Binh Phuoc urged to develop cashews as main crops

Binh Phuoc (VNA) - The southern province of Binh Phuoc, deemed Vietnam’s “cashew capital”, needs to devise a project to develop cashews as its key crops, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has said.

Home to a large area of farm land, with various national key crops, including cashew, rubber, and pepper, the province has made efforts in agricultural restructuring and focused on soil advantages to create momentum for the agricultural sector, Cuong said during a recent working session with local leaders.

With a planned area of 150,000 ha and output of 3 tonnes per ha, Binh Phuoc accounts for more than half of the country's cashew cultivation area and output.

It also has more than 1,400 processing establishments with a combined capacity of over 500,000 tonnes a year.

The minister urged the province to review planning and agricultural restructuring to capitalise on its strengths. Agencies under MARD will help the province select cashew varieties most suitable with its soil and climate to replace low-yield varieties, he said.

Binh Phuoc is expected to soon have a cashew sector worth billions of USD, Cuong said.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Van Loi said efforts have been made to double the average cashew output to 2 tonnes per ha so as to raise product value and quality.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a blow to agricultural production last year, Binh Phuoc’s agro-forestry-fishery value increased 12.7 percent to more than 28.78 trillion VND. The province earned over 2.8 billion USD from exports, with cashew making up 35 percent, a year-on-year rise of 7.3 percent.

It has more than 457,000 ha of farm land, including 429,800 ha of perennial industrial crops and orchards. There are also seven high tech agricultural zones covering 2,264 ha./.