A durian orchard is equipped with automatic irrigation facilities and meets Vietnamese good agricultural practice standards in Đồng Nai Province’s Xuân Lộc District. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Hưng

ĐỒNG NAI — The southeastern province of Đồng Nai has strengthened the development of partnerships among stakeholders in agricultural production to increase product values and incomes for farmers.

The province is supporting companies that participate in linkages to build infrastructure and power supply systems, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Farmers participating in the linkages will be provided financial support to buy seeds and install efficient irrigation systems.

It has more than 180 linkages among nearly 100 companies, 60 co-operatives and establishments, and more than 1,200 farming households.

Many linkages have borne fruit such as those producing black pepper and cacao for export.

Bùi Ngọc Thanh, who grows 2ha of cacao in Định Quán District’s Định Quán Town, said he had linked with the Ca Cao Trọng Đức Company Limited to grow cacao for eight years.

He harvests about 20 tonnes of cacao fruit and sells them to the company at a price of VNĐ5,000-6,000 a kilogramme.

The company instructs him on farming techniques, guarantees outlets for his cacao and pays a price higher than the market price.

“The linkage makes me feel secure to grow trees for the long term,” he said.

Đặng Trường Khanh, director of the company, said the linkage had helped his company ensure material inputs for production and be able to manage cacao quality.

The Lâm San Commune Agriculture Co-operative in Cẩm Mỹ District’s Lâm San Commune has linked with hundreds of local households to grow black pepper on a total area of more than 1,000 ha for exporting to the EU.

According to Nguyễn Ngọc Luân, director of the co-operative, black pepper of Việt Nam in general and Đồng Nai in particular has high quality and it is important to create linkages among companies and farmers in its production.

The world price of black pepper goes up and down, and the price has remained low in recent years, but pepper growing households are still co-operating with the co-operative to grow black pepper.

“The future of black pepper exports is bright and the linkage among the households and the co-operative will ensure sustainable supply for export, and both the households and the co-operative enjoy the linkage benefits,” he said.

The co-operative has produced black pepper under organic standards for more than 10 years.

The province is developing more agricultural products planted to organic standards, and is aiming to have 1.5 per cent of its farming land, or about 33,000ha, planted to organic standards in 2025.

Trần Lâm Sinh, deputy director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said developing agricultural production to meet organic standards was one of the province’s four breakthrough missions in 2020-25 period.

The department was co-operating with localities and departments to implement its plan of developing organic agricultural production, he said. – VNS