Boosting the connection in agricultural production, processing and consumption in the Mekong Delta was the focus at a forum held on March 12 in Tra Vinh province.

During the event, Director of the Centre for Agriculture Encouragement under the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, Phan Huy Thong, highlighted the crucial role of the consumer market in ensuring efficiency and sustainability in shifts from rice cultivation to other crops.

Incentives should be devised to attract business participation in production while forming concentrated areas to ensure sufficient materials for processing demand, underscored Thong.

In 2014, roughly 80,000 hectares of rice fields in the Mekong Delta were replaced by other crops, nearly doubling their economic value.

Tra Vinh has shifted 3,000 hectares of its rice fields to other crops. It has also provided technical and financial assistance to local farmers while encouraging business involvement to ensure demand-relevant production.-VNA