Leading the Nation in Hi-tech Agriculture Development

Possessing numerous typical advantages for hi-tech agricultural development, Lam Dong province has created breakthroughs in this potential field in the past years and become a role model of hi-tech agricultural development in the country.

Outstanding economic efficiency
Lam Dong is a province with many advantages in agricultural development, especially hi-tech applied agriculture thanks to terrain, climate, soil and especially large production land (about 300,000 ha); good for the province to develop various kinds of high value plants and animals such as vegetables, flowers, tea, coffee, mulberry and dairy cows.

To tap these pluses, Lam Dong province advocates strongly developing hi-tech application to agricultural development to raise production value. Mr Nguyen Van Son, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that, Lam Dong previously focused on promoting scientific and technological application into specific plant varieties and animal species to enhance value and competitiveness such as vegetables, flowers, indigenous crops, coffee, tea, meat cows and dairy cows. Up to now, the province has expanded hi-tech applied agricultural development to most of crops and livestock.

After more than 10 years of carrying out hi-tech applied agricultural development, Lam Dong province has 49,089 ha of hi-tech applied cultivation areas, including more than 21,000 ha of vegetables, flowers and indigenous crops, applied with automatic sprinkler technology; 50 ha of flowers and strawberries, applied with automatic sensor technology; 6.5 ha of hydroponic vegetables and 41 ha of farms on substrate. It also has more than 2,200 ha of tea applied with automatic watering and fertilising system; 18,781 ha of coffee applied with advanced technology. Although hi-tech applied farming area accounts for only over 16 per cent of cultivated land, its production agricultural value occupies over 30 per cent of total agricultural production value. The average yield of hi-tech applied crops is 30 - 50 per cent higher than that of conventional production. The average revenue is VND200 - 300 million per ha and profit is over 40 per cent on revenue. Particularly, 11,000 ha of farming land brings in over VND 500 million of revenue per ha a year, with 700 ha with annual revenue of VND1-3 billion per ha. Some places record annual revenue of over VND3 billion per ha. The share of agricultural exports therefore accounts for 80 per cent of the province's export value.

Up to now, there have been many successful hi-tech applied agricultural development models in Da Lat City and Lac Duong District, which are certified to meet GlobalGAP, VietGAP, Organic standard requirements. Typically certified units include Kim Bang Vegetable Farm, Bach Cuc Vegetable Farm, Loc Troi Group, Fresh Studio Company, Da Lat GAP and Tan Tien Cooperative. A series of cooperative brands in Da Lat and Lam Dong have been established and increasingly asserted on the the market, e.g. Da Lat vegetables and flowers, Cau Dat coffee, Di Linh coffee, B'Lao-Bao Loc tea, Cat Tien rice and Laba banana. In addition, Lam Dong province has attracted many foreign companies and investors, ODA donors and domestic companies to invest in hi-tech applied agricultural development. To date, this field has 97 projects with a total investment capital of more than VND5,909 billion. By developing hi-tech applied agriculture, the countryside landscape of Lam Dong province is prettified.

Another boost
Making up 50 per cent in the province's economic value, Lam Dong defines that agriculture is the main economic sector of the province and hi-tech applied agriculture is a major catalyst to develop agricultural production and increase agricultural product value. To specify that policy, the Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution 05-NQ/TU dated November 11, 2016 on comprehensive, sustainable and modern agricultural development. The Provincial People’s Committee is also working out a specific Action Plan, with a focus placed on three main objectives: comprehensive, sustainable and modern agriculture.

To achieve the comprehensive development goal, Lam Dong province will continue to develop intensive agriculture to raise the quality and safety of agricultural products and to enhance production efficiency; carry out consistent measures to boost production development; raise and control the quality of agricultural products; and advertise product brands. Lam Dong province has restructured agriculture towards sustainable development where the agricultural structure is fitting local conditions and market demand; adopted safe and effective production forms in association with environmental and natural resource protection. Furthermore, with the modern development goal, the province continues to strengthen hi-tech application to production and processing; step up agricultural mechanisation application; mobilise resources to perfect production infrastructure.

In order to realise the above objectives and solutions, the province will need internal and external funds for production development. Therefore, it has concretised many policies adopted by the Central Government and issued a number of specific policies to attract investors. Into the bargain, the province has planned about 2,500 ha of hi-tech agricultural production areas to lure investors, especially foreigners, like Lam Dong hi-tech Agriculture Park (Lac Duong district) and Tan Phu Agriculture Industrial Park (Duc Trong district).

Mr Son said that Lam Dong province is carrying out the project "Agricultural development towards cross-sector approach and investment environment improvement" funded by JICA. It was coordination with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to launch the project "Strengthening the capacity of agricultural investment promotion in Lam Dong province" to improve the investment environment and attract FDI into agricultural sector in the coming time. He hoped that "With the efforts and determination of all-tier authorities, businesses and people, the agricultural sector of Lam Dong province will continue to enjoy strong growth and enable Lam Dong to have No. 1 agricultural product brands in Vietnam and lead the nation in high-valued agricultural production and export.”

Hoang Lam