Farmers grow vegetables under contracts with corporate buyers in Lâm Đồng Province’s Đơn Dương District. — VNA/VNS Photo Đặng Tuấn

LÂM ĐỒNG — The Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Lâm Đồng plans to increase the area of farms with organic standard certification by 575ha this year.

They are under vegetables, fruits, tea, coffee, cashew, and mushrooms, mostly in the cities of Đà Lạt and Bảo Lộc and districts of Lạc Dương, Đơn Dương, Đức Trọng, Lâm Hà, and Đạ Tẻh, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Lâm Đồng also aims to raise another 150 head of cattle this year to produce 18 tonnes of organic beef, 500 others to produce 1,250 tonnes of organic milk annually and 9,000 chickens to produce 1.44 million organic eggs.

It will offer training to farmers, co-operatives, co-operative groups, and businesses in organic farming techniques, and develop two organic farming models for tea and breeding chickens for eggs.

It will develop brand names for and promote organic agricultural products, and create linkages among stakeholders producing them.

It is expected to earmark VNĐ1.9 billion (US$800,000) this year for all this.

Lâm Đồng is the country’s leading province in hi-tech farming and its agricultural products are well-known domestically and exported.

It has 300,000ha of farms where coffee, fruits, vegetables, flowers, and others are grown.

It has extensive hi-tech farming areas but little for organic farming, according to the department.

Three years into its 2020-25 organic agriculture development plan, the province has created 13 farming models for asparagus, durian, rice, coffee, macadamia, shiitake mushroom, water chestnut, root vegetables, artichoke, and beef.

It had 1,311ha of certified organic farming areas as of the middle of last year.

It has trained nearly 900 farmers. — VNS