14th annual conference on crop science and agriculture

/ January 8, 2021

Hanoi agriculture strives to grow at least 3% this year

The Hanoitimes - The city has mapped out specific solutions to ensure farm production goals, while minimizing the impact, towards sustainable development. Hanoi’s agricultural sector this year strives to achieve growth of 3% or more, focusing on focus on large-scale production, high-tech application and smart agriculture, according to the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. A vegetable-planting facility in Soc Son district, Hanoi. Photo: Ngoc Anh Targets for 2021 This year, the city plans an estimated 232,000ha for cultivation, including 160,000ha of rice fields and 33,000 ha for growing vegetables and beans. Another 7,200 ha will be used for the cultivation of flowers and ornamental plants, satisfying the demand for consumption in the city and for export. In addition, 22,350 ha will be dedicated to the cultivation of high-yield fruits such as grapefruit, orange and longan. The city also aims to raise 145,000 cows, 1.8 million pigs, stabilize poultry flock in 40 million heads and maintain 24,000ha for aquaculture. Mr. Chu Phu My, the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that agriculture is still a risky field and vulnerable to weather factors and diseases. Therefore, Hanoi has mapped out specific solutions to ensure its goals, while minimizing the impacts, towards sustainable development. "The city will promote the application of science and technology, thereby increasing the productivity and quality of agricultural products, and facilitating the development of the processing industry," Mr. My said. Mr. Chu Phu My, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Hanoi will concentrate on increasing the organic production area for key crops, especially the area for growing vegetables and fruit trees. In addition, the city will effectively exploit the riparian zones of rivers (Red, Da, Day, Duong) to grow crops, strengthen …

/ March 6, 2021

Initiatives to boost sales of Vietnamese agricultural products

The Hanoitimes - Local agricultural production areas are urged to promote the building of new-style cooperatives to be better positioned in the market. Diversifying markets, growing crops coincided with standards and using information technology for online sales will be key for boosting sales of farm produce, according to Dr. Dao The Anh, Vice President of the Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS). A farmer in Me Linh district, Hanoi with his vegetable is waiting for to be rescused. Photo: Trong Tung In addition to suffering the impact of the pandemic in recent times, the heavy dependence on traders has led to sales stagnation of farm produce in many localities, including Hanoi’s Me Linh district with its vegetable, Binh Thuan province with dragon fruit and Long An province with watermelon. There are movements of rescuing farm produce from sales stagnation among city dwellers every year. According to Dr. The Anh, world experience has shown that diversifying consumption channels would be a way out for sales stagnation for farmers. “They don’t depend on one channel to avoid disruptions. For example, besides exporting and farming cooperatives should sell their products to domestic distribution channels to minimize market risk,” he said. In Japan, agricultural cooperatives never sell to a single customer but to supermarkets, restaurants and other channels to ensure consumption of agricultural products. Besides, they invest in warehouses to preserve farm produce and diversify agricultural processing technologies for vegetables to last longer as they are perishable, The Anh added. In recent years, the VASS has assisted the Duc Chinh Cooperative in northern province of Hai Duong in applying technology to preserve agricultural products for up to six months, meeting export market standards, thus helping farmers minimize crop losses. In order to improve sale of agricultural products, local production units must have …

/ December 13, 2020

Vietnam and international partners boost cooperation on agriculture

The Hanoitimes - Vietnam should take advantage of its ability to innovate and apply technology towards good resilience and green development. At the 2020 International Support Group (JSG) Plenary Meeting on December 11 in Hanoi, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and international partners adopted the Joint Declaration on “Cooperation for Vietnam's agriculture and rural development in the context of the Covid 19”. An overview of the 2020 ISG meeting on December 11, Hanoi. Photo: VGP Under the joint statement, ISG pledged to strengthen its cooperation with the government of Vietnam on measures to increase agricultural resilience in the context of the pandemic. Speaking at the 2020 ISG meeting, with the theme "Vietnam's agriculture and rural development in the context of Covid-19: opportunities and challenges," Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh said after this meeting, the MARD will work with each partner to turn this Joint Declaration into reality to support the sector in the near future. 2020 is a difficult year in which the whole world, including Vietnam, has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, said the vice minister, the agricultural sector and rural inhabitants, are also affected by climate change and natural disasters. In the past time, the ministry has closely coordinated with other ministries, sectors and localities, along with the active support of the international community to implement timely and effective solutions. As a result, in the first 11 months of 2020, the value of farm export was estimated at US$37.42 billion, up 2.4% over the same period in 2019. Besides the efforts from Vietnam, Mr. Doanh underlined the support of the international community, which is very important and necessary in mobilizing resources of international organizations for coping with the Covid-19 pandemic. To develop agriculture in the context of climate change adaptation, Ms. …