Businesses and cooperatives discuss measures to develop urban agriculture and high-tech applications at a meeting on November 3. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City needs to shift to an urban-oriented farming model and develop high-tech agriculture amid continued loss of agricultural land due to rapid urbanisation, agricultural authorities said.

Farm land losses to growing cities increased to 1,000 hectares a year during the 2015-2020 period from 700 hectares a year during the 2010-2015 period, said Nguyễn Hữu Hoài Phú, deputy director of the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

"It is anticipated to reach 1,500 hectares a year from now until 2030," Phú said at a meeting on Thursday.

The agriculture sector will continue to step up the transformation of farming toward urban agriculture and develop hi-tech and clean agriculture, with a focus on products such as vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, ornamental fish, and pork, beef and shrimp farming, according to the department.

It will also foster research to create high-yield and high-quality varieties.

With reducing agricultural land, vegetable and fruit production in HCM City must focus on improving product quality and build a value chain of agricultural products from production to distribution to meet customer demand for high-quality products.

Vegetable and fruit production in the city currently meets only 30 per cent of the city’s demand, with most products being distributed through wholesale markets.

Lê Hữu Thiện, director of Mai vàng Bình Lợi Cooperative, said with rising production input and animal feed costs, farmers faced challenges.

Prices of animal feed had surged by 50-70 per cent, with some types of animal feed even doubling prices posted pre-COVID-19, he said.

With rising prices of fertilisers and agricultural materials, producers might suffer losses if they do not raise prices themselves, he said.

But higher selling prices would result in lower sales, he said.

Businesses and cooperatives proposed that city authorities support them to get bank loans for investment in high-tech farming.

Revised regulations related to construction on agricultural lands for agricultural production should be in place to pave the way for the development of urban agriculture and high-tech application. —VNS