Expanding the value chain of key crops.

The western region of Lam Dong province has four main industrial crops: coffee, pepper, rubber, and cashew nuts; however, the value chain is not yet well-developed.

The western communes of Lam Dong province need to promote sustainable value chain linkages between farmers, cooperatives, and businesses.

In Duc An commune, according to Mr. Vo Quoc Tuan, Chairman of the People's Committee, coffee and pepper are the two leading industrial crops of the commune, covering an area of ​​over 13,000 hectares. The locality considers expanding key agricultural value chains as a top priority solution for sustainable agricultural economic development.

Duc An continues to promote, encourage, support, and guide farmers, cooperative economic models, and businesses to develop in a direction that enhances the quality and value of products, linked to standards and certifications for good agricultural practices and food safety. This is considered a strength for the locality to attract investment and businesses to guarantee output. The commune continues to expand the scale and value of high-tech coffee production areas, covering 450 hectares with 2 cooperatives and 200 farming households.

Truong Xuan commune has a large pepper growing area in the western part of the province, with over 4,800 hectares. Mr. Nguyen Van Anh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of the commune, informed that some households and cooperatives have been producing pepper according to standards and certifications such as RA and organic farming, but on a small scale. The commune is currently conducting surveys and assessments of each household and group of neighboring producers to expand the standardized pepper growing areas to larger-scale operations, aiming to attract large enterprises to guarantee the purchase of the output.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, from Hamlet 10, Truong Xuan Commune, said that her family owns 1 hectare of pepper plantation. For the past two years, she has participated in local training courses on production according to certified standards. After two years of preparation, she feels she has sufficient resources and capabilities to apply organic pepper production methods, so she is registering with a cooperative that provides guaranteed sales to ensure a stable market for her produce.

Speaking at a recent conference while working with localities in the western part of Lam Dong province, Comrade Le Trong Yen, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, stated that the province prioritizes the development of logistics infrastructure, processing centers, and cold storage facilities; expanding international cooperation in seed research and technology transfer; and promoting FDI investment to develop value-added agricultural chains and apply high technology. This is something that localities in the region need to leverage to upgrade existing agricultural and rural value chains and improve the lives of the people.

The Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized that, to turn opportunities into reality, a synchronized effort from the government, businesses, and people is needed; clear planning, leveraging linkages and advantages with other areas of the province and beyond; targeted investment and persistent action. In particular, digital transformation is considered a leverage to improve value chain governance with contents such as implementing a system for managing growing areas, electronic traceability labels, online agricultural product trading platforms, and creating sustainable linkages between farmers, cooperatives, and businesses.

According to preliminary statistics, the 28 communes and wards in the western part of the province have approximately 235,000 hectares of perennial crops and key industrial crops. This area has established and maintained 113 production and consumption linkages for agricultural products along the value chain, involving about 10,000 households. These major linkages focus on key products, strengths, and potential of the province and localities, such as coffee and pepper. Many linkages have cultivation processes that meet national and international good agricultural standards such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, Organic, 4C, Rainforest Alliance, and UTZ.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/nhan-rong-chuoi-gia-tri-cay-trong-chu-luc-443339.html