Lam Dong (VNS/VNA) - The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands)province of Lam Dong plans to increase the area of farms with organic standardcertification by 575ha this year.

They are under vegetables, fruits, tea, coffee, cashew, andmushrooms, mostly in the cities of Da Lat and Bao Loc and districts of Lac Duong,Don Duong, Duc Trong, Lam Ha, and Da Teh, according to the provincialDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Lam Dong also aims to raise another 150 heads of cattle this yearto produce 18 tonnes of organic beef, 500 others to produce 1,250 tonnes oforganic milk annually and 9,000 chickens to produce 1.44 million organic eggs.

It will offer training to farmers, cooperatives, cooperativegroups, and businesses in organic farming techniques, and develop two organicfarming models for tea and breeding chickens for eggs.

It will develop brand names for and promote organic agriculturalproducts, and create linkages among stakeholders producing them.

It is expected to earmark 1.9 billion VND (800,000 USD) this yearfor all this.

Lam Dong is the country’s leading province in hi-tech farming andits agricultural products are well-known domestically and exported.

It has 300,000ha of farms where coffee, fruits, vegetables,flowers, and others are grown.

It has extensive hi-tech farming areas but little for organicfarming, according to the department.

Three years into its 2020-2025 organic agriculture developmentplan, the province has created 13 farming models for asparagus, durian, rice,coffee, macadamia, shiitake mushroom, water chestnut, root vegetables,artichoke, and beef.

It had 1,311ha of certified organic farming areas as of the middleof last year. The province has trained nearly 900 farmers./.