As an agricultural province on the way to industrialisation and modernisation, Tra Vinh has stepped up the active implementation of its agricultural restructuring scheme, placing emphasis on crop and livestock changes, scientific and technological application, big-field construction, and production linkage with the aim of developing a a comprehensive sustainable agriculture.
The agricultural restructuring scheme plays a important role in addressing local inherent limitations, thus enabling the province to unlock its potential and advantages, build and develop large-scale centralised agriculture in association with value chain-based preservation, processing and consumption to raise the added value, boost comprehensive, balanced and sustainable agricultural development and improve livelihoods of farmers. The successful execution of the scheme will also enable the province to realise economic restructuring objectives set for the 2013 - 2020 period. To date, the agricultural sector of Tra Vinh province has completed reviewing, adjusting, supplementing and establishing new sector development plans and product development plans to 2020, with a vision to 2030, in line with the socioeconomic development plans of the province and the Mekong Delta region approved by the Government of Vietnam. The province has focused on developing zones for restructuring production, deploying support measures for changing suitable crops and livestock with strong competitive edges. At the same time, the province has encouraged businesses to invest in agriculture, rural development and big-field construction.
Nguyen Trung Hien, Director of the Tra Vinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that, after defining key crops and livestock for the restructuring scheme, the department has focused on changing low productive rice fields to rear livestock with higher value earned with the same area unit while rotating crops in highly productive paddy fields to increase incomes for farmers on the same area unit. The province has focused on developing high-quality rice and specialty rice, applying scientific and technological progress to agricultural production, particularly new high-yield, high-quality varieties. The province has also paid attention to the effect of GAP-based models, continued to build large fields and combine rice-vegetable and rice-fish production models. On the other hand, the agricultural sector has stabilised fruit tree areas and sought measures to increase the productivity and quality of fruits.
In livestock sector, the agricultural sector of Tra Vinh province has developed pig and cow herds. Pigs are raised by farms, using modern biotech. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has developed cooperatives to better prevent and control diseases and ensure food safety and hygiene. Besides, the province has developed aquaculture by diversifying high-valued species raised in freshwater, brackish water and saltwater. Aquatic creatures are important inputs for export processing. The province has rearranged shrimp farming zones and build infrastructure like electricity, watering traffic facilities to facilitate intensive farming while maintaining extensive farming and rotational farming (with rice cultivation). Besides, the sector also restructure tra fish farming areas to better suit current market demands in Vietnam and export markets.
With the restructuring efforts, in 2014, most of key agricultural indicators of Tra Vinh province climbed. The agricultural production value expanded 7.22 percent, with a growth seen in both agriculture and fishery. The agricultural economic structure was positively shifted, with a reduced proportion of agriculture and an increased proportion of fishery. Fish output was estimated at 1.32 million tonnes although the area did not increase. Cultivation value grossed VND4,401 billion while the fisheries sector raked in VND2,933 billion.
However, volatile prices of both inputs and outputs distressed farmers. Meanwhile, they lacked information on market demands, mechanisms and policies, and legal regulations in commercial contracts. Some production cooperation models were ineffective and below expectations. Thus, to continue with its agricultural restructuring in the coming time, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will effectively achieve out planning tasks, raising the awareness of farmers and the entire political system of agricultural restructuring towards increased added value and sustainable development while carrying on and expanding effective models like large fields. In 2015, the agriculture sector of Tra Vinh province strives to fetch VND9,156 billion of production value, up 5.85 percent year on year.
Kiet Thanh
Vietnamese
