Binh Duong agriculture works toward sustainable development

After 14 implementation years of Resolution 26-NQ/TW on agriculture, farmers, rural areas, Binh Duong agriculture has eyed a comprehensive growth, modern production, high technology application; the material and spiritual life of farmers has been continuously improved, the rural face has prospered. The National Target Program on New Rural Construction has become a far-reaching and pervasive movement, had the participation of the whole political system, business community, and the entire population in the province.

Binh Duong's hi-tech agriculture has been developing strongly. In photo: A high-tech dairy farm in Phuoc Sang commune, Phu Giao district.

 To find a sustainable direction

From a backward agriculture, Binh Duong has grown up to become a modern agricultural production with strong application of advanced technologies. Currently, Binh Duong has a total number of agricultural farms ranked 2nd in the Southeast and 5th in the country, the total area of high-tech farming in the province is about 5,763.5 ha. The province currently has 4 high-tech agricultural zones, including: Tien Hung (North Tan Uyen district); Tan Hiep and Phuoc Sang communes (Phu Giao district); Vinh Tan ward (Tan Uyen town) and An Thai ward (Phu Giao district). Among these, An Thai High-tech Agricultural Park (Unifarm) is the leading unit in high-tech agricultural models with products, such as bananas, longan, cantaloupe, etc., meeting VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards, dominating not only the domestic market but also many foreign markets.

Binh Duong's high-tech animal husbandry is rated among the top in the country. Currently, Binh Duong is one of the localities attaining high results in the construction of an animal disease-free zone for export purposes. Provincial Department of Animal Health recognized 10 district-level animal disease-free zones in the province, with 47 commune-level animal disease-free zones and 185 livestock farms recognized as animal disease-free zones. It can be affirmed that the development of high-tech agriculture, clean agriculture, organic agricultural production according to Organic, VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards is and will be an inevitable direction in agricultural production, change appearance and raise the level of agricultural development of the province.

At the workshop "Science, technology and innovation: The resilience of high-tech agriculture in Binh Duong province", Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University, said that high-tech agricultural models have been spreading in Binh Duong and the whole country, contributing to creating more jobs for rural workers, closely linking the processing industry with agriculture, creating a foundation for agricultural integration.

However, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ngo Thi Phuong Lan also pointed out difficulties and challenges are faced by the province's agricultural sector, such as the rapid growth rate of the province has pushed up agricultural costs rapidly, especially labor costs, land costs have remained high. Meanwhile, there are still many households owning lands but giving up farming, wasting resources or waiting for opportunities to convert to non-agricultural land. Production organization of four-party linking approach (State - enterprise - farmer - scientist) has gained certain achievements but has not been commensurate with the potential of capital, science and technology, and consumption market of the province.

Rural economy flourishes

By the end of 2019, Binh Duong met the target of 100% of communes fulfilling new rural construction criteria. Up to now, the whole province has 29/41 communes recognized as advanced new rural areas, 3 districts and towns recognized as new rural areas and completing new rural construction tasks.

Binh Duong focused on investing and upgrading socio-economic infrastructure, as a result, the appearance of rural areas changed markedly. Transport infrastructure has been upgraded and expanded to connect urban centers with rural areas, and people's welfare projects were quickly put into use, contributing to improving the level of material and spiritual enjoyment for people in rural areas.

In addition to the large investment in infrastructure and the right decisions of the government, a very important factor is that farmers have better proved their role as subjects and have actively transformed the production structure, applied science and technology, participated in cooperation, association, restoration and development of rural industries. According to statistics, for many consecutive years, the per capita income in rural areas has grown continuously, in 2021 alone, reaching 71 million VND/person/year (much higher than the national average of 42 million VND/person/year).

Assessing the agriculture development with high-tech application, Vo Van Minh, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said: “Besides developing modern industry and services, Binh Duong also pays attention to developing agricultural sector in the direction of high-tech application. By actively implementing mechanisms and policies to support investment in science and technology development in enterprises, facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship and synchronous development of agriculture, farmers and rural areas, the province's agricultural sector has gradually shaped and developed towards a more modern and sustainable direction.

To encourage the development of high-tech agriculture

Entering a new phase, the Provincial People's Committee issued a plan to restructure the agricultural sector of Binh Duong province in the period of 2021-2025, with an orientation until 2030. Accordingly, the production value of agriculture, forestry and fishery increased by 2.5 - 3% per year; the proportion of high-tech agricultural production accounts for over 30%; the land area for growing agricultural products with GAP certification accounts for 20%. The key solution, the focus of the province is to encourage high-tech agricultural production, step by step develop organic agriculture; increase added value for agricultural products, increase competitiveness in the market, international integration, towards sustainable agricultural development.

Nguyen Hong Quan, Director of Research and Development Institute of Circular Economy, Ho Chi Minh City National University, said that in order to develop circular economic models to support high-tech agriculture, agriculture-based ecotourism, leisure tourism, urban development, it is necessary to focus on 8 groups of solutions. Specifically, the development of high-tech agriculture in combination with the development of urban areas, eco-tourism, and resorts should be included in the socio-economic development planning scheme of Binh Duong province in the coming period; stimulate the application of science and technology, especially technologies for processing and preserving clean agricultural products, creating products of high economic value, and at the same time effectively using agricultural by-products; supporting the development of start-up businesses with new, high-quality agricultural products that meet domestic and international standards.

Mai Hung Dung, Member of Provincial Party Standing Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said that Binh Duong's agricultural sector is developing achievements of the advanced and model new rural area building program according to the proposed plan, especially speeding up the construction of Bach Dang Smart Village. One of the key solutions is to stimulate agricultural production with high-tech application, step by step build organic agriculture, increase added value for agricultural products, increase competitiveness in the market, socialize international integration, towards sustainable agricultural development.

By T.Phuong, T.Truc - Translated by Ngoc Huynh