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Cultivation to get fine tuning
A new business model on agricultural production, which requires far smaller cultivation areas, promises to improve the income of farmers in the Mekong Delta.
Trieu Cong Dinh, head of the Long Tuyen Vegetable Co-operative in Can Tho city, said the business models have been proposed by foreign companies, who are expected to become more active as subcontractors in local agriculture.
The Japanese-owned Fujiura Co. Ltd. based in HCM City, for example, is working with the Mekong Delta Rice Institute to plant, on a trial basis, a variety of new gourd named Fujiura Melon.
This is a strain of round gourd with a solid core, with only three to four fruit harvested from each branch.
The gourds, currently piloted in the Long Tuyen Vegetable Co-operative and O Mon District in Can Tho city, are shaved into 2mm-thick threads and exposed to the sunshine before being used in Japanese dishes.
Other foreign companies in the Mekong Delta are choosing farmers as their partners, offering new opportunities for local farming households, citing its small cultivation area, simple techniques and higher income.
Agronomist Nguyen Dinh Muoi, who has leased land to plant square-shaped watermelons since 2000, said more foreign companies were entering the agricultural sector.
The new business models use advanced technology, and the products are returned to to the investor’ s country or targeted for the export market.
Sub-contractors will also focus on domestic technology and human resources by providing new breeds and farming techniques as well as training courses given by local experts.
VietNamNet/VNS
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