Dong Thap (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, the largest mangoproducer in the region with 9,200 hectares of mangos and a annual output ofnearly 100,000 tonnes, is working to turn mango into a sustainable hardcurrency earner by 2020.

Accordingto Nguyen Thanh Tai, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, as part of efforts to boost mango production, Dong Thaphas invested in improving technology infrastructure, dyke system and farmingtechnology towards global agricultural practice standards (GAP) as well aspost-harvest industry.

Two mangofarming areas with a combined area of 33 hectares in Cao Lanh district and CaoLanh city have reached GlobalGAP standards, while two others with a total areaof over 48 hectares have met VietGAP standards.

So far,Dong Thap has developed six safe mango production areas in Cao Lanh districtand Cao Lanh city with total area of over 416 hectares.

Localfarmers have also had higher awareness of applying technological advances infarming. Over 80 percent of mango output has been bought in large amounts.

Meanwhile,the province has registered intellectual property for its Cat Chu Cao Lanh and CaoLanh Mangos brands.

Tai addedthat the province has been successful in providing mango throughout the yearinstead of just one season.

However,Nguyen Phuong Tuyen, head of the Office for Technology and IT Research underthe provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that inthe coming time, the province will not expand mango farming areas but focus oninvesting in storing and processing stages to enhance the value chain in mangoproduction.

Undercontracts signed more than two years ago, each month, Dong Thap has exported100-200 tonnes of mangos to Japan, the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong (China) andNew Zealand.

Prof. Dr.Tran Van Ha from Can Tho University advised Dong Thap to foster connectivity amongfarmers and between farmers and enterprises in boosting mango production, oneof the key pillars in the province’s agricultural restructuring strategy.

Meanwhile,Prof. Dr. Nguyen Bao Ve, former head of the Agriculture Faculty of Can ThoUniversity asserted that Dong Thap should manage nutrition for mango trees toimprove mango quality, while focusing on diversifying mango products to meetmarket demands.-VNA