Can Tho(VNS/VNA) - The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta Region needs to be more innovative inproduction to grow sustainably in the context of climate change andenvironmental and integration challenges, experts have said.

Economist Pham The Trung told the 2019 Mekong Connect-CEO Forum in Can Tho citythis week that the region needed to urgently address the global warming andintegration issues.

It should work to change the perceptions and actions of farmers and businessesand enhance the use of technology to come up with safe products meeting thedemands of both local and foreign consumers, he said.

Agriculture in the Mekong Delta faces challenges like scarcity of land andwater, natural disasters, failure to use technology, poor infrastructure, lowlabour productivity, and a lack of links between stakeholders, according toTrung.

Besides, investment in the sector, including public investment, remains low,though some public companies have entered recently.

To overcome the problems, the delta should focus on institutional reforms,enabling farmers to pool land to create medium- to large-scale farms,strengthening mechanisation in agriculture and creating agricultural valuechains, he said.

Delegates also called for establishing close links between localities in theregion as well as between them and HCM City.

"Links are key to mitigating the region’s environmental problems, findingoutlets for their agricultural produce and attracting human resources fromoutside," Le Tuan Anh, another economist, said.

An Giang, Ben Tre, Can Tho, and Dong Thap had cooperated for a programme calledABCD Mekong to jointly invest and develop certain products, and it would be agood lesson for others, he added.

The delta, home to 13 cities and provinces, plays an important role in thecountry’s economy, accounting for 80 per cent of its rice exports and nearly 60per cent of seafood exports./.