One of the most important reasons behind the low export value is the uneven quality of produce as the current standards of processing technologies, quality management and post-harvest preservation have not been optimized for efficiency.
According to Nguyen Hoang Anh, President of Binh Thuan Province Shrimp Association a series of hi-tech agricultural solutions have been applied to production activities and these have had some effect in recent years.
It is essential to apply science and technology to agricultural development in the new era, especially in every stage of the production chain, noting that this is an inevitable trend in agricultural production.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Dang Kim Son, Former Director General of Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) under the the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) have emphasized the importance of information technology in ensuring that technological advancements are applied widely and efficiently.
Information technology has also played an important role in managing thesystems which link people, farmers and businessmen whilefarmers should keep up to date withdevelopments inprices, markets, weather and policies, Son emphasizes.
Ung The Lam, head of the intermediary group of Fruit and Vegetables Export Business stresses technologies can help manage the production process , pesticide usage, and product quality.
Dam Quang Thang, general director of Agricare stresses the need to change farmer’s habits to develop agriculture sustainably. At present, the prices of Vietnam’s farm produce are relatively high and fail to compete on the world market, even on the Chinese market. In addition, due to a lack of preservation technologies, businesses often face risks when exporting to other markets with lengthy transport and clearance periods.
Mr Thang also points out that a legal corridor is needed for the application of technologies, especially thosetechnologies invented in the country for application in the agricultural sector.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung says the term ‘4.0 Agriculture’ has been coinedin Vietnam in recent years. However, like other economic sectors, its nature is smart agriculture or digital agriculture. The advantages of ‘4.0 Agriculture’ are to create high quality farm produce which is still productive in adverse conditions.
Through mobile connectivity, farmers can constantly monitor the status and health of their poultry or plants to make informed and efficient decisions wherever they may be.
Thanks to such benefits, 4.0 agriculture has been developed in many of the world’s nations and territories such as Israel, the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and China.
In Israel and the US, desert agriculture has been developed in separate agricultural zones with its value per hectare reaching up to US$120,000-US$150,000 per year.
Experts say the development of 4.0 Agriculture is an inevitable and profitable trend in the context of globalization and extensive international integration and Vietnam cannot afford to miss the wave of progress.
