Farmers harvest melon at a hi-tech farm in HCM City. Photo: nhandan.vn

HCM CITY – HCM City plans to develop sustainable urban agricultural production with high technology to be applied in cultivation on at least 70 per cent of its agricultural land by 2030.

According to the city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the agricultural land area in the city keeps decreasing every year.

In 2010-2015, 700 hectares of agricultural land was lost each year, while in the 2015-2020 period, it lost 1,000 ha every year.

However, the good news is that the production value per hectare of agricultural land in HCM City has been increasing steadily.

In 2015, one hectare of agricultural land generated VNĐ375 million (US$15,300) each year while in the period of 2015-2020 one hectare of agriculture land brought VNĐ500 million of revenue.

The department strives for revenue of VNĐ900 million to VNĐ1 billion per hectare by 2030.

Phạm Đình Dũng, head of the HCM City Hi-tech Agricultural Zone Management Board, said developing agriculture with high technology would be the major trend of the agriculture sector.

HCM City set up the country’s first high-technology agricultural zone in 2004 in the suburban district of Củ Chi and a biotechnology centre in District 12, both of which are highly efficient.

Dũng said the city would develop agricultural production with high technology, accompanied by an eco-tourism space, thereby enhancing value and contributing to economic and social development.

The HCM City Hi-tech Agricultural Zone has been expanding its production scale in farming, animal husbandry and aquaculture.

In recent years, the city has focused on building facilities and establishing pioneering units in the field of smart agriculture.

Some of these facilities are the High-tech Agricultural Park, the Biotechnology Centre and the Demonstration and Experimentation of High-Tech Dairy Farming.

The municipal People’s Committee also approved a programme to develop plant and animal varieties and high-tech agriculture for 2020-2030, with a focus on research and development.

In addition, experts urge a clear and adequate legal framework for the management and development of high-tech agriculture, more investment in human resources training and incentives for R&D and public-private partnership in the field. VNS