A view of the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Dong Nai - Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province Vo Van Phi received executives from the Netherlands’ De Heus Group and Vietnam’s Hung Nhon Group on May 9 to discuss opportunities in agriculture in the southern province.

Speaking to the potential investors, Phi outlined several priorities for the southern province in husbandry, including disaster management, environmental protection, and use of advanced technology to cut costs and improve competitiveness.

He asked the investors to make it possible for local farmers to benefit from husbandry projects, thus enabling them to enhance their expertise in the field.

Chairman and CEO of De Heus Koen De Heus said the group hopes to cooperate with Vietnamese companies and farmers to develop sustainably together.

He expected the group will be able to coordinate with the local administration to develop a proper strategy for the growth of hi-tech agriculture.

Dong Nai has competitive edges to expand agriculture, with over 350,000ha of land used for the sector, or 58.3 percent of its total area, mostly in the districts of Xuan Loc, Dinh Quan, Cam My, Thong Nhat and Trang Bom. More than 60 percent of the population lives off agriculture.

Large-scale projects account for some 90 percent of land for husbandry, while the remainder are for smallholders.

The province now leads the country’s pig and chicken farms. It earns more than 45 trillion VND (1.96 billion USD) from agriculture annually, contributing 10 percent to its GRDP.

Vice Chairman Phi said Dong Nai has formulated a plan for husbandry development by 2025, which emphasises the importance of environmental protection, animal health, slaughtering supervision and building value chains.