On May 22, the National Agricultural Extension Center organized a workshop on technology transfer, high-quality, sustainable rice production practices and communication on drought and saltwater intrusion prevention for Tay Ninh province and 5 provinces in the Mekong Delta region.
Mr. Doan Van Chien - Deputy Director of the Mekong Delta Regional Agricultural Extension Center - said that agricultural extension activities need to be innovated in the direction of being close to the grassroots level, directly supporting farmers and adapting to climate change and market fluctuations.
According to Mr. Chien, the agricultural extension development strategy to 2030, vision to 2050 identifies farmers as the center, developing agriculture according to the value chain and green growth. Agricultural extension work not only transfers techniques but also supports production organization, market connection and emission reduction.
The agricultural extension force will play a core role in training farmers, transferring advanced farming processes, building raw material areas and green rice brands for the Project of 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice," Mr. Chien said.
At the workshop, Mr. Tran Minh Tuan - Director of the Center for Hydro-Agricultural Research and Water Supply, Southern Institute of Water Resources Science - said that management solutions in the past time have contributed to reducing the impact of drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta.
According to Mr. Tuan, it is necessary to continue to improve water resource forecasting capacity, modernize and digitally transform in the management and operation of irrigation systems; and at the same time invest in connection works to transfer fresh water to water scarcity areas.
Mr. Nguyen Truong Vuong - Head of Bayer's External Relations Department in Vietnam - said that the enterprise is coordinating to implement the Bayer Forward Farming model in the Mekong Delta to train farmers to cultivate safely, efficiently and reduce emissions.
Ms. Huynh Kim Dinh - Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center - said that drought, saltwater intrusion, water resource depletion and market fluctuations are creating great pressure on agricultural production in the Mekong Delta region.
According to Ms. Dinh, this poses an urgent requirement to build an adaptive, smart and low-emission agriculture; and at the same time promote ecological and circular agricultural models in the coming time.
