Through research and transfer of science and technology progress, a lot of agricultural and seafood items in Nghe An province saw an increase of 15-20 percent in the production output and export items became more competitive in the world market. The province expects to create breakthroughs in production by wider applications of sci-tech progress in the coming period.
Scientific research projects in Nghe An presently focus on applying bio-technology achievements to create quality and high-yielding crops such as rice, maize, groundnut, tea, sugar cane and orange compatible to the eco systems in diverse areas to serve as production materials. In the meantime, modern techniques are used to breed Sind cow and porker herds and eco friendly intensive farming techniques are introduced to prevent insect infestation, ensuring agricultural produce is safe and durable to the ecological environment. Sci-tech progress is expected to create positive changes to local crop and animal structure.
Particularly, diverse high-yielding and insect resistant rice breeds were put into mass production and proven to be compatible to local eco environment such as TB1 and VN1. The growing areas with hybrid rice lines now account for 38 percent of the province’s total rice areas. New groundnut varieties along with suitable cultivating techniques have increased groundnut area with higher productivity (averaging 3-4 tonnes/ha and even 5-6 tonnes/ha in some areas). High-yielding sugarcane varieties (Lam Vien 3, Lam Vien 6 or QD 94, etc.) were planted massively with an increase of 20 percent in the production output. This has contributed to stabilizing material supply to the province sugar factories.
Besides, projects on aquaculture have been carried out effectively and the techniques to produce black tiger shrimp breeds transferred to different partners. Consequently, the province is now sufficient of shrimp breeds for supply to the breeders inside and outside of the province. Besides shrimps, the province has bred diverse seafood varieties of high economic value such as Ben Tre oyster with a capacity of 35 tonnes/ha/year and sea crab with a capacity of 60,000 crab breeds/year. Groupers are bred in cages southwest of Hon Ngu Island and in a strait southwest of Hon Mat Island. Specifically, the province has succeeded in producing unisex tilapia and bass breeds, making Nghe An a leading central province in bass breed production for supply to commercial bass breeding areas inside and outside of the province.
Sci-tech progress helps raise the quality and productivity of some exports, such as bamboo and rattan items. This is quite significant as it ensures effective use of local available material sources and creates jobs for local people. People now get hold of state-of-the art preservation techniques, saving around 20-30 percent of input material cost and increasing the productivity by 15-20 percent.
Nghe An is now home to nine occupational villages producing bamboo and rattan items against two occupational villages previously, providing employment to several hundred thousand local people.
The director of Nghe An Department of Science and Technology, Tran Xuan Bi said in the coming period the province will handle nine provincial level key sci-tech programs and a program to support districts in the application of sci-tech progress. Besides, efforts will be made to encourage scientists and sci-tech organizations to get involved in addressing diverse sci-tech problems. Technical progress will be widely applied into production through models. When a model is ended with success, it will later be duplicated in other areas. Local businesses will be supported to innovate technology and apply international quality management systems into production to better competitiveness, striving to establish local technology market./.
By Quynh Nga
