Viet Nam has planned to have 500 hi-tech agricultural cooperatives and to increase the high-tech farming production value by five times by 2020.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which said that 60 per cent of the cooperatives would be located in the country’s major agricultural production hubs such as Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta, Hong (Red) River Delta, the northern mountainous region and Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region.

The ministry planned that each province and city would have at least three hi-tech agricultural cooperatives.

Of note, the production value of hi-tech agricultural products was expected to be five times higher. The average income from hi-tech farming products was expected to be three times higher than products which did not apply technologies during cultivation, from the current 1.5 times.

In addition, the percentage of cooperatives using automation technology models and biotechnology would be increased from the current 17 per cent to 30-40 per cent.

The ministry said it was important to develop a production value chain of high-added value farming products and to promote the linkage of cooperatives with enterprises, as well as to encourage technology transfer and provide preferential loans to agricultural cooperatives.

At the same time, training would be provided to cooperatives’ members. The agriculture ministry targeted that this year, 100 people would be sent to Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Israel to learn hi-tech farming experiences, and by 2020, the number would reach 500.

According to the ministry’s statistics, there are now 193 hi-tech agricultural cooperatives in Viet Nam, more than 85 per cent of which are operating in plantation and forestry, 9 per cent in animal husbandry and the rest in aquaculture.

They are mainly in Lam Dong Province, which has 36 cooperatives, while Long An has 14, Ha Noi 13 and HCM City 11 cooperatives. — VNS