New agricultural model: a number of intensive farming regions established

With a natural land area of 590,216 hectares, making up 1.76 percent of the natural land area of the whole country and 2.55 percent of that of the Southeast, Dong Nai is one of the province located in the southern key economic area, enjoying rather favorable natural and socio-economic conditions for the development of commodity-based agriculture with a wide rage of high- competitive cultivated crops and domestic animals.

Currently, the total agricultural land area of the province is 291,181 hectares, 112.966 of which is the area of perennial industrial crops and 46,465 of which is the area of fruit trees. Rubber trees, coffee trees, pepper trees, cashew-nut trees, rambutan trees, durian trees, mango trees, orange trees and so on are widely planted in Dong Nai. However, only rubber trees are centrally grown and are attached special importance to the investment in advanced techniques after harvests and infrastructure for production. The other trees have not been centrally grown, so the farming techniques are not universal and the management system has many shortcomings. Animal husbandry develops with cows, buffalos, pigs, poultry, goats and so on by the establishment of many large-scale farms. With its existing potentials, Dong Nai is oriented towards a large centre in the whole country in the field of raising pigs and chickens with high quality and a centre of breed and seed supply in the province, especially intensive farming regions of coffee, pepper, cashew, pomelo, durian and mango in 2010.

Accordingly, 15,000 hectares of coffee will be maintained with an output of 30,000 tons per year, developed in Cam My, Xuan Loc and Trang Bom. 7,5000 hectares of pepper will be maintained with an output of 15,000 tons per year, centrally grown in Cam My, Tan Phu, Xuan Loc and Long Khanh. Cashew-nut trees will be kept grown in infertile soil and in the region whose irrigation water is not always available with an area of 35,000 hectares and an output of 52,500 tons per year, developed in Cam My, Tan Phu, DInh Quan, Xuan Loc, Long Thanh and Trang Bom. 38,800 hectares of rubber will be stabilized with an output of 58,200 tons per year, developed in Cam My, Long Khanh, Long Thanh, Thong Nhat, Trang Bom and Dinh Quan. 6,000 hectares of durian will be grown in Cam My, Long Khanh, Thong Nhat, Xuan Loc. 2,000 hectares of pomelo is financed for development in Vinh Cuu and some regions of Dinh Quan, Tan Phu and Long Thanh and 8,000 hectares of mango will be grown in Dinh Quan, Xuan Loc, Tan Phu and Vinh Cuu.

In breeding, herds of ox are attached special importance to high-quality development, breeding regions are moved to Tan Phu, Xuan Loc, Cam My, Dinh Quan, Vinh Cuu and Thong Nhat and only enterprises, farms and households having capital and high techniques are encouraged in investment. Raising pigs in farms and by enterprises is encouraged. Poultry and cattle are attached special importance to development in form of industrial breeding.

To carry out the program on priority cultivated crops and domestic animals development by 2010, Dong Nai has offered a number of support solutions for the residents, one of which is supporting breeds, seed and a part of cost – a rather practical solution. Specifically, as for cultivation, the program will finance 40 percent of the cost of buying seed and building models, 20 percent of the cost of fertilizer, insecticides and watering system investment. As for animal husbandry, the State will finance 30 percent of the expenditure for enterprises who invest in original pig and chicken breeds.

Reported by Thanh Hien, Translated by THKC