What to do with agricultural by-products?

Hai Phong is considered the 'agricultural capital' of the North with many large-scale production areas. However, a large amount of agricultural waste and by-products need to be properly utilized.

Roca meat marinade product of Xuyen Viet Production and Trading Joint Stock Company is known by many people.

"Gold mine"

Talking about agricultural by-products, Mr. Le Van Viet, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Xuyen Viet Production and Trading Joint Stock Company (Gia Phuc commune) affirmed that this is a "gold mine" that has not been effectively exploited by farmers in Hai Phong in particular and the whole country in general.

As proof of this, Mr. Viet introduced the Roca meat marinade product produced by his own company. The product is made from hydrolyzed tilapia bones, combined with fish meat and many complete spices. Previously, tilapia bones were often discarded after filleting to get the meat, but now the company has processed them into a unique product, available in many stores and supermarkets nationwide. In addition to the barbecue marinade, the company also uses fish scales to produce crispy, safe and delicious snacks. "If you know how to exploit them, by-products will become a significant source of profit," Mr. Viet affirmed.

Straw is used as a substrate for growing mushrooms.

Not only in the aquaculture sector, Hai Phong farmers are gradually learning to make use of waste from the fields. For mushroom growers, straw is not waste but valuable “brown gold”. At Hai Duong Mushroom Production Company Limited (Tu Ky commune), each mushroom growing season consumes dozens of tons of straw. “While many places burn straw causing smoke and dust, we consider this a growing medium for mushrooms with high productivity and quality,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, farm manager.

Although valuable and bringing great value, agricultural by-products have not been fully exploited. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , the total amount of agricultural by-products in our country each year reaches about 158.8 million tons. Of which, 88.9 million tons of post-harvest by-products from crops, agricultural processing of the cultivation industry (accounting for 56.7%); 61.4 million tons of livestock and poultry manure from the livestock industry (accounting for 39.1%) and nearly 1 million tons from aquaculture.

Agricultural, forestry and fishery by-products are very large but have not been used effectively. Specifically, out of 43 million tons of straw, only about 52.2% have been collected and reused. Livestock waste has also not been well utilized, reaching only 48% at the household scale. Meanwhile, if processed and reused properly, agricultural by-products in Vietnam can bring in a value of 4 - 5 billion USD/year, but in reality, it has only reached less than 10% of this figure.

Building value chain from by-products

Despite its great potential, the utilization of agricultural and aquatic by-products has not yet formed a clear economic sector. Many by-products are still wasted or not thoroughly treated, causing environmental pollution.

According to Ms. Luong Thi Kiem, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, to turn by-products into resources, it is necessary to organize the collection - processing - consumption chain. Currently, the collection stage is still the biggest "bottleneck" due to scattered sources, short harvest time, and high transportation costs.

Straw covering carrot beds helps reduce weeds and increase soil looseness. Photo TM

In fact, some feasible models show high economic efficiency when implemented systematically. For example, the post-harvest straw rolling service can be organized into mechanical teams, collecting straw right in the field, selling it to mushroom farms, cattle farms or biomass pellet processing factories... This is an effective and easy-to-replicate way to reuse agricultural by-products. In areas specializing in growing carrots and winter vegetables, agricultural service cooperatives can guide farmers to use discarded straw, stems and leaves of vegetables to compost into organic fertilizer, and return it to the soil.

Phong Co organic farm in Nam Thanh Mien commune uses rice husks, eggshells, and discarded ripe bananas to make organic fertilizer.

In the field of aquaculture, the model of Xuyen Viet Production and Trading Joint Stock Company proves the high added value from deep processing of by-products. If expanding the scale and connecting fish, shrimp and squid processing facilities in the region, Hai Phong can completely form an industry from deep processing of agricultural by-products.

Hai Phong City can create a “by-product map” for the entire region, and count the output of straw, rice husks, aquatic by-products, livestock by-products, etc. by season and location. When there is complete data, it will be easier to call for investment in processing plants or connect consumption. At the same time, the city needs to have strong enough incentive mechanisms such as supporting loan interest rates for projects investing in by-product processing equipment and reducing taxes for businesses that meet “green production” standards.

Agricultural by-products can be used as raw materials for production of goods, contributing to creating livelihoods and reducing environmental burden. Therefore, farmers can consider these by-products as a form of renewable resources that need to be exploited in an organized and strategic manner.

HAI MINH

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/lam-gi-voi-phu-pham-nong-nghiep-518250.html