Digitalization in the fields
Erratic rain and sunshine, saline intrusion and increasingly extreme natural disasters are warnings that force people to change their behavior, lifestyle and production methods.
In recent years, in the Mekong Delta region, especially provinces and cities with strengths in rice cultivation such as An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho... the image of fields with agricultural drones is no longer unfamiliar, even becoming familiar to veteran farmers.
During the days traveling along National Highway N2 (section passing through Dong Thap province), we witnessed agricultural drones being used for spraying pesticides and participating in fertilizing. Rural labor is increasingly scarce, Mr. Bui Tan Hau (Dong Thap) invested more than 500 million VND to buy drones to serve agricultural production. In addition to using them on his family's rice area, he also contracts to spray pesticides for surrounding households. After 3 years, the model helped him recover capital and have an additional stable income.
Old farmer Nguyen Minh Tuan said that the drone spraying service is affordable, fast, reduces the impact on farmers' health and is more flexible when the weather changes.
From another perspective, young workers operating in the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta, especially the stage of spraying chemicals and fertilizing, are significantly reduced because the work requires a lot of effort and is toxic. By the sowing stage, this situation becomes more serious.
Mr. Le Quoc Trung - Director of the "Digital Agriculture" Cooperative of Dong Thap province (old) - assessed that agricultural drones have contributed to solving the problem of human resource shortage, especially in pest management.
According to Mr. Trung, this is also a stepping stone for digitizing and standardizing production processes, helping to make more accurate decisions and create standard rice products. Drones and advanced equipment also form a young, specialized workforce, providing professional services, reducing the burden on farmers.
Need capital to optimize
Data reported at the preliminary conference on 2 years of implementing the Project on Sustainable Development of 1 million hectares of specialized high-quality, low-emission rice associated with Mekong Delta growth to 2030 shows that in 2 years (2024 - 2025), the area reached 354,839ha/180,000ha, reaching 197% of the specific target set out.
354,839ha have been implemented with technical advances. In particular, regarding the income of rice farmers, based on the results collected from the 2024 model reports, the income of rice farmers in the model increased by an average of 13.4% or more compared to traditional farming.
In the context of global agriculture shifting strongly to a green growth model, the development of low-emission rice is seen as an opportunity for the Mekong Delta rice industry to reposition its value and improve its competitiveness in the international market.
To do that, businesses and cooperatives (HTX) need to have enough resources and capital to invest in machinery and equipment, and apply science and technology in production and business activities.
Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City) clearly stated that if the high-quality, low-emission rice development project is successful from now until 2030, businesses and cooperatives must have access to loans. That is, capital to pay for all stages in that rice linkage chain, capital to pay rice money to farmers when harvesting, rice dryers to dry fresh rice, must have rice silos, machinery and equipment to preserve rice to reach consumers' tables.
Passport" to the world market
In order to build a modern and internationally competitive agriculture, Mr. Nguyen Tri Ngoc - Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Agriculture and Rural Development - assessed the role of green capital flows: "Capital is an objective and practical need for sustainable and effective development, especially green transformation. Without guaranteed capital sources, including cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises, access will be very difficult. We hope that, through practical experience, the practical issues raised will be discussed together to remove difficulties and procedures that are still obstacles.
Sharing the same view, Dr. Mac Quoc Anh - Vice Chairman cum General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises - said that when it comes to capital sources, all businesses have needs. However, in the coming time, it is necessary to clearly identify which industries have sustainable development potential, which industries develop but are not sustainable, and which industries may gradually leave the market.
According to the assessment of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, some essential sectors that need to be prioritized for capital include textiles, garments, footwear, household goods production, light industry, heavy industry, semiconductor industry and information technology. In addition, high-tech agriculture, food and healthcare sectors also need to be focused on.
According to Mr. Quoc Anh, the most important thing is still to prioritize capital for production and business activities. This is the foundation of the economy. Production activities are highly sustainable because businesses must invest in machinery, equipment, factories, labor and fulfill social responsibility. These are all factors that create long-term added value for the economy.
When capital flows are unlocked, cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises have more conditions to expand production, invest in technology and improve competitiveness. This is also a "passport" to help businesses access foreign investors, attract resources, management experience and participate more deeply in the global value chain.
