Ha Tinh: Digital transformation is the key to shifting to agricultural economy

The transformation seeks to provide a digital environment and ecosystem for agriculture, facilitating the transition from agricultural production to an agricultural economy and aiding farmers in producing high-quality agricultural goods with the lowest input costs and the highest selling prices.

Mr. Dang Ngoc Son, Vice Mayor of the Provincial People's Committee of Ha Tinh, discussed the locality's "revolution" in digital transformation.

Prior to the "revolution" of digital transformation, what was the status of the agricultural sector in Ha Tinh, sir?

Over the past year, Ha Tinh agriculture has made significant progress on its approach to reform the sector, with a focus on output growth and income improvement for rural residents.

The province's agricultural growth rate rose from 0.35 percent annually during 2006-2010 to 2.01 percent during 2016-2020.

Exclusively in 2020, the entire output value of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries surpassed VND 13,100 billion, and the production value per unit area surpassed VND 90 million/ha. The production structure has evolved from being driven by agriculture to being led by livestock.

The production value of the cattle sector increased significantly from VND 2,838 billion in 2011 to VND 4,883 billion in 2020, while the production value of horticulture remained consistent at VND 4,600 billion to above VND 5,100 billion.

Key goods and in favor, including orange, Phuc Trach pomelo, vegetables, export tea, cattle husbandry, shrimp farming, and material wood, among others, have seen rapid changes in the area, production, and quality. 

The proportion of the output value structure grew from 30,4% in 2015 to over 46% in 2020.

Due to insufficient economic cooperation, a lack of connection, and the effects of market fluctuations, epidemics, and natural disasters, a few vital plants and animals have yet to reach their full potential.

The adoption of technologies in production, particularly high-tech and digital technologies, remains low; the productivity, quality, and competitiveness of a variety of vital items remain constrained.

Several products lack origin traceability and manufacturing information transparency, making customers hesitant and doubtful about product quality.

The disconnection between the production phase and the preservation and processing stages causes consuming difficulties and unstable selling prices.

As you mentioned, the growth of some vital plants and animals in the communities has not been commensurate to their potential. Therefore, would Ha Tinh achieve a breakthrough in agriculture if it adopted digital technology for production?

We provide solutions to overcome limitations by assisting enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers in the adoption of information technology and digital technology throughout the production and business process. 

Ha Tinh has developed and implemented several digital transformation platforms and software, such as the Ha Tinh OCOP monitoring system, the OCOP Ha Tinh program digital conversion system utilizing blockchain technology, and the digital transformation system in the management and production of Phuc Trach pomelo...

As a basis for promoting the transition from "agricultural production" to "agricultural economy", the province will construct a digital transformation system of the agricultural sector, building a digital ecosystem, shortly.

Long-term, to support digital transformation in agriculture between 2022-2025, Ha Tinh will boost communication, raise awareness at all levels, and encourage the industry to establish digital transformation as a strategic and core mission for restructuring agriculture.

It also constructed a digital technology platform to support state management in areas such as management of reservoirs, irrigation works, rural clean water, dykes, flood and storm prevention, prevention of diseases and pests on plants and animals, monitoring, and management, forest protection, etc.

The province will make an effort to finalize policies on supporting digital transformation in production and business for enterprises, cooperatives, and household businesses in the agriculture sector, as well as adopting smart agricultural models and developing a logistics network that connects to the digital trade and production chain of key products, VietGAP, Global GAP, and OCOP products.

Ha Tinh will also promote items on e-commerce platforms to expose them to local and international markets.

In your opinion, what hurdles does Ha Tinh face on its digital transformation path?

Digital transformation is the most important and correct policy. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the specialized agencies have not issued specific directives, thus implementation at the local level remains uncertain.

Second, 5% of the population in Ha Tinh does not have access to a 4G network, and 26 villages in 7 districts with mountainous communes are not yet connected to the internet, making it difficult to coordinate efforts.

Both the quality and quantity of labor workers serving the upcoming digital transformation roadmap are insufficient.

The majority of owners of agricultural production facilities are untrained in management, production, and marketing, and their capacity to use digital technologies in production is quite restricted.

In addition, the region's production is dominated by smallholder farmers who lack linkages; centralization and large-scale production of goods have been established, but only to a limited extent, making it difficult to manage and monitor the origin and supply chain of products to ensure timely, transparent, and accurate products.

Thank you!