HCM City (VNA) - The Ministry ofScience and Technology has urged farmers in the Mekong Delta to embracetechnology to develop smart agriculture.

At a seminar on using science and technology to improve agriculturalproductivity and quality held in Can Tho city last week, Deputy Minister TranVan Tung said the Mekong Delta plays an important role in the country’sagricultural production, contributing 55 percent of the country’s rice output,69 percent of seafood and 70 percent of fruits.

It also accounts for more than 90 percent of rice exports and 60 percent ofseafood exports.

But much of it is sold as raw products at low value. Inconsistent quality is aproblem that plagues the region.

Climate change and global integration have also adversely impacted the delta’sagricultural production, Tung said.

Droughts, floods and saltwater intrusion, often an impact of climate change,have greatly affected productivity and quality.

In this context, besides finding measures to mitigate the impacts of climatechange and mapping out programmes and policies to speed up restructure of thesector, quickly ramping up the use of technology is imperative to develop smartagriculture in the region, he said.

Using advanced technologies for growing crops, harvesting, processing andpost-harvest preservation would improve productivity and quality, reduce costs,improve competitiveness, and contribute to making agriculture sustainable, hesaid.

Talking about solutions for boosting agricultural development in the delta,Prof Nguyen Bao Ve, a former head of Cần Thơ University’s agriculture faculty,said communication is the main requirement in changing the mindsets of farmers.

The concept of choosing farming as a job when not knowing what to do is nolonger viable since farmers these days need to master the use of agriculturalmachinery and know how to use technology, he said.

Farmers need to actively improve their understanding by constantly learningabout technology and science, he said.

Buhler Group executive Manuel Murenhoff said farmers do not pay due attentionto post-harvest preservation, instead using rudimentary vehicles to transporttheir produce, resulting in large volumes of spoilage.

Besides, preserving fruits and vegetables at unsuitable temperatures makes themvulnerable to bacterial infections, he said.

That is why the quality of Vietnamese farm produce usually deteriorates whenthey are transported long distances and for long periods, he said.

The current 8 percent rate of post-harvest losses is too high and should bereduced to less than 6 percent by using technology, including harvesting withmachinery, transporting farm produce by specialised means and storage instandardised warehouses, he said.

Investing in modern machinery is difficult for individual households, but notso when farmers join hands through co-operatives or clubs, he said.

He pointed out that there is another possible solution, businesses investing infacilities and leasing them out to farmers.

He also introduced a “Smart Farm Data" model in which farmers useelectronic equipment to monitor their crops instead of going to the field.

The seminar also discussed brand building.

Nguyen Phu Cuong, general director of Dona Biotechnology Development JSC(Dona-Techno), said consumers are willing to pay high prices for brandedproducts.

To build brands, people in the agricultural sector must always be aware ofclean agricultural production by applying technology, strictly following goodagricultural practices and enabling traceability of their products, he said.

They also need to invest in improving their packaging, he said.

Delegates called for co-operation with research institutes and schools to gethigh-quality and -yielding seeds.

Farmers should join hands to create large-scale farms to make it easier to usemachines all the way from the sowing to harvesting stages and avoid beingexploited by traders or price drops following a bumper harvest and vice versa,they said.

The seminar was part of the International Agriculture Festival andFair of the Mekong Delta held in Can Tho from March 9 to 13.

It features over 300 booths set up by nearly 150 local and internationalexhibitors operating in the agricultural and related sectors.

Held by the Ministries of Science and Technology and Agriculture and RuralDevelopment and other organisation, the event aims to support agriculturaldevelopment in the delta through research and use of technology andbuilding brands.

It also features an exhibition of farm produce and technologies, a programme toconnect suppliers and buyers of agricultural technologies and equipment, a cookingcontest, and other events. - VNA