Organic agriculture requires consistent long-term efforts

Can Tho city Sub-Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection have recently coordinated with the Districts' Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize the workshop on "Organic production, practice and development orientation".

Can Tho is a key agricultural production province in the Mekong Delta. The organic agricultural production in the city is also recommended and promoted by the local government. According to Mr. Tran Thai Nghiem, Deputy Director of Can Tho City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Can Tho city currently has nearly 80,000 hectares of rice, 23.5 thousand hectares of fruit crops and 3,000 hectares of aquaculture land. The local farmers still rely on using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, so organic agriculture production is still very limited.

Organic agricultural production is currently considered a necessary trend in agricultural production of Can Tho as well as other regions in Vietnam. Organic agricultural production aims to meet the increasing demands of domestic and foreign consumers; while contribute to the protection of the ecological environment and human habitat.

The agricultural sector of Can Tho city is recommending farmers and farms to produce in the direction of organic agriculture to meet VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards. Additionally, some businesses have boldly invested in organic agriculture; they eliminated the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in production, and use organic fertilizers and bio-organic drugs as replacement. 

Organic agriculture is also a social concern as well as a premise for the agricultural sector to restructure production in the near future. However, developing organic agriculture is not a simple task that can be completed immediately. It is a transitional process, requiring the cooperation between of various branches and levels, as well as the persistent determination of farmers.

Mr. Pham Van Quynh, former Director of Can Tho City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that in order to have further breakthrough in the development of organic agriculture, ia long-term orientation and strategy is extremely important. Because this is not a simple conversion of conventional agricultural production to organic agricultural production; long-term sustainability must be prioritized. When it comes to sustainability, we must start from land and water sources, then we can apply techniques, organic fertilizers, and biological pesticides, thereby creating sustainable high-quality products.

According to Mr. Quynh, countries around the world are focusing on high organic agricultural products including the Europe, the US, Australia, Japan, etc. On the other hand, organic agricultural production in Vietnam is still limited and fail to meet the requirements of many markets around the world. Hence, the agricultural sector needs to assess the market, implement planning to organize large-scale organic agricultural production areas with businesses as the spearhead in linking consumption for farmers.

Furethermore, organic agricultural production requires a source of bio-organic fertilizers as well as natural measures to control diseases on plants and animals. Farmers must know how to utilize by-products from cultivation and livestock to create organic fertilizers that can serve crops or livestock, in addition to reducing costs, protecting the environment, the community health and improving income for farmers.

Dr. Ngo Thi Thanh Truc, Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, Can Tho University, said that the global market will gradually have higher demand for safety, clean, and environmentally friendly products. Therefore, if our agricultural products fail to meet this basic demand, it will prove to be a big obstacle in promoting the development and formation of organic agricultural production in the future.

Highly efficient organic agricultural production requires the government to promote the following actions: developing growing area codes, changing the production mindset from chemical fertilizers and pesticides to biological organic replacements, build a chain of products trading and consumption, and so on.

Organic agriculture is considered an environmentally friendly trend that aims towards ecological balance, contributing to the protection of soil resources, ecosystems and human health. In economic terms, organic agricultural products are presently favored by consumers at higher prices, which can be beneficial to the environment while bringing high economic value. However, organic agricultural production is limited. According to statistics, the organic agriculture area in Vietnam currently accounts for only approximately 0.4% of the total agricultural land area.