Dak Lak pushes digitalisation for durian exports

The changes are expected to reduce time and costs for farmers and businesses, but also place greater demands on commune-level capacity. Immediate measures are needed to prevent disruptions to exports.

Dak Lak is entering peak durian harvest, with output estimated at 500,000 tonnes. Existing and pending growing area codes cover only 40%. As technical tasks shift to communes, limited specialist staff remains a challenge, with many local authorities awaiting guidance to ensure exports continue without disruption.

Tran Quoc Tuan, Chairman, Krong Buk Commune People’s Committee, Dak Lak Province said: "We have assigned the Economic Division to clarify the relevant issues. This will help us carry out the task accurately and in line with local conditions, while avoiding possible errors".

A working group from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has visited Gia Lai, Lam Dong and Dak Lak to provide guidance from provincial to commune level. Materials have also been shared online to help farmers and local authorities implement the new regulations.

"Under Resolution 36, three growing area codes can be issued for crops on the same plot. Intercropped areas can receive a separate code for each crop, allowing output to be monitored from the start and helping prevent fraud", said Nguyen Quoc Manh, Deputy Director, Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Le Quoc Thanh,  Director, National Agricultural Extension Centre added: "We are training agricultural extension workers and community staff in the regulations and basic skills to support farmers and address problems in practice".

Under its 30-day digitalisation campaign for the billion-dollar durian sector, Dak Lak sees every day of delay as affecting the entire industry. Support from the provincial level to communes is therefore a key priority.

The results of the campaign will provide a basis for expanding the identification and data integration of production codes to other sectors, creating more room for export growth throughout the year.