Hai Phong works to develop value chain for agro-fisheries products

Dong Du orange, a specialty of Hai Phong (Source: hpap.vn)

Hai Phong (VNA) – The northern port city of Hai Phong has rolled out several measures to support and form value chains for its agro-fisheries products.

According to Dinh Cong Toan, Vice Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the department plans to work with relevant agencies to expand markets for major products and those with strong trademarks and origin certificates.

The city will strengthen links among producers, enterprises, supermarkets, shops and consumers, he said.

Toan revealed that Hai Phong will work to lure investors to agriculture, especially high-tech agriculture, while developing the product information and traceability system for farm produce.

He said the department will also expand satellite farmer households in cultivation, breeding and aquaculture to serve the demand of enterprises, individuals and organisations in fostering connectivity in production and selling of farm produce.

The locality will allocate capital from agricultural and rural development programmes and projects to good farming models in concentrated production regions as well as to the building of goods’ trademarks, he added.

A report by the Hai Phong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that in the first half of 2018, the city’s agricultural and aquatic production expanded 2.81 percent from the same period in 2017.

To form goods value chains, the city has developed 385 concentrated production regions covering more than 7,800 hectares, including 277 regions for cultivation, 27 for breeding and 78 for aquatic farming.

The sector has built more than 100 high-tech agricultural models, along with more than 10 agriculture-tourism models.

In the first six months of 2018, Hai Phong formed 47 close production-selling chains, built the Hai Phong Agricultural Produce to support the selling and promotion of local products and received certificates of origin for 51 products.

However, the department also pointed to weaknesses in seeking markets for its products, along with inefficient activities to connect producers, enterprises, supermarkets, shops and consumers, high production costs and difficulties in storing fresh products.