Issuing growing area codes - the "key" to standardizing agricultural production in Ha Tinh

Mr. Nguyen Van Lam's family in Nam Son village, Ky Trung commune (Ky Anh district) is one of the pioneering households to renovate nearly 1 hectare of tea, grow PH1 variety and apply scientific and technical advances associated with VietGAP standards.

Thanks to synchronous solutions, tea productivity reached 3 quintals/sao/month (an increase of more than 0.3 quintals/sao compared to before); the number of times of spraying pesticides decreased from 10-12 times to 6-7 times/year; the company's current purchase price reached 7,800 VND/kg.

People in Nam Son village are excited because the tea plants are still growing well, without having to spray pesticides as many times as before.

Nam Son village currently has 41 households participating in tea production according to VietGAP standards with assigned growing area codes on an area of 20 hectares. Mr. Tran Cong Quy - Head of the Nam Son village tea production cooperative said: "Thanks to production according to VietGAP standards, people have kept full diaries, sprayed pesticides at the right dosage, and ensured quarantine time. Productivity increased by more than 10%, product value is about 25% higher than mass production, so people are very excited."

If the VietGAP process helps standardize care and cultivation techniques, the growing area code is the "identity card" of the product, making the origin transparent and facilitating connection to the consumption market. According to the leader of the People's Committee of Ky Trung commune, attaching the area code helps trace the entire production process, easily identifying the cause and the stage when an incident occurs, thereby raising the sense of responsibility of local tea growers. Enterprises participating in the local chain also control the quality of raw material areas better, making it easier to access information, thereby creating trust for export partners and customers.

Nam Son village currently has 41 households producing tea according to VietGAP standards with assigned growing area codes.

The issuance of area codes is an important step to standardize agricultural production and expand the market for Ha Tinh tea products. In the coming time, specialized units will continue to support localities and people in researching and selecting suitable production areas, completing documents and procedures to expand the area assigned with area codes in communes with strengths such as Son Kim 2, Son Tay (Huong Son); Huong Tra, Huong Xuan (Huong Khe); Ky Trung, Ky Thuong, Ky Son (Ky Anh district).

Not only tea, many other agricultural products in Ha Tinh are also gradually standardizing the production process associated with growing area codes to increase value. Currently, Huong Khe is maintaining 8 valid growing area codes, mainly applied to local key products such as oranges and grapefruits. In particular, the Phuc Trach grapefruit production cooperative in Ngoc Boi village (Huong Trach commune, Huong Khe) is the leading cooperative in granting growing area codes from 2023.

Through the growing area code, consumers, businesses or management agencies can look up and know clearly about the applied technical process (VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic...), how to use plant protection drugs...

Mr. Phan Xuan Hien - Head of the Phuc Trach grapefruit production group in Ngoc Boi village said: “Consumers are increasingly interested in the origin of products, and authorities at all levels are also focusing on encouraging the development of goods with traceability codes. The assignment of regional codes helps us to make production information transparent, facilitate access to modern markets, and gradually increase the value of local grapefruit. Currently, the group has been granted a product certificate in the second year of transition in accordance with Vietnamese standards on organic agriculture for more than 45 tons of grapefruit/year. This is an important condition for being recognized as a product that meets organic standards in the coming time.”

Phuc Trach grapefruit production cooperative in Ngoc Boi village focuses on developing high-quality Phuc Trach grapefruit products, associated with traceability according to growing area codes.

However, in addition to the initial results, the expansion of growing area codes in Ha Tinh still faces many difficulties. Many households are not familiar with keeping a diary, the management capacity of some cooperatives and groups is still limited, and the output is not large and stable enough to supply the modern distribution system. Mr. Pham Anh Thai - Vice Chairman of Huong Trach Commune People's Committee acknowledged: "Currently, the main output of Phuc Trach grapefruit is still in the form of small retail sales or through traditional traders. Linking with large enterprises to consume products, especially towards official export, still faces many difficulties. Local cooperatives and groups really need more support policies in terms of capital, technology and human resources to operate stably, manage production areas well, ensure output as well as procedures and documents related to shipments".

In recent times, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ha Tinh province has coordinated with localities, cooperatives, and enterprises to promote the establishment of growing area codes for key crops. Many training courses on processes, standards, and technical documents have been organized for officials, local authorities, and people. To date, the province has issued 102 growing area codes with an area of over 1,570 hectares, mainly rice, tea, and fruit trees. According to the industry, coding growing areas not only helps standardize the care and management process, but also serves to warn of epidemics, plan production, and estimate productivity. This is also an important criterion in the process of building advanced, model new rural communes according to Decision No. 318/QD-TTg dated March 8, 2022 of the Prime Minister promulgating the National Criteria for Advanced New Rural Communes for the period 2021 - 2025.

Huong Khe district is maintaining 8 growing area codes, mainly for local key products such as oranges and grapefruits.

Mr. Nguyen Tong Phong - Deputy Head of the Ha Tinh Department of Crop Production and Livestock (Department of Agriculture and Environment) said: “The growing area code is issued to serve the state management of agricultural product quality, ensure food safety and traceability of products. In the coming time, the province will continue to improve the management system, invest in technical infrastructure, support people, businesses, and cooperatives to apply digital technology in monitoring production areas. At the same time, strengthen management and supervision after code issuance; promote linkages with businesses to purchase, process, and consume products according to the value chain, contributing to improving the economic efficiency of local agricultural products”.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/cap-ma-so-vung-trong-chia-khoa-chuan-hoa-san-xuat-nong-san-ha-tinh-post289847.html