Hanois agriculture sector looks to grow post-COVID-19

Hanoi - Hanoi’s agriculture sector is facing a host of difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic that require it continue with restructuring and switch to new crops to ensure growth.

Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chu Phu My said the sector’s growth fell 1.17 percent year-on-year in the first quarter due to difficulties in pig breeding following the occurrence of African swine fever.

There were only 1.1 million pigs in the city, down 31.25 percent year-on-year, with output of 51,000 tonnes, down 41.22 percent. The winter crop, meanwhile, was down about 10 percent.

Fishery output, however, increased 4.25 percent to 27,000 tonnes, while poultry heads totalled 33.5 million, up 17.54 percent.

My said the agriculture sector in the capital targets yielding 89,500 ha of rice, 1.8 million pigs, and 38 million poultry heads this year, and is expected to grow 6.26 percent.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue asked that pig breeding be stepped up to 1.8 million heads to curb the rising CPI and that more fruits and vegetables be grown.

He suggested effectively using industrial and non-cultivation land to meet food demand, issuing mechanisms and policies to use existing agriculture land effectively, and attracting unemployed people from rural to urban areas.

Hue asked the Steering Committee on Programme No. 02-CTr/TU from the municipal Party Committee on the development of agriculture, new-style rural areas, and improving farmers’ lives during the 2016-2020 period to increase resources for public investment, contributing to economic growth and improving workers’ incomes.

The city’s Farmers’ Union has been assigned to guide farmers on production, connect them with scientists, businesses, and banks, and form new-style cooperatives.