Digital transformation and application of science and technology promoted

Digital transformation of agriculture and rural development plays a particularly important role in restructuring and developing concentrated and large-scale commodities towards modernity of highly added values and sustainability.

High-tech breeding model is implemented at 3F Viet Joint Stock Company at An Lap commune in Phu Giao district

The need

Digital transformation is an important solution to help farmers and businesses produce quality agricultural products at the lowest cost but achieve the highest profits. The goal is also expected to create a breakthrough in productivity, quality and competitiveness for agricultural products. According to Decision No. 749/QD-TTg approving the "National Digital Transformation Program to 2025 with orientation to 2030", agriculture is one of eight priority areas for implementation. Digital transformation of agriculture and rural development is an indispensable and objective requirement as the responsibility, obligation and interest of the whole system of industry, enterprises, science and technology and especially farmers regarding the method to implement the goal of developing smart agriculture and modern rural areas.

The implementation of digital transformation has been initially applied in the fields of cultivation, animal husbandry, aquaculture and forestry to bring about very positive results. Many key products at national and provincial levels of high scientific and technological content are applied to seed production, farming, and processing such as shrimp, pangasius, wood products, etc. Besides, the use of The internet has simplified and streamlined the overall collection, inspection, and distribution of agricultural resources. Precision agriculture and garden management software and programs are applied to optimize the use of resources like water and fertilizers to gradually transit from traditional to modern agriculture, offering many opportunities to increase labor productivity and reduce dependence on environmental conditions, weather, epidemics, and diseases for better breeds.

However, the scale of digital conversion application is still limited, and not synchronized between regions and localities. The main reason given was that the infrastructure for agricultural development and application of new technologies has not been synchronized to meet the requirements of agricultural modernization while the level of production mechanization was still low, and the production technology was still inadequate of service support. Human resources with high expertise in agricultural production and processing, knowing how to use and operate equipment that is automatic, digital, analytical  etc. are very limited.

Smart agriculture development

Under the impact of the 4th industrial revolution, digital transformation has become a necessity and indispensable requirement in development. Over the past years, Binh Duong has strongly promoted digital transformation through the application of information technology in association with administrative reforms while innovating working methods to serve the people, digital government, sustainable development, and construction of a smart city.

The Agriculture and Rural Development sector has implemented the Plan No. 3248/KH-UBND of the provincial People's Committee on the plan to develop e-commerce in the province in 2021-2025, and updated information, improved knowledge and skills in digital transformation to implement a number of solutions in management and organization of production and sales of agricultural products through technology application solutions and online channels. In 2021, the complicated development of the COVID-19 epidemic has prompted online sales to make use of the product consumption channel chosen by many organizations and individuals. Consumers access the internet and search for products to shop online more and more. According to statistics, up to this point, more than 17,000 organizations and individuals in the field of agriculture have registered for accounts for buying and selling transactions on the e-commerce platforms.

Mr. Le Thanh Tam, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that digital transformation in agriculture is an inevitable direction, especially solutions to digitize data in production management, traceability and organization of production processes of e-commerce activities, specifically, solutions for management, granting planting area codes, traceability of agricultural products and sales through online applications in the first step for management agencies and production facilities to understand the meaning and methods of applying information technology solutions and digitizing data in production management and sale of agricultural products. Farms, enterprises and cooperatives would soon apply to production and exploit the full potentials of Binh Duong agriculture.

In 2022, the Agriculture and Rural Development sector will focus on implementing digital transformation contents by building and developing a digital transformation platform with key tasks such as transforming awareness, creating institutions, developing digital infrastructure, and digital data platform, and digital transformation in administrative reforms to review procedures and business processes towards simplification or appropriate changes so that digital technology can be effectively applied. They are striving for 100% of administrative procedures of level 4 on the province's electronic one-stop software.

Along with that, e-commerce is developed in the consumption of agricultural products so that all OCOP when recognized by the provincial People's Committee are put on e-commerce platforms. Production management and traceability software systems are deployed and applied for establishments and businesses participating in e-commerce platforms. On the other hand, a database of sectors of the industry is built to apply digital technology to automate production and business processes; the origin and supplying chain of products are managed and monitored to ensure fast, transparent, accurate, safe, and food hygiene; at the same time, to apply digital transformation in production and trade promotion in the agricultural sector.

In 2021-2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sets a target that 80% of agricultural databases will be built and updated on the basis of ‘big data’ with contributions from organizations, individuals and communities, which basically completes the database on crops, livestock and aquatic products. The formation of a digital agricultural ecosystem is promoted to encourage people and businesses to participate in digital transformation while building a blockchain technology application platform to provide information on the environment, weather, and land quality to serve farmers to improve productivity and crop quality, and to support the sharing of agricultural equipment through such digital platform.

Reported by Thoai Phuong – Thao Truc – Translated by Vi Bao