Creating Impetus for Agriculture Breakthrough

The agriculture sector of Can Tho city has been implementing many solutions to link production with consumption, especially promoting the establishment of a center for association, production, processing and consumption of agricultural products in the Mekong Delta in Can Tho; thereby creating the impetus for agriculture to achieve a breakthrough. Mr. Nguyen Van Su, Director of Can Tho Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, talked with our reporter about this issue.

Can you tell us about some key goals and key tasks of the local agricultural sector?

In 2022, Can Tho will continue to promote agricultural restructuring in association with the organization of production along the value chain of advantageous commodity sectors, adapting to climate change; managing planting areas for export and market expansion; linking production with processing, preservation and consumption markets.

Specific tasks include well exploiting the advantages of tropical agriculture, building and developing high-quality and large-scale commodity production regions that meet popular standards on food safety; replicating the issuance of production area codes and traceability; controlling the quality of plants and breeds, developing organic and specialty animal husbandry; applying modern aquaculture processes and techniques; building new rural areas with synchronous infrastructure; effectively implementing the plan to build an enhanced new-style rural area and an exemplary new-style rural area; promoting the implementation of "One commune, one product- OCOP" project, with 41 units registering and introducing 118 products, including 4 OCOP products.

With that effort, in the first six months of 2022, the growth rate of the total products of the agriculture - forestry - fishery sector reached 3.28% with the rice output reaching 784,643 tons (63% of the plan); vegetables reaching 63,164 tons (38%); fruit trees reaching 95,499 tons (57.6%); live meat of all kinds reaching 19,621 tons (55%); aquaculture output reaching 108,103 tons (50%); in the Winter-Spring crop of 2021-2022, the area of rice associated with consumption reached 11,936 hectares / 33,576 hectares of "big fields", accounting for 36%.

The highlight is that the sector continues to coordinate with VNPT Can Tho to build the website “chonongsancantho.vn”; register the domain name "chonongsancantho.vn" in order to support people to access and use the online system, e-commerce platforms in the consumption of agricultural products.

In the coming time, the city will promote the implementation of the year’s theme that is "Agriculture industry adapts safely, flexibly, implements digital transformation for sustainable agricultural development" with two breakthrough stages: (1) Expanding the area of production linkages along the agricultural value chain with an increase from 2,000 to 3,000 ha compared to 2021; (2) The number of people registering to introduce agricultural products on the e-commerce floor or applying digital technology to trace the origin of agricultural products is from 2,000 to 3,000 people.

What are the barriers to investment attraction in the agricultural sector of Can Tho in recent years?

In recent years, Can Tho City has effectively implemented policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas.

Currently, investment capital from the state budget is still limited and farmers' ability to accumulate investment to expand production is still inadequate, while investment linkages from businesses and capital support from the local credit system and banks are not high. Therefore, in the coming time, the city needs to promote the mobilization and use of resources for agricultural and rural development. In particular, State support in various areas is very necessary, such as promoting agricultural and fishery extension; transferring and applying scientific, technical and high-tech advances in production, especially in new varieties, farming techniques, mechanization, irrigation, electrification, in order to improve productivity and quality, value and production efficiency.

What are the potential, advantages and orientation of the local agriculture industry?

Can Tho is located in the center of the Mekong Delta region with a convenient system of waterways, roads and airways; a temperate climate, abundant freshwater resources, favorable for the development of wet rice, fruit trees and aquaculture. Can Tho also has many training institutions, a team of highly qualified scientific and managerial staff, a large scientific and technical potential with 7 universities, and 8 colleges and 3 intermediate schools, many regional and national institutes of scientific research on rice, fruit trees, biotechnology.

The city has developed open policies and investment incentives to attract investment in hi-tech agriculture and hi-tech agricultural zones. It has developed a detailed list of investment projects in high-tech agriculture to call for investment from all economic sectors.

The city has also flexibly applied investment promotion policies for strong and sustainable agricultural production; effectively implementing Decree 57/2018/ND-CP dated April 17, 2018 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage investment in agriculture and rural areas; Resolution 07/2020/NQ-HDND dated July 10, 2020 of the City People's Council on regulations of policies to support linkages in production and consumption of agricultural products; Program 28-CTr/TU dated December 31, 2021 of the City Party Committee on supporting agriculture, farmers and rural areas in Can Tho city in the period of 2022-2030.

The city has also promoted linkages and cooperation between scientific and technological research, education, training and production, and business in high-tech agriculture.

In addition, the city always supports businesses to develop markets and ensure output for agricultural products. It also develops the agricultural product processing industry; a system of wholesale markets for agricultural products meeting food safety and hygiene quality; implements the regional linkage program and connects the four players (State - business - scientist – farmer) in agricultural production.

Thank you very much!

Source: Vietnam Business Forum