VnSAT sub-projects in Dak Nong completed ahead of schedule

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh led a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to inspect VnSAT sub-projects in Dak Nong province on June 23.

According to the report by the VnSAT Project Management Board of Dak Nong province, 8 sub-projects (including 5 main sub-projects, 2 backup sub-projects and 1 supplementary sub-project) have been completed.

These sub-projects include: State botanical farm; Upgrading roads for inter-regional sustainable coffee development in Dak Nia commune, Nghia Duc, Nghia Trung and Gia Nghia city wards; Upgrading roads for inter-regional sustainable coffee development in Duc Manh, Dak Sac and Long Son communes, Dak Mil district; Upgrading roads and irrigation for inter-regional sustainable coffee development in Nam Nung and Tan Thanh communes, Dak Mam township, Krong No district; Upgrading roads for inter-regional sustainable coffee development in Quang Khe communes, Dak G'long district; Gia Nghia Contingency Sub-project DN-XL06; Conservancy sub-project in Dak Ha commune, Dak G'long district, DN-XL07; Upgrading roads for inter-regional sustainable coffee development in Dak Nia commune, Gia Nghia city.

According to the set plan, these sub-projects have been completed and handed over before June 30 following the project's regulations.

For the pilot implementation of the landscape coffee model, Dak Nong province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with the Southern National Institute of Agricultural Planning and Projection, the Central Highlands Institute of Agro-Forestry Science and Technology, and other stakeholders have conducted surveys, assessments, completed pilot reports on the coffee landscape design, current status map and orientation, solutions for landscape coffee development in Dak Nia commune, Gia Nghia city.

The VnSAT project has organized training courses on sustainable coffee production and re-cultivation for members of the two selected cooperatives and coffee farmers in the region. For Dak Nong Organic Agriculture Cooperative in the period of 2015 to 2020, the VnSAT project has supported the construction of a drying yard (1,000 m2), a warehouse (200 m2), a drying house (120 m2), equipment and machinery include: 2 drying kilns, 14 farm-scale wet processing machines, 4 drying machines, 13.5 hectares of coffee installed with an economical drip irrigation system.

For Tan Phu Nong Agricultural Service Cooperative in the period of 2021 to June 2022, the VnSAT project has supported over 18.5 km of intra-field roads connecting to production zones in the form of public investment.

The VnSAT project also cooperated with consulting unit to pilot a linkage between the landscape coffee value chain and eco-tourism, invite businesses such as Corporation of Vietnam Post Office, PAN Group, Golden Bean Joint Stock Company (Shin Coffee) to visit the raw material area, train in roasting and processing techniques, and raise issues regarding product consumption for members of the aforementioned cooperatives. Thereby, the agricultural sector has communicated and effectively replicated the benefits on other landscape coffee regions in the province.

Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, Director of the Dak Nong province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development praised the benefits that the VnSAT project has brought to the local farmers and  agricultural sector.

In order to promote the effectiveness of the project, Mr. Pham Tuan Anh suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to support the province to replicate the highly effective results from the VnSAT project, expanding the landscape coffee model on a larger scale towards sustainable organic coffee development, increasing product value.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will develop and propose new projects based on the effectiveness of the VnSAT project in order to promote and replicate throughout the province, develop sustainably, and enhance the value of key crops with competitive regional advantage such as coffee, pepper, and fruit trees.

At the inspection, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh highly commended the efforts of Dak Nong province in completing the VnSAT project on schedule, ensuring the quality and efficiency of the capital source.

During the visit to the landscape coffee model at Dak Nong Organic Agriculture Cooperative, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh highly regarded the achievements that the VnSAT Project and the cooperative have attained. However, the cooperative needs to appropriately arrange the canopy layers of the landscape coffee model to bring the highest efficiency.

The Deputy Minister asked the agricultural sector of Dak Nong to continue promoting the benefits of the project as well as replicate it in the entire province.