Ben Tre (VNS/VNA) - Ben Tre province, the MekongDelta’s largest producer of fruit, vegetable and other seedlings, hasstrengthened quality management to promote its seedling brands and agricultureproduce.

Bui Van Lam, Director of the provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said the quality of seedlings impacts theyields and quality of agriculture produce, and so the province seeks to adoptadvanced techniques and invest in infrastructure required to grow seedlings.

Authorities would monitor all households that grow or tradeseedlings to ensure they are of clear origin and consistent quality, he said,adding that all seedlings would be certified.

Nguyen Huu Lap, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee, said the province’s agriculture produce is diversified and wellknown, and includes xiem xanh coconut (a speciality variety used for itsjuice), green skin and pink flesh grapefruit, durian, Cai Mon mangosteen, BaTri cows, Mo Cay Nam pigs, and Thanh Phu mud crabs.

Seedling production is one of the eight key products forwhich it has built value chains, he said. 

Its fruit, flower and ornamental plant seedlings arepreferred by customers all over the country, he said.

Ben Tre also exports them to Cambodia and Laos.

Cho Lach district, its largest seedling producer, has 1,600hadevoted to producing around 40 million seedlings and 15 million pots of flowersand ornamental plants annually, according to its People’s Committee.

It has 31 villages that grow seedlings, flowers andornamental plants.

Many farmers in the district have switched to growing theseedlings in recent years as it offers higher profits than crops.  

But its seedling production remains on a small scale andscattered.

Le Van Don, deputy head of the Cho Lach Bureau of Agricultureand Rural Development, said the district has set up a programme to manage andimprove seedling quality.

The programme helps farmers register the plants from whichthe germinating seeds were obtained with competent agencies.

Twenty eight such plants and 90 orchards in the district havebeen registered.

To meet the market’s demands in terms of quality andquantity, the province has encouraged farmers to establish co-operatives forgrowing seedlings.

It has taken several measures to improve the efficiency ofco-operatives like providing their managers with training in management skillsand offering support policies.

The Thang Loi Agricultural Co-operative in Cho Lach’s LongThoi commune was established last September to trade agricultural inputs, toolsand services and produce seedlings.

Pham Hong Khanh, its chairman, said if farmers want to integrateinto the market, they have to work towards a co-operative economy andsustainable production.

Their products should have high quality and clear origins, hesaid.

“The biggest difficulty for individual farmers is that theyproduce products based on [the latest] trends, depend on the market and lacksecure outlets.”

Members register their production quantity, are taughtfarming techniques and offered guaranteed outlets, he added. /.