Leverage to bring Vietnamese agriculture towards modernization and greening

Combine harvesters help reduce labor, cut investment costs, and increase economic efficiency. (Photo: Viet Hoang/VNA)

Over 80 years of development with the country, Vietnamese agriculture has made great strides, becoming a solid pillar for the national economy, especially in difficult times such as natural disasters, epidemics or global economic crises.

From a famine-stricken agricultural country, Vietnam has risen to become one of the world's leading countries in exporting many key agricultural products.

That achievement is not only due to the resilience of farmers and appropriate policies of the State, but also thanks to the silent but persistent contributions of science and technology.

Now, as the world enters the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and green transformation, Vietnamese agriculture is also transforming strongly. Smart production models, digital farms, and precision agriculture are becoming increasingly popular, opening up expectations for a modern, low-emission, sustainable, and climate-resilient agriculture.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien, the current success of the agricultural sector stems from a series of correct and timely policies such as capital support, land, agricultural insurance, trade promotion and especially promoting the application of science and technology.

From mechanization of fields, use of high-yield and high-quality crop and livestock varieties, to application of digital technology and digital transformation, all have contributed to increasing productivity, reducing costs, improving product quality and value. At the same time, production thinking has also changed: no longer chasing output but shifting to improving quality, developing value chains, producing in line with the market and increasing competitiveness.

One of the clearest evidences of scientific achievements in agriculture is the field of breeding, especially rice varieties. Vietnam has mastered the technology of three-line and two-line hybridization, creating hundreds of high-quality rice varieties that are resistant to pests, drought and salinity, and adaptable to climate change.

ST25 rice variety was crossbred by Soc Trang scientists. (Photo: Trung Hieu/VNA)

According to Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Director of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, currently high-quality rice accounts for 70% of the cultivated area, typically OM5451, OM6976, OM18, ST24, ST25...; in which ST25 once won the title of "World's Best Rice."

Thanks to good varieties and advanced farming techniques, annual rice output reaches 43-44 million tons, making Vietnam one of the three largest rice exporting countries in the world. Not only that, Vietnam is also a pioneer in implementing the project “One million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta,” a strategic step in green and sustainable agriculture.

The “Green Label Rice” fields have now brought their products to demanding markets such as Japan and Europe with high value. Besides rice, science also promotes the improvement of fruit tree and industrial tree varieties, helping to stabilize production, spread crops, and increase farmers' income.

In the livestock sector, Vietnam is the first country in the world to successfully produce an African swine fever vaccine - an achievement highly appreciated by the international community. Currently, three domestic enterprises are producing this vaccine, contributing to protecting the livestock industry from dangerous epidemics, ensuring food safety and national food security.

Not stopping there, domestic research institutes have been mastering many modern biotechnologies such as: isolating, extracting genes, editing genes using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to create high-yield corn varieties, nutritious soybeans...; applying molecular markers and cell technology in plant breeding; developing enzymes and microorganisms in plant care and environmental protection.

Thanks to these technologies, the agricultural sector not only produces quality products but also optimizes agricultural by-products, processes waste, and actively contributes to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing a circular economy.

However, the road ahead is not without its challenges. The agricultural sector is facing a series of major challenges such as climate change, extreme natural disasters, fierce competition in the export market, and increasingly high demands for quality standards, green-cleanliness, and traceability. In particular, the bottleneck of small-scale, fragmented production has not been completely overcome, hindering synchronous development.

To overcome these challenges, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien affirmed: “Applied research in the agricultural sector plays a key role, bringing outstanding and comprehensive results to Vietnam's agricultural sector, helping this sector develop strongly in the direction of modernity, sustainability and international integration.”

According to the Deputy Minister, promoting the application of science and technology and digital transformation in the production, preservation and processing of agricultural products is an inevitable trend. It is necessary to support farmers in accessing smart technology, building a digital agricultural ecosystem and strengthening the linkage between four parties: farmers - scientists - businesses - the state to produce linked to value chains and consumption areas. In particular, Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation has been issued as an important strategic milestone.

This resolution not only removes barriers to research but also opens up a legal corridor and motivation for science to truly become the “central driving force” in socio-economic development. The output-based contracting mechanism, granting real autonomy, promoting the science and technology market... will help research organizations no longer “stand outside” but “lead” the innovation process.

Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW is expected to create a similar effect as Decree 10, which created the “rice revolution” three decades ago. It is not only a policy document, but also a manifesto for innovation in scientific thinking, activating action, creating momentum for the agricultural sector to enter a new stage of development - more modern, green and sustainable./.

According to Vietnamplus

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/don-bay-dua-nong-nghiep-viet-nam-tien-den-hien-dai-va-xanh-hoa-post1058427.vnp

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