Experts: Room for technological use in agriculture remains huge

According to the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, in recent years, agriculture enjoyed huge scientific and technological contributions with new studies on rice varieties, animal husbandry, and fruit cultivation. 

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of the institute, admitted that however, high-tech agriculture accounts for only 0.2 percent of the gross domestic product, compared to 0.4 percent in nearby countries and 1-2 percent in Thailand and Malaysia. 

Nguyen Hoang, from the US’ University of California (Davis campus), said in the long term, representatives from businesses and cooperatives should be allowed to join research and investment funds, appraisal processes, and workforce training systems to form a chain in smart agricultural ecosystems. 

He said in developed countries, universities, agricultural ministry’s centres, and private firms are in charge of developing agricultural technology.

According to him, intersectional projects could be done on the back of close collaboration among the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and units collecting overseas information. 

Agricultural encouragement units, local authorities, and businesses could consult such information when considering manufacturing and distribution decisions, he said. 

Hoang suggested that the Government allow firms and foreign experts to join project appraisal to increase the practicability of products. 

Experts said Vietnam should actively establish partnerships with countries that take the lead in science and technology, such as the US and Germany, so as to access new technological advances and step up technological transfers. 

Tuan said Vietnam remains weak in preservation and processing so it could do with learning about new technologies in classification, biology, and nanotechnology to care for plants and animals through digital systems. 

Vietnam would benefit from liaising with foreign partners to consult their modern agricultural models and ecosystems to shape a smart agriculture sector, he said, adding that research institutes and universities need to build a channel to popularise products.