Dong Nai Focuses on Promoting High-Tech Agricultural Development

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - Besides its strength in industry, Dong Nai also boasts significant potential in agriculture, with approximately 287,000 hectares of agricultural land. 

Farmers harvesting durians in Long Khanh City - Photo by Phan Anh 

Comprehensive Policies Introduced

Dong Nai is a province with favorable climate and soil conditions suitable for producing various agricultural products, particularly large-scale, high-quality, and nationally renowned fruit crops. The application of science and technology in agricultural production has resulted in high-tech agricultural products, which the province considers an inevitable trend for transformative agricultural development. This shift has significantly altered the province's agricultural landscape.

In recent years, with the leadership and direction of party committees, authorities, and the consensus of the people, Dong Nai has promptly issued and implemented comprehensive policies to support the development of high-tech agriculture. These include policies on: supporting small irrigation systems, internal-field irrigation, and advanced water-saving irrigation; encouraging production linkages; promoting agricultural extension; supporting organic agricultural production; facilitating enterprise investments in the agricultural sector, among others.

The policies clearly define conditions, levels, and areas of support. Relevant departments have issued guidelines to help organizations and individuals access these policies easily. Regarding high-tech applications, the province provides support for building high-tech application models, covering 40% of the total model value (up to 1 billion VND per model). It also offers full financial support for GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and organic certifications, 50% support for building advanced water-saving irrigation systems, and 40% support for implementing advanced management systems.

Through mechanisms, policies, programs, and projects issued by the province, between 2021 and 2023, Dong Nai approved support for 22 projects/plans involving production and consumption linkages for agricultural products. These projects involve 16 enterprises, 20 cooperatives, and 921 farms and farmers, with approved funding exceeding 63.8 billion VND. As a result, Dong Nai's agriculture, forestry, and fishery sector has significantly contributed to the province's growth, with a production value exceeding 49 trillion VND, a 3.94% increase compared to the same period. This growth rate surpasses the national average and ranks third in Southeast Vietnam, contributing 9.64% to the province's total GRDP.

100% of Cultivated Areas Use New, High-Quality Varieties

Currently, 100% of newly cultivated and re-cultivated areas in the province use new, high-quality, certified varieties. Advanced water-saving irrigation systems are applied to crops over an area of 78,943 hectares, accounting for 48.77% of the province's key agricultural production area. Drones are widely used for spraying pesticides on rice, bananas, and durians by cooperatives and farmer groups, providing plant protection services for farmers. Moreover, 100% of rice is harvested using combine harvesters, while harvesting equipment is also utilized for maize, corn, and beans. Organic farming practices are gaining prominence, especially in fertilizers: biological pesticides account for 41.19% of total pesticide use, and organic fertilizers make up 82.3% of total fertilizer use (9.7% from commercial organic/bio-fertilizers and 72.6% from non-commercial organic fertilizers).

In animal husbandry, significant achievements have been recorded. High-tech practices are applied to 65% of pig herds and 49% of poultry flocks. Approximately 27.5% of farms use cold barns. The province maintains five disease-free zones and has 657 certified disease-free facilities. Additionally, 125 farms and seven livestock groups have achieved VietGAHP certification, supplying 88,100 tons of pork per year (18.36% of the province's pork production), 32,200 tons of chicken meat per year (18.53% of chicken production), and 283.2 million eggs per year (22.59% of the province's egg production).

Wastewater treatment technology in animal husbandry, particularly for pig farming, employs combined physical, biological, and chemical methods and is widely adopted.

The province maintains 14 aquaculture zones certified for VietGAP standards, covering 401.75 hectares and 80,788 cubic meters of cages/rafts, with an annual production of 15,695 tons of fish and shrimp. Intensive aquaculture spans 832.5 hectares (shrimp and fish). Fourteen enterprises in the province produce biological products for aquaculture. Biological technologies for aquaculture environment management help reduce costs, diseases, and ensure consumer safety while protecting the ecological environment for sustainable development.

Currently, Dong Nai has over 2,100 hectares of planted forests for large timber production and 10,666 hectares of FSC-certified forests. This represents a 3,600-hectare increase compared to 2021. The province also has about 200 wood processing enterprises using high-precision CNC machinery and one facility applying tissue culture technology to produce hybrid acacia seedlings, with an annual capacity of 20 million seedlings.

The effective implementation of policies, programs, and projects has fostered high-tech agricultural development, resulting in high-quality and safe products that significantly contribute to environmental protection, public health, and Dong Nai's GRDP. ​