Bac Giang (VNA) - ✃The northern province of Bac Giang will focus on investment in research and the application of science and technology to serve local socio-economic development in the time to come, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

The province will also focus resources on investment in the application and transfer of key technologies such as biotechnology, information technology (IT), and new material technologies in the future. Particularly, the Department of Science and Technology will coordinate with research institutes, departments, branches, and localities to introduce new technologies to enterprises, cooperatives, and individuals. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is the pioneer in promoting the application of biotechnology and IT in the selection, creation, duplication, and production of agricultural and forestry products, in order to restore and conserve genetic resources of valuable local plant varieties and domestic animals. Bac Giang will also promote the application of biotechnology in waste treatment at industrial zones and rural craft villages, apply IT in the management of medical examinations and treatment, build smart hospitals, improve the quality of teaching and learning, reform administration, promote e-government, and push forward with new, energy-saving materials. It will also increase investment in science and technology and successfully implement scientific and technology projects at the national and provincial level. The province will also allocate resources evenly between technological research, application, and development, to match local conditions, incorporate science and technology into the production and trading of key products in order to improve productivity and quality while reaching GAP standards, and implement research and the application of science and technology for the socio-economic development programme. In the 2016-2020 period, the Bac Giang Provincial People’s Committee signed a programme to coordinate on science and technology activities with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, and the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture. Thirty-two tasks in science and technology had been deployed, contributing to increasing investment resources for the province. These tasks have positively impacted on economic restructuring, gradually forming a technology market and creating momentum for the rapid application of scientific and technological achievements, contributing to promoting socio-economic development in Bac Giang. Since 2016, the province has implemented 74 national and provincial science and technology projects with a total budget of over 222 billion VND. The province focuses on forming concentrated production areas, especially OCOP (One Commune, One Product) products such as clean vegetable production in Yen Dung district and Ganoderma lucidum and other mushroom production in Lang Giang district, developing litchi growing areas in Luc Ngan district and early litchi growing area in Tan Yen district, ensuring the areas meet export standards. The province also applies scientific and technical advances to producing high-quality cherry blossom varieties in Bac Giang city. Local people have reported earning net incomes of 650-800 million VND per hectare per year. The province has also brought new pig breeds with high economic value, such as the Landrace, Yorkshire, Pidu, and Pietrain breeds to the locality. Bac Giang also crossbreeds three or four foreign breeds in Viet Yen district and is building a model for clean pig breeding and consumption in Tan Yen district. The province has also put into production and widely applied technical advances in breeding and contributed to the development of the Yen The hill chicken brand, such as Luong Phuong free-range chicken breeds and hybrid sugarcane, with 1,000-5,000 chickens per household, and raising high-quality and high-productivity duck eggs. Through artificial insemination, Bac Giang province has brought new buffalo breeds and crossbred cows, and improved the local buffalo and cow herds in the districts of Tan Yen and Viet Yen./.