Enhancing regional links in production and consumption stages isurgently needed to increase the value of farm produce in the MekongDelta – the largest rice granary in Vietnam.
Speaking at a workshop in Can Tho City on December 11, Vice Chairman ofthe municipal People’s Committee Truong Quang Hoai Nam said whilethe delta supplies over 90 percent of rice destined for foreign marketsand contributes around 27 percent of the nation’s GDP, the region stillexports mainly unprocessed farm products with low commercial value.
He urged research institutes and universities to get involved in theproduction chain and technological transfer through developing andsupplying high-yield, quality plant and animal strains as well asadvanced cultivating and breeding techniques.
Atthe same time, exporters need to share information to prevent unfaircompetition and popularise the brand names of farm produce in the globalmarket, experts said.
The Departments ofAgriculture and Rural Development in 13 cities and provinces in thedelta are collaborating to expand the application ofenvironmentally-friendly production models in accordance with the Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGAP) and GlobalGAP standards.
This aims to increase prices for export farm produce, particularlysuch staples as rice, shrimp, tra fish and fruit, according to Pham VanQuynh, Director of the Can Tho Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.-VNA