Processing to increase value for farm products in mountainous areas

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mr. Quoc Doanh acknowledged and highly appreciated Lao Cai in welcoming private investors. The province only took six months to build the first processing plant  for agricultural products in the poor district of Muong Khuong, resulting in solving the problems of output for the province's largest pineapple raw material area and at the same time exporting Lao Cai's agricultural products to Europe.

The processing plant has just been put into operation, most of workers are ethnic minorities but they are professional and skillful which helps the plant run efficiently and systematically. Investors also chose the right product line to meet the market demand, mainly the European market.

In Muong Khuong district, pineapple and banana trees grow very early. So, when the processing plant is located here, it will take advantages of available raw material while the local people can sell their products stably.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of Agricultural Products Processing and Development Department (Agrotrade), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said: "In the context of COVID-19 pandemic's complicated developments affecting consumption in the domestic and international market, according to the policies of the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture, we have improved capacity of the processing plants for farm products, especially seasonal crops".

For example, in Muong Khuong district (Lao Cai), a large complex has been inaugurated  with the planting area of around 1,200 hectares to serve production of canned products, meeting demand on the European market as the new-generation free trade agreements came into effect.

In particular, at the compound in Muong Khuong district, about five containers of processed products are shipped everyday. Therefore, it requires high productivity and capacity.

Mr. Toan said, the key production localities focused not only on the raw material areas but also on producing post-harvest products to add values to the products, prepare supplies for post-pandemic period, solve the problem of seasonal crops, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic has made impacts on logistics and supply chains.

This is a practical activity closely following the government's policies which is constantly removing difficulties and obstacles but creatively paying attention to the bottlenecks of the agricultural restructuring.

In the afternoon of the same day, MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh and the delegation visited Bac Ha Farm of Vegetable and Fruit Research and Production (Bac Ha district, Lao Cai) and at the same time made a field trip to the cultivation areas of Tam Hoa plums and medicinal herbs in the mountainous district.

The mountainous districts, especially Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai and Muong Khuong are suitable for growing temperate fruit trees. Because these areas have favourable conditions of soil, climate for the growth of the temperate trees. The locals also have abilities to adopt to growing temperate fruit trees.

Mr. Nguyen Ba The from the Lao Cai Agriculture and Forestry Seed Centre said developing temperate fruit trees in Lao Cai requires application of farming techniques such as fertilizing and pruning...

Thanks to that, productivity and quality of temperate fruits are improved, facilitating harvesting, post-harvest preservation and supply to the market, ensuring quality and distinctive flavor of each variety.