Towards modern agriculture

QTO - In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution taking place strongly, digital transformation is an inevitable path to enhance the value and competitiveness of all economic sectors. For Quang Tri, a province with strengths in agriculture, the application of digital economy and digital technology is identified as a breakthrough solution and a "lever" to restructure the industry, towards building a smart, modern, efficient and sustainable agriculture.

Applying technology to production

An Xuan Organic Medicinal Herbs Company Limited (Cam Lo Commune) is one of the typical enterprises in applying technology to production in the province. The company has deployed an Israeli water-saving irrigation system to control water sources effectively and precisely according to the needs of medicinal plants, helping plants achieve the highest quality active ingredients. The entire process of growing and caring for plants strictly follows GACP-WHO standards (Good Agricultural and Harvesting Practices according to World Health Organization standards). This process is monitored by technology, continuously controlling important indicators such as soil and water, ensuring that medicinal herbs are always clean and safe.

The company invests in advanced extraction systems (cooking pots, vacuum evaporators, advanced heating boilers) and cooperates with GMP-standard factories, applying spray drying technology to preserve precious active ingredients to the maximum.

Director of An Xuan Organic Medicine Company, Tran Le Quynh Diem, said that digital technology is an important bridge to bring quality products to consumers. The company builds a multi-channel distribution system, proactively participates in retail e-commerce platforms such as Ecoop and APEC Global's system. The company aims for a circular economic model and pays special attention to transparency in product origin, building solid trust with customers.

An Xuan Solanum procumbens is grown on the hills of Hieu Giang commune with a closed process, meeting GACP-WHO standards - Photo: LC

Currently, An Xuan Organic Medicine Company Limited has 8 products with 4-star OCOP certification (ca gai leo tea, perilla tea, celery tea, pennywort tea, bitter melon tea, fish mint tea, passionflower tea, an xoa extract and 1 5-star product (ca gai leo extract). Each year, the company sells more than 25,000 medicinal products of all kinds to the market, consumed in many large supermarkets across the country.

Vuong Doan Seafood Production, Trading and Processing Cooperative (Ninh Chau Commune) is one of the units that boldly invested in a system of machinery and equipment lines, using modern processing technology in its operations, increasing value and competitiveness as well as building a brand and creating a brand for its products on the market.

Director of the Cooperative Nguyen Thi Doan said that the unit has applied modern technology to preserve aquatic products in a cold, dry environment at low temperature and humidity (40%-45%) to inhibit biochemical reactions, increase storage time and maintain product quality. The freezing technology maintains low temperature (-18oC) to preserve products after the freezing stage. In addition, the Cooperative has also invested in a Herbin flake ice making system with a capacity of 5 tons/day.

Currently, the products of the Cooperative are not only sold through social networking sites but also promoted and consumed on e-commerce platforms. The annual production output of the Cooperative reaches over 200 tons of dried seafood and over 100 tons of fresh seafood. Many dried products are exported to markets in Laos, Thailand, China, etc.

Expectations and challenges

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment (DARD) Nguyen Hong Phuong, with the strong direction from the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee and the synchronous participation of the entire industry, the work of digital transformation and application of digital technology in agriculture has achieved remarkable results, creating substantial changes from management, production to market connection.

The province currently has 372 standardized OCOP products, of which 96 cooperatives are the subjects. Most of these products have been supported to be put on major e-commerce platforms such as: Postmart.vn, Voso.vn, and are effectively promoted through the website ocop.quangtri.gov.vn. Many cooperatives have applied traceability technology, gradually building digital brands and trust for consumers. To date, the province has 93 cooperatives applying high technology, 181 cooperatives participating in production and consumption chains.

Many businesses and cooperatives apply technology to production, improving product quality - Photo: LC

In addition to the achievements, the application of digital technology and digital economy in agriculture in the province still faces many difficulties and limitations. The biggest "bottleneck" is that digital infrastructure has not kept up with demand. The weak and unstable internet network in remote areas and concentrated production areas has directly hindered the application of smart agricultural solutions. Many machines and equipment in cooperatives are old and degraded, not meeting the requirements of operating new software. The rate of people and businesses actually participating in online transactions is still low. The habit of using documents, cash and the fear of technology is still a big challenge that requires time and solutions to change.

To create a shift from traditional agricultural production thinking to modern agricultural business thinking, the agriculture and environment sector will focus strongly on training and equipping farmers with digital skills to become "digital agricultural entrepreneurs". Farmers will learn how to analyze market information, manage production via mobile applications, promote products on social networks and participate in e-commerce; organize in-depth training programs on data analysis (Data Analytics), AI, IoT... to build a core team to lead digital transformation.

Currently, the whole province has 372 OCOP products that are still valid, of which 306 OCOP products have 3 stars, 63 OCOP products have 4 stars, and 3 OCOP products have 5 stars.

The Agriculture and Environment sector will focus resources on completing basic databases on land, cultivation, livestock, forestry, irrigation, etc. and integrating them into a "Shared Data Warehouse". This data will help forecast the market, provide early warning of diseases and natural disasters; optimize planting area planning; and ensure transparent traceability.

In addition, the agriculture and environment sector will promote the implementation of pilot models applying digital technology in production, focusing on smart agricultural models such as: Applying the Internet of Things (IoT) with sensors to automate irrigation and fertilization; using drones to spray pesticides and sow seeds to reduce costs and increase productivity; applying artificial intelligence (AI) through smart cameras to monitor pests and diseases...

The industry will continue to support 100% of OCOP products and key agricultural products on e-commerce platforms, while deeply integrating traceability technology (QR code, Blockchain). This not only helps expand consumption channels, connecting directly from producers to consumers, but is also an effective tool to build digital brands for Quang Tri agricultural products.

Lan Chi

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202512/huong-toi-nen-nong-nghiep-hien-dai-9a72770/