Meeting discusses ways to develop delta farming

The country should have a master plan for sustainable development of agriculture in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, a conference held in HCM City yesterday heard.

Dr Dang Kim Son, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, said for sustainable growth, the agricultural sector must use land and water efficiently, especially under the impacts of the global climate change that is predicted.

When making zoning plans for the agricultural sector, authorities must also focus on developing the processing industry and infrastructure to add value to agricultural produce.

Dr Nguyen The Binh of the Southern Sub-institute for Agricultural Planning and Design said delta provinces should co-operate in both planning and implementation to protect the region’s eco-system and ensure sustainable growth.

Delegates called on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to monitor irrigation systems to take full advantage of water resources in both the dry and flood seasons.

They urged the Government to foster co-operation between authorities, scientists, enterprises, and farmers to strengthen the agricultural sector and boost use of technologies and Good Agricultural Practices so that the nation’s farm produce becomes more competitive.

It should also strengthen human-resource training, invest in projects to reduce post-harvest losses, and adopt policies to stabilise input costs and ensure consumption of farm produce, several participants said.

Binh called on the Government to raise public awareness of climate change and do more research to understand its impact so that it can adopt appropriate measures to restructure agriculture in the region.

The Government should help the sector carry out more promotional programmes to find new markets for agricultural products, he said.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan, the delta is Viet Nam’s rice, aquaculture, and fruit hub, contributing half or more of the national output of these items.

But the process of mechanising agriculture in the area remains unplanned and desultory and poor rural infrastructure and a shortage of agricultural processing units have prevented the sector from achieving its potential.

A recent survey by the ministry found that most still harvest rice manually, leading to huge losses during the harvest and post-harvest processes.

Besides, intrusion of seawater and natural disasters cause increasing difficulties for agricultural production.

The conference was the first in a series of activities planned under the Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation programme to seek inputs from local and foreign experts on the advantages and disadvantages the sea and rivers bring to the delta and for developing a regional strategy to cope with climate change.

Tags: Vietnam agriculture