Quang Ninh determines to boost digital transformation in agriculture

In order to help farmers and enterprises to produce high-quality agricultural products at the lowest cost while still reaping high economic value from good quality agricultural products, Quang Ninh's agricultural sector has determined the implementation of digital transformation as an important strategic solution for the sustainable development of agriculture.

The province is expected to create a breakthrough in productivity, quality and competitiveness for its agricultural products to domestic and international markets.

Innovating thinking, promoting digital application in production

Tran Viet Dung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dam Ha District, affirmed the district's strategic goal of continuing to attract investment combined with strong restructuring of the agricultural economy associated with digital transformation of the agricultural sector. At the same time, the district will continue to actively transfer and apply new scientific and technical advances to production, bringing plants of high economic value into cultivation, with the aim to develop Dam Ha into a key locality for high-tech agricultural production in the direction of concentrated commodity production in the province.

Not only is it focused on digital transformation in the fields of production and livestock, Quang Ninh's agriculture industry also strives to promote digital transformation in connecting and bringing high-quality agricultural products to e-commerce platforms, contributing to increased production value and income for farmers and agricultural production enterprises.

From standardising production processes, commercial processes, and encoding parameters, almost all agricultural products in Quang Ninh have gainded advantages in the market, are well received by the prestigious domestic distribution system, step by step approaching the "difficult" foreign market, and showing a much higher value than similar products.

Digital transformation towards sustainability

Although digital transformation is implemented after a few units, the agricultural sector of Quang Ninh has determined that digital transformation must be sustainable, thereby focusing on prioritising the building of a data system to serve the granting and management of planting area codes, connecting smart agriculture with the scale of specialised farming areas and industrial-scale production.

The province also promotes the formation of a digital agricultural ecosystem to encourage people and businesses to participate in digital transformation; building a blockchain technology application platform to provide information about the environment, weather, and land quality, which contributes to serve farmers, improve productivity and quality of crops and livestock, and support the sharing of agriculture equipment through digital platforms.

Director of Quang Ninh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Minh Son shared that the agricultural sector will focus on developing a synchronous and comprehensive digital transformation towards the development of high-tech agriculture and smart agriculture; agricultural management based on digital technology, building a digital data platform for industry management; and applying digital technology to automate production and business processes and manage and monitor the origin of agricultural products and product supply chains.

At the same time, the province also boosted the development of e-commerce in agriculture, focusing on the province's key products, adjusting the production structure towards promoting the advantages of each locality and region associated with market demand, adaptation to climate change and international integration.

Up to now, Quang Ninh's agricultural industry has completed the software "Database system for traceability of agricultural, forestry and aquatic products in Quang Ninh Province" at: https: //qn.check.net.vn/.

The system initially grant accounts to participate in the management of 142 establishments that are enterprises, cooperatives, and production, processing and preliminary processing facilities, and will then expand to agri-food stores according to chain, concentrated production areas of the province and localities associated with consumption and production of safe agricultural products, and connect with "Hanoi's agricultural, forestry and food product traceability system" to synchronously connect with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Through websites, the agricultural sector of Quang Ninh has provided information about 456 products participating in the OCOP programmes of 13 localities in the province with supermarkets, markets, 27 shops introducing and selling OCOP products, five e-commerce trading floors; coordinating in providing information for 418 businesses, cooperatives, and business households to list and transact online on e-commerce platforms.

Putting agricultural products on the e-commerce platform is considered by the agricultural industry of Quang Ninh as a fundamental step to change the way farmers consume agricultural products in the growing digital technology trend today. The advantage of e-commerce with fast speed, global scope, and being able to connect directly from sellers to consumers is an important factor to allow groups of goods, products, and sales of objects to be expanded and at a much lower cost than traditional commerce. Therefore, the application of e-commerce in supporting and expanding the agricultural product consumption market is becoming an indispensable business trend in the current integration context towards becoming a modern and sustainable distribution channel.

With positive solutions in implementing digital transformation, Quang Ninh's agricultural industry is aiming to develop modern agricultural production, increase added value, adapt to climate change, and improve productivity, quality and competitiveness of agricultural products and gradually raise sustainable income for farmers and rural areas.

Quang Ninh Province currently has 1,065 ha of VietGAP certified cultivation, 45 hectares of organic farming, 28 VietGAP certification establishments in the livestock sector, 416 establishments apply advanced quality management program, 14 fruit growing areas and five fresh fruit packing facilities, and 9 seafood export companies which have been granted codes, eligible to export to the Chinese market.