The first Innovation and Creativity Startup Day: Techfest Bắc Giang 2023, and a demonstration of technology supply and demand connection was organised by the Bắc Giang Provincial People's Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Science and Technology. — VNS Photo

BẮC GIANG — Northern province of Bắc Giang's key priorities for the coming years include enhancing the quality and efficiency of scientific and technological tasks to serve local economic and social development, according to the head of the province's Department of Science and Technology Nguyễn Thanh Bình.

Bình said the province is to strengthen the management and guidance of organisations and individuals to improve the quality of proposed scientific and technological tasks, ensuring the right direction of research to meet practical needs at the grassroots level. Dialogues will be organised with leading agencies and task leaders to promptly address difficulties and obstacles in the task implementation process.

The province said it aims to coordinate closely between organisations, individuals, research institutions, technology transfer, and the Council of Science and Technology at the provincial and national levels to ensure quality, efficiency and alignment with the local development requirements. In 2024, the province will focus on researching and applying science and technology in various fields.

In the natural sciences, the focus will be on studying natural transformations, issues related to climate, soil fertility, natural disasters, climate change, and the interdependence between life and the environment. For science and technology, the emphasis will be on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to build a system for forecasting and monitoring flooding conditions and the operation of pumping stations to improve water drainage capacity in the rainy season in Bắc Giang City.

In the field of agricultural science, resources and the environment, the province will concentrate on researching and applying biotechnology in breeding, conserving high-yield, high-quality crops and livestock breeds, and prioritising local characteristic plant varieties with potential advantages. The application of biotechnology in diagnosing and preventing crop and livestock diseases, handling by-products, and environmentally friendly cultivation practices will also be explored.

From 2013 to the present, the state budget investment for science and technology in the province has been nearly VNĐ375 billion (US$15.4 million). Scientific and technological programmes, projects and tasks implemented in Bắc Giang have closely aligned with the province's economic and social development missions, linking production with market demand and exploiting the specific advantages of each region.

Bắc Giang has actively applied research and technology development results to progressively develop commercial agriculture, high-tech agriculture with high productivity and quality, organising production according to value chains, and connecting agriculture with industrial and service development. Notable achievements include the application of advanced techniques such as the CNC1 red lacquer and black lacquer varieties, V2 and CS1 oranges, Melanto and Atrice potatoes imported from the Netherlands, Nicola potatoes imported from France, Korean pear varieties (Super 007 Honey), Yên Thế hill chicken, Tân Yên clean pigs, Sơn Đông vermicelli, Yên Thế tea, Ba Kích tree, and Dành mountain ginseng.

Delegates visiting startup booths at Techfest Bắc Giang 2023. – VNS Photo

The province also awarded certificates of protection for domestic and international products, such as Lục Ngạn lychee in the US, Australia, Singapore and Japan; Yên Thế hill chicken in Laos, China and Singapore; Kế noodles in Japan, South Korea, Laos, Thailand and China; Chũ noodles in Japan, Laos and Thailand, contributing to promoting the significance of building and protecting domestic and international products, especially those with large export potential in the locality.

Bình added that in the coming time, the province will strive to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific and technological tasks to serve the local economic and social development. The province aims to increase provincial-level scientific and technological tasks requested by departments, industries and localities from 2023, with 100 per cent of these tasks being competitively selected and implementing funding in stages, progressing towards final product funding.

To achieve these goals, the province will focus on specific solutions, including dialogue with relevant agencies to promptly address difficulties during task implementation. It will effectively implement plans to promote research and application of biotechnology in the province, organise regular contests to search for research ideas, improve the quality of activities of science and technology councils at all levels, especially grassroots levels, and establish science and technology clubs for exchange, learning and experience sharing.

"In the coming time, the science and technology sector of Bắc Giang province needs to focus on several tasks to further develop the province's innovative startup ecosystem. This includes creating an environment, conditions and favourable legal frameworks for startups to innovate conveniently, and efficiently, with low costs and low risks; inspiring and motivating, and fostering the startup and innovation movement; allocating funds to implement programs and projects to develop the science and technology market; supporting the implementation of innovative startups, technology transfer; and promoting the commercialisation of research results, developing key local industrial products, and OCOP products." said Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyễn Hoàng Giang. — VNS