With the current strong urbanization process, Binh Duong has focused on promoting agricultural production in the urban region in order to create a sustainable development for its southern urban areas.
Promoting urban agricultural development
Binh Duong is one of the country’s localities with highest urbanization. Hence, the province has early paid attention to the development of urban agriculture.
The safe vegetable-growing model in TDM city’s Chanh
My wardAfter two years of implementing provincial Party Committee’s
Action Program for the Directive No.26/NQ-TW of the 7th session of
the 10th Party Central Committee on agricultural and rural
development, Binh Duong has so far made positive changes in terms of
agricultural production. Agricultural production last year accounted for 4.1%
of the province’s economic structure with the average production value of a
hectare of farming land estimated at VND70mln. As of late 2011, the province’s
total area for growing perennial trees was 133,477 hectares, including 129,808
hectares for rubber trees with the total output of 190,442 tons.
TDM city is seen as an exemplary role-model in urban agricultural development of the province. The city’s farming land is only around 2,655 hectares with 4,118 laborers for agricultural production. But, the city’s agricultural-forestry-fishery production value reached VND50.6bln with the average production value of a hectare of farming land amounting to VND69.4mln.
This result has come from the local people’s efforts in shifting their plant structure towards development of plants with high economic value. They have also changed to promoting animal husbandry under industrial formula.
Urban agriculture is seen as an indispensable development to the province’s 3 urban areas, including TDM city, Di An and Thuan An towns.
To cater the above development, provincial Party Committee, on Sept.20, 2011, issued the Action Program No.26/Ctr-TU on shift of agricultural structure towards growth of urban agriculture and hi-tech agriculture in association with processing industry between 2011 and 2012. Provincial Party Committee’s Plan No.756/KH-UBND, dated March 26, 2012, on shift of agricultural structure towards growth of urban agriculture and hi-tech agriculture in association with processing industry between 2011 and 2015 has continued affirmed the local selection of urban agricultural development in order to stabilize the livelihood of the local people and create a sustainable development for the local urban areas.
Effective models
Binh Duong’s urban agriculture has been developed and reaped successes with many effective models over the past time.
For example, Bui Thanh Son in Di An town’s Di An ward has bravely got involved in breeding pheasants and gained successes from the model. With the model, he was honored as a good farmer in production and business last year.
Or, Nguyen Thanh Sinh in Di An town’s Binh Thang ward is very successful with the cricket-breeding model. This is a model with little capital, but high economic efficiency.
According to the latest statistics from Thuan An town’s Department of Economics, the whole town is now home to more than 150 households getting involved in the urban agricultural models, including those of growing various orchids, breeding ornamental fish…These models have contributed to helping the local people properly shift their animal and plant structure for better results in the current rapid urbanization period.
TDM city, Thuan An and Di An towns have so far fulfilled their projects on urban agricultural development. Measures to implement the projects have been put forward with the integral efforts of sectors and departments. It is hoped that urban agriculture will be formed up and developed as expected, contributing to bringing a sustainable development to urban areas of the province in particular and the whole province in general.
Reported by Khanh Vinh-Translated by K.T
