Connecting supply and demand creates momentum for Thanh Hoa agricultural products to go further (Part 1): Developing key agricultural products applying high technology on a large scale

In recent years, the province's agricultural sector has been transforming strongly towards modernity and sustainability. From production models in greenhouses and net houses to digital transformation and the application of artificial intelligence (AI), many cooperatives and enterprises have boldly invested in large-scale production, forming high-tech agricultural zones, creating key products with high economic value, meeting domestic market demand and aiming for export.

Hydroponic vegetable growing model in Dong Son ward applies high technology in production.

Spread from billion-dollar models

Dong Tien Agricultural Service Cooperative, Dong Tien Ward is considered a typical example of applying high technology to production. The Cooperative has invested in a 20,000m2 greenhouse system, a 2,000m2 net house for growing Phalaenopsis orchids, a drip irrigation system, automatic control, pest monitoring cameras and data analysis software. The entire production process is standardized in a circular and closed direction. The application of technology helps the Cooperative optimize costs, reduce labor, increase productivity and quality of agricultural products. Currently, the Cooperative grows Kim Hoang Hau melons, baby cucumbers, tomatoes, leafy vegetables according to VietGAP and organic standards, and the products have achieved 3-star OCOP in the province. Each year, the Cooperative supplies 120 tons of melons, 70 tons of baby cucumbers and leafy vegetables, 60 tons of tomatoes and tens of thousands of Phalaenopsis orchids for Tet. After deducting expenses, profit reaches 2.5 to 3 billion VND/year, creating regular jobs for dozens of local workers.

Director of Dong Tien Agricultural Service Cooperative Nguyen Xuan Thien shared: “Not stopping at the current success, the Cooperative is expanding the production area, registering the growing area code, standardizing the process according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP and aiming to export key agricultural products of Thanh Hoa . Technology will be the foundation for the long-term development of the Cooperative”.

Not only Dong Tien, many other localities in the province also strongly develop high-tech agricultural models. Greenhouse models for growing melons, hydroponic vegetables, circular livestock farms, and vegetable, root and fruit production areas linked to consumption are increasingly being formed. Thanks to changes in production methods, the province's agriculture has maintained a high growth rate for many consecutive years, ranking among the top 10 provinces with the largest agricultural production scale in the country. Up to now, the province has more than 220 hectares of greenhouses and net houses; 2,500 hectares of production meeting standards.

VietGAP; nearly 20ha achieved organic certification and about 5,100ha of organic production. Many high-tech livestock, aquaculture and forestry models have initially brought about clear results, creating safe, quality products to meet domestic and foreign markets.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the application of high technology helps increase profits by 200 million VND/ha/year for cultivation (2.5 to 3 times higher than traditional methods), 500 to 700 million VND/ha/year for livestock farming and 2 to 5 billion VND/ha/year for high-tech aquaculture. This is an important foundation for the whole province to achieve a rate of high-tech agricultural product value of over 20%.

Enhance the value and competitiveness of agricultural products

With the policy of shifting from production thinking to agricultural economic thinking, from traditional agriculture to smart, organic, large-scale agriculture, associated with processing and value chains, the whole province has attracted thousands of agricultural processing facilities, of which 59 enterprises own large-scale processing factories, creating a network of production links and product consumption in localities. Specifically, there are 7 rice processing enterprises with a capacity of 235,000 tons/year; 2 sugarcane processing enterprises with a total capacity of 1.68 million tons/year, of which Lam Son Sugarcane Joint Stock Company invested in a protein-rich brown rice milk processing line with a capacity of 120 million boxes/year; 5 cassava starch processing enterprises with a capacity of 160,200 tons/year; 10 fruit and vegetable processing enterprises with a capacity of 21,500 tons/year. In addition, the province has 6 fruit processing enterprises with a capacity of 13,600 tons/year (mainly canned pineapple for export); 3 livestock and poultry processing enterprises, of which 2 enterprises specialize in processing suckling pigs for export with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,500 pigs/day and VietAvis factory processes poultry for export with a capacity of 2,500 pigs/hour.

The seafood sector has 22 processing enterprises with a capacity of 170,000 tons of raw materials/year, including the production of fish sauce, fish paste, fish meal, surimi, frozen clams, etc. The agricultural product storage system in the province has also been heavily invested with 218 storage warehouses with a total capacity of nearly 50,000 tons, including 184 seafood cold storages, 19 agricultural product storage warehouses and 15 ice storage warehouses. The storage warehouses help businesses reduce post-harvest losses, ensure output quality and increase product value.

Along with investment in processing and preservation, many enterprises and cooperatives in the area have proactively applied digital transformation in some production and business stages. Most enterprises have built websites, used QR codes to trace origins, electronic stamps, and uploaded information on product quality, certification, and origin to the digital management system. Digitalization helps the province's agricultural products improve brand recognition, create trust for consumers, and meet export market standards.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Duc Cuong, “the agricultural sector is actively building and perfecting concentrated commodity production areas associated with growing area codes and export standards; attracting enterprises to invest in high technology, especially in deep processing of vegetables, fruits and aquatic products; promoting the application of AI, IoT, big data in monitoring and forecasting production; developing high-quality OCOP products... At the same time, training qualified agricultural human resources to meet the requirements of modern agriculture. With the synchronous participation and innovation efforts of people, cooperatives and high-tech agricultural enterprises, it is opening up a large development space for Thanh Hoa province, aiming to become an economic sector with high added value, sustainability and competitiveness in the domestic and export markets”.

Article and photos: Le Hoi

Lesson 2: Developing a business system and distributing agricultural and food products

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ket-noi-cung-cau-tao-da-cho-nong-san-thanh-hoa-vuon-xa-bai-1-phat-trien-san-pham-nong-nghiep-chu-luc-nbsp-ung-dung-cong-nghe-cao-quy-mo-lon-271176.htm