Kon Tum Agriculture and Fishery Extension Centre Motivating Agricultural Development

In the latest 10 years (2005 - 2015), the Kon Tum Agriculture and Fishery Extension Centre deployed more than 100 models of agriculture and aquaculture extension in the province, typically including wet rice production model, cold vegetable and flower farming model, intensive Robusta coffee growing model, intensive Arabica coffee growing model, freshwater fish farming model, livestock waste processing model using composite biogas tanks, environment-friendly meat pig farming model, and sustainable coffee production model. Many models match a majority of farmers’ aspirations, thus gradually changing their perceptions in applying technological advances to production, crop restructuring and intensive farming for increased productivity. The above models are economically, socially and environmentally effective, thus bringing huge benefits for farming households and being widely replicated in the region. In 2016, the centre is carrying out agricultural extension models funded by annual agricultural extension budgets, such as intensive Arabica and Robusta coffee cultivation model, Arabica and Robusta coffee replanting model, cold vegetable and flower model, intensive pepper cultivation model, and waste treatment model using composite biogas tanks. It has launched agricultural extension models based on value chains where production and consumption are interlinked.

 

In addition to successes achieved, the province has faced with numerous existing difficulties in agricultural extension like unstable link of production and consumption market, limited budgets for agricultural extension, and uneven educational level among farmers. For that reason, it is necessary to speed up communication, training and technology transfer to farmers. In the next phase, the Kon Tum Agriculture and Fishery Extension Centre has focused on deploying effective extension models fitting farmers’ aspirations, like effectively carrying out cold-zone coffee project, intensive cassava cultivation project, and sustainable coffee production and replanting model; conducting researches on some high-tech agricultural extension investment and application models and climate-adapting models to create motivations for the province’s agricultural development towards sustainability and modernity.