A drone is used to pray pesticides on rice fields in An Giang Province. The province encourages farmers and companies to apply high technologies and machinery to grow rice on large scales to meet export requirements. – VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

AN GIANG – An Giang Province will focus on growing high-quality rice, tra fish and fruits this year because of their high prices and yield, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province aims to increase the area of high-quality and glutinous rice varieties by 15,000ha this year.

It will step up the inspection and grant of production codes for rice, vegetables and fruit growing areas to meet the requirements of export markets.

Localities in the province are encouraging farmers to link up with companies to secure outlets for their produce.

The province will call on companies to sign farm contracts with animal breeding households through co-operative groups and to apply technologies for breeding animals.

Tôn Thất Tịnh, deputy director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said his agency would continue to grant production codes for farming areas and packaging establishments to meet export and origin traceability requirements.

The province plans to actively participate in a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development programme to cultivate one million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice in alignment with green growth goals in the Mekong Delta, and this will also help farmers get profits of more than 35 per cent, according to the official.

It will boost the application of advanced farming techniques such as “three increases-three reductions” and “one must-five reductions”.

The latter requires the use of certified seeds and reduces the use of seedlings, nitrogenous fertilisers and plant-protection chemicals, and of irrigation and post-harvest losses.

The province plans to turn 7,400ha of unproductive rice fields into vegetable and fruit farms this year.

It will develop farming models with value chains, expand its large-scale rice fields and develop co-operatives.

It will assist large companies such as Lộc Trời Group and Tân Long Group in developing linkages with farmers and setting up co-operatives.

An Giang is the country’s second largest rice producing province after neighbour Kiên Giang.

It exports around US$250 million worth of the grain a year.

It had 20,000ha of fruit orchards with an output of 234,000 tonnes last year, 16,000 tonnes more than in 2022.

It harvested 652,000 tonnes of seafood, up 37,000 tonnes.

Most tra fish production companies in the province have increased their scale and have closed breeding processes. – VNS