This has been implemented with the help of the Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology. It is considered an effective way of treating produce and can be spread to other localities in the counties.
A preliminary processing establishment placed at the centre of the vegetable production area. Despite the lack of technology, the establishment can still easily carry out the task.
"We are able to preserve agricultural produce at the end of the harvest. For example, we now can keep cabbages for a month without using any products but just our packaging and treatment method. We also can keep tomatoes and other vegetables up to 10 days in the packaging", said Nguyen Manh Hieu - Deputy Head of Department of Preservation Technology Research, Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology.
Agro-product undergoing a preliminary treatment can be preserved for a longer time. This is a common knowledge but not easy for farmers to carry out.
"Farmers lack scientific knowledge as well as money. Therefore, they can’t apply this model. But with the help from enterprises as well as research establishments, it will be successful", said Nguyen Huu Dao - Director of An Viet Hi-tech Agriculture JSC.
"We are co-operating with other organisations to apply modern technologies in the areas focused on vegetable cultivation. The difficulties these areas are facing is that production is still unfocused and there is a lack of synchronised investment", said Pham Minh Tuan - Rector of Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post-Harvest Technology.
The power for the preliminary processing and preservation of agricultural products comes from the sun. Besides consultations from scientists, the model has also received support from an international organisation.
Cleaning the agro-products with ozone, preserving the products with solar energy and using packaging displaying the origin of the product are all now possible in Phuc Tho District. However, despite the great potential, this model still needs a lot of support to meet market demands.
