(VOVWORLD) - In addition to promoting industry, Binh Duong province is strongly developing its urban farming and high-tech agriculture. With this effort, the province’s agricultural production values have increased contributing greatly to the local economic growth.
 Banana fields owned by Unifarm (Photo: tuoitrethudo.com.vn) |
Although agriculture currently accounts for only 3% of the GDP in Binh Duong, which has a high industrial development index, the sector, especially high-tech agriculture, has a strong potential for growth.
In its plan to restructure agriculture and industrialize and modernize its rural areas, the province pays particular attention to promoting high-tech agriculture.
Binh Duong has created a mechanism to attract businesses and encourage farmers to invest in production, said Ho Truc Thanh, Deputy Director of the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department.
“The province identifies agricultural development as an important factor in ensuring local social security,” said Thanh, adding, “In the past few years, Binh Duong province has focused on developing agriculture, restructuring agriculture in a sustainable way, and increasing added values. Technology has been applied to increase productivity and product value per hectare. Mechanization has reduced the amount of manual labor and increased efficiency.”
Thanks to incentives, many businesses have invested in the agricultural sector, boosting the annual yield of both crops and livestock production.
As of 2021, of the total agricultural land in urban areas in Binh Duong, 5,500 ha used high-tech.
High-tech agricultural models have been replicated throughout the locality, mainly for growing high-value trees in net houses including vegetables, mushrooms, fruit trees, orchids, and ornamental trees. The high-tech banana growing model covering more than 700 ha supplies both domestic and export markets.
The U&I Agricultural Company (Unifarm) in Binh Duong applies high-tech from Israel, the US, Japan, and New Zealand to agricultural production.
 Pham Quoc Liem, Unifarm’s Director General (Photo: tuoitrethudo.com.vn) |
Pham Quoc Liem, the Company’s Director General, said, “In addition to Israeli experts, we’ve also invited specialists from the Philippines, which is famous for growing bananas, to help us develop banana fields of high quality and yield. Farmers will apply the technology after they are convinced that the application of high-tech produces large profits. After they visit the models, we begin to transfer the technology.”
Unifarm is investing in high-tech agricultural projects on an area of 400 ha in the An Thai Hi-tech Agriculture Park and on an area of 1,200 ha banana growing in Thanh An, Minh Tan, and Long Hoa commune, Dau Tieng district.
The Deputy Director of the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department attributed the achievements to Binh Duong’s preferential policies for attracting investment in agriculture.
“The Department has worked with the provincial Development Investment Fund to make investment capital available to local farmers and set up production chains and cooperatives to expand the market for local products,” said Thanh.
Binh Duong is creating a land reserve to attract more investors and create more opportunities for high-tech agricultural development.
It is helping businesses and farmers make the most of opportunities created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution while functional agencies in Binh Duong are playing the role as contact points in value chains in production and sales.
With its prompt development orientation and support policies, Binh Duong hopes to lure more businesses to invest in local agriculture which will be a leverage for the province to become one of the pillars of Vietnam’s southern economic hub.