Ben Tre coconut (Photo: VNA)Ben Tre (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre hasreplaced rice by coconut, fruit trees, vegetables and aquaculture in an area of7,548 hectares under a project to restructure the local agriculture.
Nguyen Van Buoi, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, said that 3,206 ha of sugarcane have also beentransferred to coconut planting.
Thanks to the restructuring, the average income of a local farmer increasedfrom 21 million VND (924 USD) in 2013 to 32 million VND (1,408 USD) in 2016, hesaid.
The province has rolled out several models which combine production withconsumption, Buoi said, citing the clean rice value chain model of the ThachPhu Rice-Shrimp Cooperative which covers nearly 100 ha and produces about 5tonnes of rice per ha.
According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,agricultural development in Ben Tre has remained unstable and unsustainable inthe context of climate change.
Along with complex developments of natural disasters and diseases, mechanismsand policies connecting businesses and farmers have failed to prove effective,the department said.
Vo Thanh Hao, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said Ben Trewill improve the efficiency of communications work to raise public awareness ofagricultural restructuring, develop and complete the value chain and build new-stylerural areas.
At the same time, the province will upgrade and complete technicalinfrastructure in service of production, and review and adjust agriculturalproduction planning adaptable to climate change, he said.
More attention will be paid to scientific and technological applications inproduction, with priority given to high-tech, and building geographicalindications and labels for a number of major local agricultural products, Haosaid.
Ben Tre will also develop plants, livestock breeds and fisheries adaptable toclimate change, intensify trade promotion, synchronously implement mechanismsand policies to promote production and business in a stable and environmentallyfriendly manner, create favourable conditions for farmers and businesses toaccess preferential, scientific, technological and credit loans, and improvethe quality of human resources in rural areas, he added.-VNA
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