Agricultural technological application to be boosted

Vietnam exports mainly raw agricultural products

Important factors

According to Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung, the agricultural sector has played a key role in the economy over the three decades of the renovation process. However, it has failed to apply new technologies, strengthen export activities and establish a firm foothold in the world market.

The domestic agricultural sector mainly exports poor quality unprocessed agricultural products which suffer from poor storage and outdated preservative technologies, earning low export value. So it is vital that businesses improve their technologies to market better quality products, said President of the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Goods Vu Kim Hanh.

Experts agreed that in order to make the most of the raft of FTAs that Vietnam has signed, agricultural products must meet increasingly higher demands in terms of quality, food safety and design at reasonable prices. Vietnam should encourage agricultural enterprises and farmers to improve capacity and product quality.

Pioneers

The Minh Phu Seafood Corp. has developed a closed global fish and shrimp value chain project with the intention of achieving US$2.5 billion in export value by 2025. New technologies will play a key role in every phase of production and processing.

It has successfully controlled early mortality syndrome among shrimp without using antibiotics while curbing the mortality rate of its shrimp to just 10 percent. Half of its 1,000ha devoted to shrimp breeding in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Kien Giang provinces have received Breeders Award Program (BAP) certification and met Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) standards.

The Thanh Thanh Cong Group aims to cut sugarcane production costs while increasing profit for farmers by 2020 and has invested in a modern irrigation system which costs VND40 million per ha. In addition, it will annually spend VND30 billion on mechanizing sugarcane production and VND12 billion on disease-free sugarcane seedlings, said the Thanh Thanh Cong Group’s Chairman of the Sugarcane Development Committee Pham Hong Duong.

Quynh Nga