Sustainable agriculture transformation project in Long An launched

The project, part of the World Bank’s national cooperation strategy, is implemented in five Central Highlands provinces and eight Mekong Delta localities from 2015 to 2020 with a total capital of over US$300 million, of which US$230 million comes from the bank’s preferential loans.

Its objectives are to help promote agricultural restructuring through increasing the sector’s institutional capacity, renewing sustainable cultivation methods and raising the value chain for rice production in the Mekong Delta and coffee crops in the Central Highlands.

Specifically, the project will be carried out on 200,000 hectares of rice with around 140,000 Mekong Delta households using advanced technology in production. It is expected to bring an additional US$40-60 million to the region each year. 

Meanwhile, about 63,000 households in the Central Highlands will apply advanced technology in cultivation on 69,000 hectares of coffee, raising total profits by an estimated US$48-50 million a year.

In Long An, the project will be implemented in Tan Hung, Vinh Hung, Moc Hoa and Tan Thanh districts and Kien Tuong town with an investment of VND289 billion (US$13 million). Around 25,000 local households will be engaged in the project. 

Nguyen Van Duoc, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and head of the VnSAT Long An steering board, requested the board members intensify communication on the project’s purposes to encourage farmers to change their production methods in order to increase the quality and competitiveness of rice.