Restructuring farming practices and ensuring stable outlets for citrusfruits are among measures required to sustainably develop citrusproduction, expects said at a recent forum in Tien Giang province.
Le Thanh Tung of the Cultivation Department said the southern region,which enjoys climatic and soil advantages, has large areas under fruittrees and is the country's premier fruit exporter.
In recent years the region's fruit production has grown significantly interms of area, varieties, and output, with citrus fruits accounting fora significant share.
But the downside is that fruit production and consumption in the region still face many problems.
The small scale and scattered nature of farming, huge post-harvestlosses, inconsistent quality, unreliable outlets, diseases, and lack oftie-ups between businesses and farmers threaten sustainable development.
The small scale of production precludesmechanisation, and since farmers grow many kinds of fruits in the sameorchard, they are unable to supply large volumes with consistency insize, colour, and quality.
The region grows manyvarieties of citrus fruits like the green-skin pomelo, king orange, andseedless lemon that are in high demand in the world market, but doesnot have areas specialising in one or the other.
There is also a lack of quality packaging plants in the region.
There is no planning in growing fruits and farmers decide what to growbased on factors like a recent bumper crop, causing prices to bevolatile.
To sustainably develop citrus farming inthe south, each province should restructure production and developcoordination between production and consumption, Tung said.
Hoang Quoc Tuan, director of the Agriculture Planning and DesignInstitute, said farmers should increase application of good agriculturalpractice standards to raise the value of their fruits.
Authorities should think of consumption markets and set up packagingand processing factories when making zoning plans for citrus fruitdevelopment, he said.
They should work with supermarkets and other distributors to reduce intermediary costs involved in consumption, he added.
Nguyen Minh Chau, director of the Southern Fruit Research Institute,said localities should develop systems that can supply clean,high-quality citrus seedlings. Proper planting techniques should beadopted to control diseases, he said.-VNA
Le Thanh Tung of the Cultivation Department said the southern region,which enjoys climatic and soil advantages, has large areas under fruittrees and is the country's premier fruit exporter.
In recent years the region's fruit production has grown significantly interms of area, varieties, and output, with citrus fruits accounting fora significant share.
But the downside is that fruit production and consumption in the region still face many problems.
The small scale and scattered nature of farming, huge post-harvestlosses, inconsistent quality, unreliable outlets, diseases, and lack oftie-ups between businesses and farmers threaten sustainable development.
The small scale of production precludesmechanisation, and since farmers grow many kinds of fruits in the sameorchard, they are unable to supply large volumes with consistency insize, colour, and quality.
The region grows manyvarieties of citrus fruits like the green-skin pomelo, king orange, andseedless lemon that are in high demand in the world market, but doesnot have areas specialising in one or the other.
There is also a lack of quality packaging plants in the region.
There is no planning in growing fruits and farmers decide what to growbased on factors like a recent bumper crop, causing prices to bevolatile.
To sustainably develop citrus farming inthe south, each province should restructure production and developcoordination between production and consumption, Tung said.
Hoang Quoc Tuan, director of the Agriculture Planning and DesignInstitute, said farmers should increase application of good agriculturalpractice standards to raise the value of their fruits.
Authorities should think of consumption markets and set up packagingand processing factories when making zoning plans for citrus fruitdevelopment, he said.
They should work with supermarkets and other distributors to reduce intermediary costs involved in consumption, he added.
Nguyen Minh Chau, director of the Southern Fruit Research Institute,said localities should develop systems that can supply clean,high-quality citrus seedlings. Proper planting techniques should beadopted to control diseases, he said.-VNA
