Technological development can drive agricultural restructuring: official

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Tuan made the suggestion as part of his opening remarks at a seminar on the visions of and solutions to a smart and sustainable system of agriculture, which was held in Hanoi and participated in by representatives of the Government, the relevant organisations, and enterprises, as well as expert and scientists in Vietnam and abroad.

According to the official, the first pillar is the application of technology, particularly high-tech, to agricultural production on a larger scale. The second is promoting the reorganisation of agricultural production towards forming supply chains, with enterprises placed at the centre, and towards allocating support from farmers and cooperatives in terms of supply, technological application, origin tracing, and trademark building. The third covers serious and practical institutional reform, making the business climate transparent, and improving competitiveness to boost domestic and international investment in agriculture.

He said Vietnam exported US$ 36.4 billion worth of farm produce in 2017 and the figure is likely to reach US$40 billion this year. The official also pointed out some of the shortcomings of agricultural development in Vietnam, which include products falling short of potential, scattered production, low value added farm produce, and the low rate of technological application.

Tuan stressed that the seminar welcomes opinions to seek measures that will help Vietnam to take part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, particularly in smart agriculture.

The results of the seminar will become a reference point for the policymaking process related to smart agriculture building in Vietnam, he noted.

Participants suggested various ideas surrounding high-tech application in agriculture, including a smart agriculture management system and a policy on upgrading the value chain of rice towards sustainability and climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta region.

They also discussed cloud computing and clean energy in farming, while sharing Japan’s experience in managing smart agriculture.

The seminar was one of the activities at the on-going two-day Industry 4.0 Summit and Expo 2018, held in Hanoi under the theme of “Vision and Development Strategy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.