Speeding up the transformation pace of agricultural production creating a diversified and hi-tech industry to supply products for processing is the target of the Vinh Long Province on the threshold of the regional and international economic integration.
In the 2001-2005 period, the production value of the agriculture and aquaculture of Vinh Long Province increases averagely 5.3 per cent a year and the growth is seen in all three sectors of cultivation, husbandry and agricultural service. The agriculture and fisheries sectors contributed 52.5 per cent to the economy in the five-year phase. However, the agricultural sector still needs solutions to create momentums for the stable development and improve its competitiveness in the international economic integration process.
Shifting to better formThe populous Vinh Long Province determined to develop an agricultural and rural economy with various crops, domestic animals and services to gradually replace its purely agricultural production and rice monoculture. The province relied on the gardening economy to make a breakthrough in crop transformation, reducing food crop production value proportion in its agriculture from 58.5 per cent in 2000 to 49.33 per cent in 2005, and increasing the value proportion of industrial and fruit trees from 33.35 per cent to 40 per cent. The notable achievement of the five-year effort was to convince farmers to replace nearly 8,000 ha of poorly productive rice area with cash-earning fruit tree and vegetable area.
In 2005, the Vinh Long agriculture continued its amendments to preset plans to raise farming revenues to average VND40.6 million (US$2,540) a hectare. The province set a goal to increase earnings to over VND50 million (US$3,125) per ha on a total area of 45,832 ha, or 40 per cent of the agricultural area. At present, the cropping structure has rearranged to match the natural conditions in specific locations as well as the market demand. Several vegetable-growing areas were opened in the northern side of National Road 1A, Binh Minh District, some rice-growing slots were developed in Vung Liem and Tra On districts, and many orchards were expanded in Long Ho and Tam Binh districts.
Tough farm processing industry At present, only a few farmers have to barter away their redundant farm produces while processing firms are complaining about material shortages. For instance, when soybean growers were moaning about unacceptably plummeting prices, animal feed processing units were still importing foreign materials. When growers of abalone mushroom and ganoderma applanatum mushroom did not dare to expand production due to difficulty in sales, Phu Quy Co. Ltd lacked mushrooms for production. According to Phu Quy Co. Ltd, customers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and the United States ordered these products in stable volumes. Currently, the company is processing many kinds of exported items like abalone mushroom, ganoderma applanatum mushroom, maize, soybean and chilly but the inputs are always insufficient.
According to Phu Quy Co. Ltd, the company is in need of input materials but only in large volume and with good quality. For example, it only accepts abalone mushrooms with a leg diameter of 2 cm or a volume of several hundred kilos of straw mushroom. Animal feed processing firms said the quality of soybean failed to meet the requirement while the harvest period is at certain periods in a year, leading to the supply/demand failure. Nam Roi grapefruit trading units said routines of farmers raised difficulties for enterprises. For example, in Binh Minh District, where good-quality Nam Roi grapefruit is cultivated on 4,000-6,000ha, farmers refuse to package fruits because the manipulation is too difficult.
The current method of cultivation, which falls of certain periods of the year, certainly needs a processing industry. However, the situation is only bettered if farmers and processors have common voice.
Heading for stable agriculture developmentIn spite of huge efforts, the farming of Vinh Long remains average in the Mekong Delta region. New fields need manpower, capital and technology for expansion. The processing and consumption service sectors are still too weak to set up a distribution channel for non-rice products.
The solutions to boost agricultural and the rural economy of Vinh Long Province are based on species-capital-price triangle, which is expected to intensively improve the quality and competitiveness of Vinh Long farm produces. The agricultural sector will continue diversification and mobilisation of all available resources to upgrade the infrastructure, and credit capital for farmers to expand production, especially high quality rice, specialty fruits, cows and fishes. Presently, the cooperation of enterprises and farmers need increasing to penetrate the market. Technical, capital and service solutions need carrying out synchronously to make momentums to speed up the agriculture and rural development of Vinh Long more quickly and more stably.
Hoa Binh
Vietnamese
