Production linkage facilitates sale, increases value of agricultural products

Realising the policy of restructuring the agricultural sector, over the past time, Viet Yen district of Bac Giang province has applied a mechanism to encourage production under value chains to facilitate sale and increase the value of agricultural products.

Nguyen Huu Tuyen, Director of the Ha Anh Agricultural Cooperative, cares for the rose area.

Clear effects

The Ly Nhan Agricultural Service Cooperative in Chua village, Minh Duc commune was established in 2016. Now it has eight members with a total production area of over 5ha, including 4,000sq.m of polyethylene (PE) house.

Nguyen Van Quyet, Director of the cooperative, said: “The stages from preparing materials, seedlings, planting and caring techniques, and harvest to selling products are closely linked with each other on a concentrated cultivation area, helping product value increase significantly. For example, this crop the cooperative grows watermelon and cucumber, which are expected to be harvested in September, with an estimated productivity of 1-1.3 tonnes per sao (360sq.m), up 20 percent compared to the previous time. Along with that, the selling price is 10,000-15,000 VND per kg, up 3,000-5,000 VND per kg compared to the previous time”.

Since 2017, the district has provided more than 5.1 billion VND (220,000 USD) for cooperatives to complete the system of canals and roads into production areas; build infrastructure facilities, PE and net houses; register collective brands, stamps of origin and labels for a number of products such as the "Quyet Tam Vegetables" of the Ly Nhan Agricultural Service Cooperative; the "Khang Thinh Potato and Sweet Potato" of the Khang Thinh High-tech Agricultural Service and Trading Cooperative.

In the production chain, sale of agricultural products is always an important stage. Therefore, since 2017, the Khang Thinh High-tech Agricultural Service and Trading Cooperative in Dau village, Tu Lan commune has affiliated with the Orion Vina Food Company Limited (Bac Ninh province) to ensure the sale for its main product – potato.

In the coming winter crop, the cooperative will grow more than 20 hectares of Atlantic and German potatoes to provide for a business in Thuong village, Thuong Lan commune to process sliced chips. At the end of 2017, the cooperative was granted a certificate for safe VietGAP vegetables. Therefore, its products have been sold out just after being harvested.

Applying high technology to increase sustainability

Viet Yen district has built chain-linked production models since 2015 for some main products such as: medicinal plants; vegetables, tubers and fruits; flowers and ornamental plants. The whole district currently has 10 chain-linked models, mainly agricultural cooperatives.

According to Than Van Bang, deputy head of the district Agriculture and Rural Development Division, depending on types of crops, joining the production chain can reduce production cost by 10-15 percent per ha and the output can increase from 20 -25 percent compared to the traditional production. 

The most obvious result of this method is that farmers are provided with seeds, trained in science and technology, and ensured product consumption, thus improving productivity, quality, and competitiveness of products in the market.

However, at present, the development of chain-linked production models in the district is facing difficulties because the application of technical advances by a number of cooperative members remains limited, and their awareness is uneven. In addition, the consumption market is not really stable.

According to Nguyen Dai Luong, Vice Chairman of the district People's Committee, to cope with the current reality, the district has determined to increase the application of high technology in the production process as agricultural land is getting smaller while the demand for safe agricultural products is increasing.

In the coming time, the district will continue to allocate investment resources for infrastructure development, and form many concentrated production areas according to local strengths. 

It will focus on devising specific plans to promote and introduce the advantages of the region, brands and geographical indications of products in order to attract businesses to invest and set up links in product consumption, thereby increasing agricultural value and sustainability in production.