Breakthrough thanks to high-tech agriculture
Identifying agriculture as an important pillar of the economy, in recent times, Can Tho City has promoted the shift in agricultural production structure to suit climate change conditions, replicating advanced farming models. Especially in the field of aquaculture, the spearhead economic sector of the locality.
Can Tho has a great advantage in brackish water shrimp farming areas, with an average increase of 11.1%/year, from more than 90,000 tons in 2015 to 232,000 tons in 2024, an increase of more than 2.5 times after 9 years. Many models of climate change adaptation farming have been deployed such as 2-3-phase tarpaulin ponds, semi biofloc, automatic monitoring... helping the yield of white-leg shrimp to reach 20-30 tons/ha/crop. By the end of 2024, the area of tarpaulin shrimp farming reached 8,664 hectares with nearly 1,900 households, an increase of nearly 12% compared to the previous year.
The agricultural sector also has many positive changes. The city currently has more than 2,000 hectares of rice, 750 hectares of fruit trees and 24 hectares of vegetables certified as VietGAP, GlobalGAP or organic. Water-saving and emission reduction models such as 1 must 5 reduction, alternate dry irrigation (AWD), leveling rice fields with laser beams... with an area of over 300,000 hectares help reduce costs by about 4 million VND/ha and increase productivity by 300 kg/ha.
To date, Can Tho has been granted 477 fruit growing area codes with a total area of over 6,200 hectares, focusing on key crops such as mango, star apple, longan, durian... serving exports to the US, Japan, Australia, EU and China.
Mr. Su Quoc Loc - Director of Loc Mai Agricultural Cooperative, An Lac Thon Commune (Can Tho City) said: 80% of the area of 42 hectares of purple star apple trees meet VietGAP standards, exported to the US with a coverage price of 30,000 VND/kg, helping gardeners achieve a profit of 200 - 400 million VND/ha.
In An Thanh commune (Can Tho city), ecological agricultural models, smart irrigation, greenhouses, humidity sensors and environmental monitoring help reduce costs by 30%, increase productivity by 1.5 times. The commune currently has 11 cooperatives, 16 cooperative groups, 34 export growing area codes of nearly 260 hectares, average income of 500 million VND/ha/year, per capita income of 75 million VND/year, the poverty rate is 0.64%.
The journey of new-style farming
The leader of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City said that the city will synchronously deploy solutions to improve the agricultural value chain and develop modern production. These solutions aim to adapt to climate change and respond to international integration.
In particular, focusing on supporting businesses to invest in infrastructure, build large-scale processing and processing areas and cold storage, while promoting digital transformation, planning concentrated production areas and applying high technology.
In cultivation, the city aims to build a concentrated fruit growing area, encourage crop spreading, select varieties suitable for the market and climate change conditions, associated with processing and consumption. The work of traceability and brand building has been strengthened, expanded the registration of geographical indications and trademarks for key export products.
The seafood industry continues to apply high technology and digital transformation, encouraging businesses to digitize farming processes, use smart food floors and automatic monitoring systems. Planning key farming areas, promoting linkages between businesses, cooperatives and farmers, while strengthening cooperation between institutes - schools - enterprises in research, training and production.
Can Tho City aims to become a regional center for trade, logistics, processing industry, digital technology and high-tech agriculture by 2030, affirming its role as a driving force for development in the Mekong Delta region.
