Agricultural expansion in Gia Lai adds value to products, increases farmers incomes

GIA LAI — The Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Gia Lai will spend VNĐ100 billion (US$4.3 million) for agriculture extension activities from now to 2025 in an aim to increase the added value of agricultural products and farmers’ incomes.

An organic pepper orchard in Gia Lai Province’s Đắk Đoa District. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoài Nam

Kpă Thuyên, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said that agricultural production grew each year in the 2015-20 period and played an important role in stabilising the province’s economy and the life of farmers.

The provincial agriculture extension plan from 2021 to 2025 calls for 100ha of vegetable and flower cultivation with advanced techniques, post-harvest processing and preservation under Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards or organic standards.

Concentrated vegetable growing areas on a total of about 2,000ha using VietGAP, GlobalGAP, or organic standards will be set up by 2025.

Farming skills and techniques will be provided to local farmers, especially those living in rural or remote areas, and ethnic farmers.

Fruit growing models with origin traceability and efficient irrigation systems will be set up on a total area of 300ha. Fruit areas in which farmers have linkages with companies to secure outlets and stable prices will be expanded by 2,000ha each year.

The province will also develop medicinal plant models on a total area of 200ha. It plans to turn 500ha of unproductive rice fields into high-value crops like corn, vegetables and fruits to increase income for farmers and adapt to climate change. 

Acacia tree and indigenous tree cultivation will expand by 500ha each year.

Thirty-four agriculture extension models will use machines to tend and harvest crops, while drones will be used to spray pesticides to save labour costs.

The province will also expand animal husbandry by developing hybrid cow herds and breeding indigenous pigs, chicken, deer and other animals. 

It will have 4,400 cu.m of floating aquaculture cages on rivers, spring and lakes.

In 2015 – 20, the province spent VNĐ52 billion ($2.25 million) for its agriculture extension activities. These activities included providing 100,000 seedlings of various types of plants and 15 tonnes of rice seeds to farmers.

It grew 20 types of plants on a total of nearly 1,400ha in 2015-20. During the period, the province raised fish in floating cages on more than 15,000ha of surface water on rivers, spring and lakes.

Last year, the province achieved agricultural value of more than VNĐ30 trillion ($1.3 billion), up 5 per cent against 2019.

The province has nearly 850,000ha of farmland, including more than 400,000ha for short – term crops and nearly 440,000ha for perennial trees. Nearly 99,000ha of farming area have certificates of quality cultivation standards.

About 30,000ha of farming areas use efficient irrigation systems which save water and improve the yield and quality of agricultural products.