HCM CITY — HCM City is urging farmers to adopt hi-tech agricultural techniques in an aim to increase productivity, quality and competitiveness, Lê Thanh Liêm, vice chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, said.

The city is striving to become a centre for domestic animal breeding and seedling production in the south, Liêm said at a conference held on Friday in the city on the agriculture and rural development sector.

Last year, agri-forestry-fishery production achieved strong growth, amounting to VNĐ19.48 trillion (US$856.26 million), up 6.3 per cent year-on-year, he said.

The agriculture sector aims for a growth rate of 6.3 per cent this year, he added.

Liêm asked the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to work with the Agricultural High-tech Park and agencies to support enterprises and farmers so they can access high-quality breeding, investment capital and technology transfer.

Last year, the areas adopting high-tech agriculture increased to 389ha compared to only 101ha in 2016.

Enterprises in the city last year exported a total of 281 tonnes of high-quality plant seeds of various kinds, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

Exports of ornamental fish rose 13.8 per cent year-on-year to reach revenue of $20 million.

The volume of fruits and vegetables exports last year amounted to more than 453,400 tonnes, valued at VNĐ456 billion ($20.04 million). — VNS