Hau Giang province - a highlight in the innovation of agricultural extension activities

Giving farmers access to science and technology

Hau Giang province's Center for Agricultural Extension and Services organized a closing conference on September 8 in Vi Thanh City, Hau Giang province. The conference summarized twenty agricultural extension activities in Hau Giang province between the years 2004 and 2023. Additionally, the event celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam Agricultural Extension (1993 - 2023). Participants of the conference include Mr. Le Quoc Thanh, Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, agricultural extension officers in Hau Giang province, and businesses involved in agricultural extension activities in production development. 

According to Mr. Vo Xuan Tan, Director of the Hau Giang Province's Center for Agricultural Extension and Service, the agricultural extension system in Hau Giang Province has gradually expanded significantly over twenty years of development. The system has effectively performed the task of transferring scientific and technological advancements and restructuring the agricultural and rural economy.

Agricultural extension models have contributed to improving the quality and output of agricultural production, raising income levels, and improving people's lives. In addition, agricultural extension propagates guidelines and policies to develop agricultural production with a focus on food security. An effective agricultural extension system will contribute greatly to hunger and poverty reduction, and the development of agriculture, farmers, and rural areas.

Information dissemination has been identified as a key task of agricultural extension activities throughout all levels of the government. The agricultural extension network in Hau Giang province has organized over 500 discussions and seminars over the last twenty years. Agricultural extension forces have provided assistance to local farmers on the production process of crops, livestock, fisheries and policies and laws in the agricultural sector.

Hau Giang province identifies agriculture, rural areas, and farmers as the key interconnected economic strengths of the province. The transfer of scientific and technological advancements in agricultural production is one of the important criteria in the industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas. Furthermore, it is a key solution in restructuring the agricultural sector with a focus on increasing added value and sustainable development. Subsequently, these activities help to promote the province's socio-economic development in the modern global context.

As an agricultural province with over 146,000 hectares of agricultural land, its agricultural sector is identified as the second key strength of the province. Hau Giang province aims to develop towards restructuring sustainable agriculture. Additionally, the province will develop the large-scale production of high-quality commodities with the assistance of agricultural cooperative models; and form linkages in production, consumption, preliminary processing, and processing. Most notably, the local government has focused on increasing the value of products in association with the market and promoting the synchronous construction of infrastructure with an emphasis on proactivity, modernity, adaptation to climate change, and response to natural disasters.

Hau Giang is currently promoting agricultural extension activities in association with safe agricultural models, urban agricultural extension models, high-tech agriculture, modern equipment and technology, information technology, smart agriculture and so on. Hau Giang province's Agricultural Extension and Services Center has gradually tested and replicated new content and models based on the state of production in each locality.

Expanding community agricultural extension

Hau Giang Agricultural Extension has effectively organized the grassroots agricultural extension system with the establishment of commune-level agricultural technical groups. Each group is composed of three officers specializing in agricultural extension, plant protection office and animal health. Accordingly, the group advises the local Party Committee and Governmental agencies on agricultural production and technology transfer for farmers. At the moment, communes, wards, and townships with considerable agricultural production areas have active agricultural technical groups.

Hau Giang Province has established and launched 51 community agricultural extension groups in 51 communes across 8 districts, towns and cities. Each community agricultural extension group houses an average of 7 to 10 members. Most notably, the core members include agricultural extension officers employed at communal agencies, animal husbandry and animal health officers, plant protection officers, representatives from the Communal People's Committee, communal organizations, cooperatives, businesses, exemplary local farmers, etc. Community agricultural extension groups participate in implementing agricultural extension activities and provide agricultural extension services for farmers.

In addition, Hau Giang has established two consulting and agricultural extension service providers in Long My Town and Vi Thanh city. In addition to providing free consultation to farmers, these sites display and introduce key agricultural and OCOP products made by local farmers. Furthermore, they serve as a reliable supplier of materials for agricultural production such as rice seeds, vegetables, fertilizers, and biological organic pesticides as well as high-tech agricultural equipment such as greenhouses, net houses, automatic irrigation equipment, etc. These activities have contributed to increasing income for local officers in the agricultural extension system.

Regarding future plans, Mr. Vo Xuan Tan shared that the Center will focus on promoting the socialization of agricultural extension, combining state, business and community agricultural extension, and social agricultural extension in order to mobilize investments for agricultural extension activities. Additionally, the center will promote the active of farmers, farmer's organizations and communities in agricultural extension activities.

According to Mr. Le Quoc Thanh, Hau Giang province's Agricultural Extension Center is the newest addition to the agricultural extension system in the Mekong Delta region. However, Hau Giang province's Agricultural Extension Center has fully demonstrated the 30-year development process of Vietnam Agricultural Extension. Hau Giang province's Agricultural Extension Center has developed from six initial officers from Can Tho province to over 200 officers. The province now features a comprehensive agricultural extension system across all levels of management.

Mr. Thanh believes that Hau Giang province's Agricultural Extension Center will continue to develop effectively with diversified agricultural extension services that meet farmers' production needs. Future agricultural extension activities will focus on its socialization aspect. The government will play the leading role in agricultural extension activities. On the other hand, businesses and farmers will form a comprehensive agricultural extension network to put science and technology into production.

At the event, Mr. Thanh awarded certificates of merit to exemplary individuals who contributed to the development of agricultural extension activities in Hau Giang province.

Mr. Vo Xuan Tan, commented on future innovations of agricultural extension activities: "We must completely restructure agricultural extension activities from subsidized to service agricultural extension, from technical to market agricultural extension, from assistive to profitable agricultural extension, from planned to ordered agricultural extension, from single-value to multi-valued agricultural extension, from agricultural production extension to value chain agricultural extension, commodity industry, from individual to community agricultural extension, from one-sided to participatory agricultural extension and so on.