|
Ministry approves plan to cultivate key export crops
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has approved a plan to increase the agricultural sector’s competitiveness on the global market.
Priority will be given to the development of main crops such as rice, vegetables, beans and high export-value plants, including coffee, rubber, pepper, cashew, tea, fruit and cocoa.
To maintain its rank as the world’s third largest rice exporter, the country will expand its rice cultivation areas in the Red River and Mekong deltas, and use new high-yield rice strains and advanced farming technology.
In the midland, mountainous, and Central Highlands areas as well as rural areas, the ministry plans to further invest in irrigation works and step up agricultural extension programmes to ensure food security.
The agricultural sector will encourage the wide application of advanced farming methods to increase productivity and quality of rice and reduce the production cost to raise the competitiveness of the product on the global market.
Agriculture officials also plan to develop rice hybrid cultivation to reach the target of 36.5 million tonnes of rice in 2010, 38 million tonnes in 2015 and 39.8 million tonnes in 2020.
Coffee plantations will be expanded to 500,000 ha by 2010, chiefly in the Central Highlands , northwest mountainous provinces and north central areas.
Coffee output is expected to reach 976,000 tonnes in 2010 and 1.1 million tonnes in 2020.
To achieve this end, the agricultural sector plans to invest 33 trillion VND (2 billion USD) in growing, harvesting, processing and exporting coffee.
In an effort to develop other crops, the ministry plans to expand tea, maize, potato, citrus fruit, litchi, longan, cinnamon and anise cultivation in the country’s northeast area.
Maize, soybeans, temperate fruit trees and special rice will be grown in the northwest.
The country’s two biggest deltas, the Red River Delta and Mekong Delta, will plant rice, vegetables and fruit trees.
Over the last nine months, agricultural export value hit 6.8 billion USD, a 42.7 percent year-on-year increase.
The ministry attributed the increase to an increase of 29-40 percent in the export price of key farm produce, including rubber, tea and cashew.
The export value of rice, coffee and rubber each exceeded the level of 1 billion USD in the last nine months.
VNA
|
