Tien Giang Agriculture Improves Quality of Farm-produce

In 2005, Tien Giang agriculture earned VND 5,160 billion in production value, up by 3.7 per cent against 2004. In its structure, cultivation contributes 76.3 per cent; animal husbandry, 22.35 per cent and forestry, 1.34 per cent. In cultivation alone, there has been a change for the better with an expansion of areas under fruit trees. Areas for farming industrial crops and food crops contracted in comparison with 2004.

 

Tien Giang province has gradually developed specialised farming areas to meet the demand of local processing enterprises and for export. The formation of specialised farming of pineapple in Tan Phuoc, vegetables in Chau Thanh, green dragon fruit in Cho Gao, star fruit in Lo Ren-Vinh Kim, mango in Hoa Loc and durian, and the development of trademarks for local fruit products have boosted the development of Tien Giang agriculture.

 

So far, the province has converted ineffective rice and industrial crop farming areas into farming areas of high value fruit trees, such as Hoa Loc mango, Lo Ren-Vinh Kim star fruit. The province now has 60,877 hectares of specialised gardens, accounting for 93.18 per cent of its total area for fruit tree farming. Capital from the Government and the Asian Development Bank has been disbursed to 5,911 households, who plant 2,218 more hectares, including 588 hectares of durian, 262 hectares of mango, 255 hectares of star fruit, 639 hectares of grapefruit, 378 hectares of pineapple and 45 hectares of malpighia glabra or Barbados cherry. The province also has co-operated with Ho Chi Minh City in farming 500 hectares of organic vegetables and 3,000 hectares of pineapple.

 

Tien Giang and other Mekong delta province’s potential and advantages of lie in rice farming. Therefore, the investment in improving yield and quality of rice has been given with careful attention of local authorities. Accordingly, the province has carried out a plan on farm 30,000 hectares of high quality rice for export in the 2007 winter-spring crop. High quality rice varieties now account for 92 per cent of the province’s rice farming areas.

 

Apart from high quality rice varieties, some other varieties which have high yield and resistance to harsh conditions, such as drought and diseases have been farmed on certain areas. Accordingly, the province’s agriculture and rural development service will plan land for rice farming in 50 communes of rice farming districts. To produce high quality rice, farmers have to apply technology in production and processing. Also, material supply and product buying networks should be organised alongside with the development of a complete irrigation network. At the same time, the province will provide and help local farmers get access to banking services and agricultural extension, thus helping them have more capital for developing production.

 

Each year, high quality rice farming areas of Tien Giang province produce 600,000 tonnes of speciality rice, around 140,000 tonnes of fragrant rice and 100,000 tonnes of sticky rice. The value of the rice varieties is between 25 and 30 per cent higher than that of other normal rice varieties. At the same time, Tien Giang has a co-operative producing clean rice in My Thanh Nam, Cai Lay district with expanded farming areas. Most of rice produced in the region has been bought by enterprises for rice papers for export.

 

Tien Giang is concentrating its investment in expanding the farming area of high quality rice varieties to promote its agricultural development.