The country’s capital city has implemented many high-tech agricultural production models to move towards smart agriculture. However, the city will have to pay more attention to promoting the application of science and technology as well as training high-quality labour resources. According to the Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ta Van Tuong, developing smart agriculture is a trend for agricultural production around the world and in Vietnam, including Hanoi.
The city currently counts 164 hi-tech agricultural production models, including 105 involved in crop production, 39 in livestock, 15 in fisheries, and one model combining cultivation and husbandry. The value of hi-tech agricultural products currently accounts for about 35% of the total value of agricultural production in the city. As per a news report, modern technology and equipment in the management of agricultural production to help reduce labour, increase the quality and output of agricultural products is the most important factor. Tuong affirmed that high-tech agricultural models are increasingly blooming and bringing efficiency to the city’s agriculture.
The city’s agriculture sector has promoted the application of scientific advances to agricultural production, including the technology of greenhouses with automated watering systems (in the field of planting), cooling systems to help stabilise temperature and humidity, automatic feeding lines, artificial insemination (breeding) using biological products, and automatic oxygen generator (aquaculture).
Tran Duy Quy, the Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Rural Development Sciences, noted that developing smart agriculture and applying advanced science and technology to production was crucial. With a densely populated city like Hanoi, the application of science and technology in production will help transform traditional agriculture into smart agriculture, thereby increasing incomes for farmers. It will help solve the problems of land shortage, improve the living environment, and reduce pollution. An industry expert stated that the city needed to promote training human resources, especially high-quality human resources.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) approved an e-commerce plan to boost the sale of farm produce and accelerate distribution to avoid congestion during harvesting season. It aimed to keep farm produce prices stable and eliminate intermediary merchants. Two sites, Postmart and Vo So, have been assigned to place farm produce on sale. Farmers will be trained in digital skills. They will learn how to operate in the digital environment; how to register accounts to display products on the sites; and how to register online payment accounts and implement the process of packaging, connection, and delivery.
In August, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) unveiled a plan to put farming households on e-commerce sites. Farming households will be supported to enter e-commerce sites to connect, advertise, and introduce their products. This will help them access new distribution channels and expand to domestic and international markets. Vietnam has nine million agricultural production households and four million private business households. All the households will be brought onto e-commerce sites, and this will be the first breakthrough to be made in developing the digital agricultural economy.
As OpenGov Asia reported, through e-commerce sites and digital platforms, farming households will receive useful information about farm produce markets, predicted demand and production capacity, weather forecasts, and seed and fertilizer supply. High-quality input materials and tools for agriculture production will be introduced to farmers via the platforms. Overall, MIC will put 12-13 million agricultural production and private business households on e-commerce sites. The targeted figure is five million households by the end of the year.
