Dong Thap (VNA) – A workshop on digitaltransformation and supply chain in agriculture took place in Cao Lanh city inthe Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on December 21 on the sidelines of the2020 Mekong Connect Forum.

The event was intended to seek ways to help products andservices made in the Mekong Delta enter the global supply chain.

It saw speakers, who were business leaders, policymakersand researchers, discussing opportunities and challenges as well as specificsolutions to facilitate digital transformation in agriculture and sustainableagricultural development in the region.

They also exchanged views on how to make the processingsector a base for the growth of smart farming and to restructure theagriculture in association with the development of green economy, circulareconomy and digital economy, and the application of advanced technologies inproduction.

Digital transformation in agriculture must start fromfarmers, said Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, member of the executive committee of theVietnam Digital Agriculture Association, adding that it requires thedigitalization of agricultural production input and workforce to developdatabase for the process.

In supply chains, each “farmer” must be a “trader” whounderstands the market and stakeholders of the chains need to regularlyexchange with each other to maintain sustainable and long-term cooperation,Thuc said. She has been working with farmers to develop an agriculturale-Journal, create QR codes and promote traceability of origins and geographicalindication (GIs).

All provincial departments, agencies and localadministrations in the region must become engaged in digital transformation inagriculture to ensure the transparency of the market, said Dr. Nguyen QuocToan, director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority.Producers should also develop technologies relevant to each locality’sconditions and commercialise technological products, he suggested.

He also emphasised that farmers must be key playerscontributing greatly to the success of digital transformation in agriculture.

Dong Thap has seen a transition from agriculturalproduction to agricultural economy in which local farmers have boasted closerlinkages with experts, scientists and distributors in order to improve theeffectiveness of the value chains of local agricultural and fishery products.

Additionally, the province has adopted incentives toattract foreign direct investment into agriculture and developed a strategy fordigital transformation with focus on three pillars of e-Government, e-Economyand e-Society.

The province and the Vietnam National University ofAgriculture took the occasion to sign a memorandum of understanding onfive-year coordination in formulating a agricultural development strategy forDong Thap by 2030, with a vision towards 2050, and another on a project todevelop green agriculture in the province and help it improve added value andadapt to climate change./.