The An Phu Hung Joint Stock Company in the northern province of Ha Nam is cooperating with H.B.C International of Japan to carry out a project on vegetable growing and processing to serve both domestic consumption and export.

The project, which began in July 2014, grows okra, sweet potato and soybean across two hectares in the Phu Van commune, Phu Ly city using seedlings imported from Japan.

According to Nguyen Thu Dang, Director of An Phu Hung, the soil has been processed to remove unwanted components and no artificial fertiliser was used.

All vegetables harvested from the field have met Japanese standards for imports.

After the successful pilot project, An Phu Hung intends to expand the cultivation area to 100 hectares in 2015, Dang said.

The project also opens up opportunities for further cooperation between the province and Japan in agriculture.

In an investment promotion trip to Japan late last year, the provincial authorities sought collaboration with Shiga and Ibaraki prefectures which are strong in agriculture.

A business delegation from Shiga Prefecture recently visited Ha Nam to study cooperation prospects.

In mid-January, representative from a Japanese group, Showa Denko, also came to the province to research the possibility of building an organic vegetable cultivation farm using LED lighting.

According to Nguyen Van Oang, Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, modernising agriculture is one of three pillars of the province’s economic development, seeking to improve income and living conditions for people in rural areas.-VNA