Bac Giang lychees will no longer have to be transported to Ho Chi Minh City for irradiation.

Questioning Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat at the morning session on June 7, delegate Nguyen Van Thi ( Bac Giang delegation) stated that irradiation is a mandatory requirement when exporting agricultural products to markets of some countries, including the US.

“In recent years, lychees from Bac Giang province have always had to be brought to Ho Chi Minh City for irradiation, which has increased the time and cost. I would like to ask the Minister to let us know what solutions the Ministry of Science and Technology has for irradiating lychees and many other fruits in the Northern region to meet the technical requirements when exporting to some countries in the near future?”, Mr. Thi asked.

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Van Thi questioned.

Responding, Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said that lychee is the main product of Bac Giang province.

Recalling the trip accompanying the Prime Minister to the US, the Minister said that the US side required irradiation and other very strict requirements, even requiring experts to come to supervise the irradiation. Equipment and conditions must also meet the requirements.

The Minister of Information has recently coordinated closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to conduct negotiations with the US and has so far been successful, and will soon irradiate lychees in the Northern region.

It is expected that from now until the end of the year, the irradiation process will be officially carried out and exported to the US, helping to develop lychees in Bac Giang province, neighboring areas as well as other fruits.

Responding to the question of delegate Phan Thi My Dung (Long An delegation) about the solution to widely apply high technology in agricultural production, Mr. Dat stated that this is a major policy of the Party and State, so in recent times, the Ministry has closely coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promote implementation to have effective and applicable solutions for agricultural development.

Many businesses have participated in these programs, applying many high technologies in serving agricultural development such as: Loc Troi Group in rice production, TH true Milk Group in milk production, DABACO in livestock farming...

In addition, there are currently 290 enterprises applying technology, 690 production areas with 70% meeting the criteria of high-tech application areas and nearly 2,000 cooperatives that have converted technology.

Minister Huynh Thanh Dat answered questions from National Assembly deputies.

"The agricultural, forestry and fishery turnover reached 52 billion USD, this is a common achievement of the agricultural sector with the contribution of science and technology," said Minister Dat, calling this a "very exciting" number.

However, Mr. Dat said that applying high technology to agriculture still has many barriers due to the need for a lot of capital. This is because this is a field with many potential risks but still lacks preventive tools such as agricultural insurance and venture capital funds.

Therefore, in the coming time, the Ministry proposes to continue to improve policy mechanisms, and localities need to be responsible for ensuring the development of the right goals of supporting science and technology. At the same time, the Ministry is ready to deploy the tasks of the national program for high-tech development.

Also participating in "sharing the fire", Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that there is currently confusion between high-tech agriculture and industrial zones, leading to planning of zones to call for investment in factories, greenhouses, and automation.

Minister Le Minh Hoan "shares the burden" with Minister Huynh Thanh Dat.

“It is necessary to understand the true nature of the high-tech agricultural zone as a place for experimental research and dissemination of the latest achievements in agriculture. This is not a place for just production, production is only a sideline. From the results of experimental research and bringing them to the agricultural area, transfer them to farmers at each level,” said the Minister.

According to Mr. Hoan, up to now, the most successful and truest high-tech agricultural zone is the Ho Chi Minh City high-tech agricultural zone, which conducts experimental research, disseminates knowledge, and trains to receive achievements. The core of the high-tech agricultural zone must be institutes, schools, and businesses that are ready to receive results and transfer them.

Regarding solutions in the coming time, Mr. Hoan suggested that institutes, schools, and centers, through their departments, transfer research results to farmers. The Ministry is ready to create incentives and open up the market for transferring research products .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/qua-vai-bac-giang-sap-khong-con-phai-vao-tan-tp-hcm-de-chieu-xa-a611550.html