Hi-tech Application: A Breakthrough of Vietnam's Agriculture

Vietnam has been having a diversified and abundant agriculture thanks to favourable conditions of agricultural territory distribution. The important thing currently is focusing on raising productivity and the quality of plants and animals in a bid to increase the competitiveness in the market. Hi-tech application to agriculture is the most optimal and effective solution in order to achieve the target.

 

Proceeding from the general trend of the industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture, hi-tech agricultural parks have been springing up in cities and provinces nationwide, bringing a market effect and hope for the development of Vietnam’s agriculture.

 

In Ho Chi Minh City, there exists a hi-tech agricultural park of the Sai Gon Agriculture Corporation. The 100-hectare park with total investment of VND 80 billion includes 50 net houses, nurseries, incubators, and some orchid nurseries, mushroom and safe vegetables manufacturing areas through hydroponic culture method with total area of hundreds of hectares. Can Tho City is building three hi-tech agricultural parks including a centre and a supporting zone at a total cost of over VND3,100 billion. From now until 2013, the three parks will carry out 12 projects to multiply plants and animals, develop fruit-tree growing areas associating with ecotourism, expand safe vegetables growing areas, and training human resources. Lam Dong is also constructing a hi-tech agricultural park with a size of 150 hectares of vegetables, flowers, strawberries, and tea. Especially Da Lat City has a model of growing flowers in plastic shed depot houses with total area of 80 hectares. The model can bring an income three times higher to growers than the traditional model. Ha Noi also has a 7.6-hectare hi-tech agricultural park worth VND24 billion invested by the state-run Investment and Agricultural Development Limited Company. In Hai Phong City, the city’s Forestry Development Centre has built a hi-tech agricultural park at a total cost of VND22.5 billion. Many localities such as Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, and Moc Chau-Son La are planning to build hi-tech agricultural parks.

 

It is said that developing hi-tech agricultural parks is aimed at creating an agricultural production model applying advanced technologies, training and transferring modern technical achievements, as well as creating clean agricultural products with high productivity, quality and economic value. Hi-tech agricultural parks pay attention to not only applying advanced agricultural achievements to manufactured products but also producing products to meet the demand of the market. The parks are considered as destinations for introducing breakthrough ideas and advanced and fresh farm products.

It is difficult for cities and provinces nationwide to complete a hi-tech agricultural park. In order to build a hi-tech agricultural park, localities need investment from net houses and equipment to cultivated technologies. These requirements have not yet been manufactured by any domestic enterprises. They have been absolutely imported at expensive prices from other countries. That is the reason why investment for a hectare of a hi-tech agriculture park is high, causing diffidence of provinces across the country.

 

Moreover, due to high prices, many products with high productivity, quality and meeting demand of consumers can not be sold in the market. In Ho Chi Minh City, sprout vegetable – a product of hi-tech agricultural parks, and one among safe vegetables that consumers like very much - is luxury goods for the poor and only sold at restaurants and supermarkets due to its high price of between VND20,000 and VND30,000 per kilogram (USD1-USD2/kg) despite of low investment cost, high productivity (100g-150g of seeds and 1.2kg of bean sprouts may produce 0,8kg-1.2kg of sprout vegetable, or average 1kg of seeds may produce 5kg of sprout vegetable), and easily growing (they can be grown into a plastic tray, in terraces, or in small gardens). That is enough to see that products with high prices from hi-tech agricultural parks worth dozens of billion Vietnamese dong are not suit every pocket of consumers. Therefore, seeking outlets for hi-tech agricultural products is becoming a difficult problem.

It is necessary to specify that developing hi-tech agricultural parks is aimed at raising the productivity and the quality of farm products, and ensuring safety for consumers in the context of reduction of agricultural land due to urbanisation and industrialisation. That is the reason why many cities and provinces nationwide are planning to develop hi-tech agricultural parks despite of its difficulties.

 

According to Doctor Pham Huu Nhuong, a representative from the management board of Ho Chi Minh City Hi-tech Agricultural Parks, in order to develop hi-tech agricultural parks, localities across the country need preferential policies to call for investors and attract human resources like scientists. They also should pay attention to management over the parks. In order to uphold effectively investment in hi-tech agricultural parks, each province need to uphold its internal forces and acknowledge correctly possible difficulties and limits to find a suitable way, Nhuong affirmed.

 

According to agricultural analysts, it should not bypass stages in developing hi-tech agricultural parks like some provinces did. Provinces should approach hi-tech agricultural models in line with the provinces’ weather and ecological conditions. We should develop hi-tech agricultural production in only suitable provinces. There are many hi-tech agricultural production models in some provinces that have been quite effect despite of their small size and low investment. In order to develop hi-tech agricultural parks without wasting the state budget, we should map out a detailed plan with five-year periods and 10-year periods for each farm products. Scientists must guide farmers to manufacture farm products in line with the clean processing in order to pump out clean products with low prices, creating position in the market for hi-tech agricultural products.