The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a workshop in Can Tho city to collect ideas for the Sustainable Development Project of one million hectares (ha) specialising in high-quality rice associated with green growth in the Mekong Delta
So far, 12 out of 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have registered to participate in the project, with the orientation that the area for specialised production of high-quality rice will reach 719,000 ha by 2025 and more than 1.015 million ha by 2030; in which, An Giang province is the locality that registers the largest high-quality rice production area (expected to reach 150,000 ha by 2025 and 200,000 ha by 2030).
On the basis of the rice planning orientation of each locality in the region, deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Thanh Nam, analysed that the reorganisation of production would still face many difficulties in terms of production area conversion, linking farmers to participate in cooperatives, especially calling for businesses to join. Over the past time, MARD has coordinated with the World Bank and specialised agencies to try to speed up the early completion of the draft scheme and submit it to the Prime Minister for approval.
The rice areas registered to participate in the scheme by 2025 are those with suitable production conditions, with relatively good infrastructure investment and production organisation. The survey results on rice production in the Mekong Delta in four localities, namely Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang and Can Tho city are to serve the development of the Project. The provinces all expressed consensus and highly appreciated the idea of the project and had a specific plan to participate in the project up to the period of 2025 and to the period of 2030.
