At the forum themed “Digital transformation and innovation in agricultural development and environmental protection” held on September 18, many solutions were proposed to build digital, circular, and environmentally friendly agriculture.
Speaking at the forum, Nguyen Minh Tien, Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre, emphasised that digital transformation and innovation are the “core driving force” on the inevitable path for Vietnamese agriculture to enter a new stage of development that is more efficient, more transparent, greener, and more sustainable.
Tien said that digital transformation in trade promotion has become an urgent requirement. The traditional fair and exhibition model once made a positive contribution, but is increasingly showing limitations in terms of cost, scope and efficiency.
Pham Duy Khanh, Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy for Agriculture and Environment, informed that by 2024, the digital economy will contribute 18.3% of GDP, with a growth rate three times higher than the general GDP and the fastest in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam is among the top 10 countries with the highest e-commerce growth rate in the world. The goal by 2030 is for the digital economy to account for 30-35% of GDP, putting Vietnam in the top 30 countries globally in terms of digital economy proportion.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to build a national data bank on digital agriculture, establish a monitoring network, develop a team of technology experts associated with each type of crop and livestock, and at the same time popularise digital technology application models to farmers, helping them to directly experience the benefits and be more proactive in production.
According to Nguyen Kim Phuc, Deputy Director of the Department of Digital Transformation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, currently the whole country has nearly 2,000 cooperatives applying advanced technology, about 3,000 drones serving production, and thousands of agricultural products for export with QR codes, meeting international standards.
Although digital transformation has become an inevitable trend, the implementation process in the agricultural sector still faces many difficulties. In terms of thinking, most businesses and cooperatives are still accustomed to relying on traditional management and trade promotion models, not ready to change.
According to Nguyen Minh Tien, Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre, to strongly promote the application of technology it is necessary to have a synchronous solution from institutions to infrastructure to people.
