought by the local agriculture sector has continued to grow. This stemsfrom the province’s strategic vision to boost agricultural development to meetpublic demand, with hi-tech production models being a highlight in bringing in greatereconomic value.
High-tech agriculture has become more widespread in Vinh Phuc in recenttimes thanks to the undeniable benefits it provides.
Images of small, fragmented paddy fields are a thing of the past, replacedby expansive fields farmed by modern machinery. Farmers’ workloads have beencut, while the benefits heading their way are better than previously.
One example of change is Long Tri rice from Tam Duong district. Thoughwell-known for a long period of time, Long Tri rice could not find its own placein the market because it had no trademark.
Only when the Long Tri rice cooperative was established and moderntechnology applied in production did its brand become better known and demand nowexceed supply.
According to agriculture experts, the use of modern technology in productionlimits any waste of land and water resources and cuts the use of pesticides andchemical fertilisers. It also helps maintain the superiority of bio, gene, andorganic technology and production automation.
With cost savings and increased productivity, production has become muchmore efficient, yielding high-quality products that meet demand.
A number of clean fruit and vegetable and herbal tree cultivation modelsin Vinh Phuc have reaped higher profits than conventional production methods.
Aware of this, the province has issued a number of policies andmechanisms to attract investors to hi-tech agriculture and meet growing consumerdemand for safe and organic food.
Businesses have also been encouraged to build concentrated goods zones,while farmers have received instruction on how to grow short-time crops that meetVietGAP standards and bring high economic value.
Vinh Phuc has already established a number of concentrated productionzones that meet VietGAP standards, as well as farm produce processingfacilities and production-processing-consumption chains, thereby increasing theproductivity and value of agricultural products and contributing to thesector’s growth.
The province is now home to over 1,300 farm produce processingfacilities, from small to large. Since 2016, it has funded the purchase of nearly2,000 pieces of agricultural machinery for farming households at a total costof nearly 40 billion VND.
Amid global economic integration, demand for agricultural products hasbeen constantly on the rise. Consumers in general and importers in particular,however, have high requirements in terms of quality, food safety and hygiene,sustainable development, and climate change.
There are major challenges facing the agriculture sector. The issues forhi-tech agriculture are primarily concerned with a lack of funding, investment,and preferential interest rates, detailed priority loans for hi-techagriculture enterprises, and low market footholds that don’t encourage farmersto take an interest in safe cultivation.
In order to improve the efficiency of hi-tech agricultural productionand therefore lay a foundation for sustainable agriculture development, VinhPhuc will continue paying due regard to processing technology and post-harvestpreservation to enhance production efficiency, diversify products, and encouragedeep processing and the use of modern technology in production.
The province will also develop a support industry in service ofagricultural production and mechanise all stages of the agricultural productionvalue chain in a manner that suits conditions in each region and for eachanimal.
It will also deal with issues in production value chains, especially breedingtechnology, production and processing, and consumption.
Hi-tech agriculture will be developed to create breakthroughs in plantand animal productivity and quality, ensure food safety and hygiene, and improvecompetitiveness, while fully applying technical standards and processes inproduction and processing./.