The capital city of Hanoi has set a target that hi-tech farm produce will account for 70% of its total agricultural products by 2025.

To that end, Hanoi is implementing concerted solutions to attract resources to develop sustainable high-tech agriculture and export agricultural products to international markets.

Currently, the city has a number of high-quality agricultural products which have been shipped abroad such as Dai Thanh late-ripening longan in Quoc Oai district which has been exported to Australia and the US; and Van Duc safe vegetables in Gia Lam district exported to Taiwan (China) and the Republic of Korea (RoK). However, the raw material areas for export are still scattered and in small scale so the export output remains low.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), to ensure the standards of exported agricultural products, the city has granted eight codes for banana growing areas and eight for longan as well as four for packing facilities.

Hanoi has evaluated and classified 1,649 products in line with the criteria of the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Programme. Of the figure, 20 products are rated five stars, 1,098 recognised as four stars and 534 rated three stars. This is one of the great potential for businesses to sign contracts to export Hanoi's key agricultural products to other countries.

Trinh Thi Nguyet, Director of Dong Phu Organic Agriculture Cooperative in Chuong My district, said it has 24ha of rice that has been certified as organic in line with US standards while another 42ha is certified as organic in accordance with Vietnamese standards.
The cooperative's organic rice has been exported to Germany and other countries, she said.

To meet the demand and requirement of export markets, the cooperative has expanded the area of organic rice cultivation to over 50ha from 5ha in 2012, Nguyet said, adding that this model brings economic value up to three times higher than traditional farming methods.

Nguyen Van Minh, Director of Van Duc Agricultural Service Business Cooperative in Gia Lam district, said it is developing a concentrated production area covering more than 250 hectares and creating favourable conditions for farmers to apply scientific and technological advances into production. Products of the cooperative meet the requirements for export to Taiwan (China) and the RoK, with an output of 300-500 tonnes per year.

High-tech agricultural production is the right direction which is not only suitable to the situation and world economic integration but also helps farmers secure stable output, sustainable agricultural development and environmental protection, he said.

Along with improving the quality of agricultural products, cooperatives also focus on building and developing brands for their products.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the city has so far built brands for 40 farm produce, including Dai Thanh late ripening longan (Quoc Oai district); Boi Khe fragrant rice (Thanh Oai district); Van Nam banana (Phuc Tho district), Van Dinh duct (Ung Hoa district) and Ba Vi chicken (Ba Vi district).

Products with brands and clear origin are 15-20% more expensive than those without brand protection, the department said./.