HCM City to Invest in Improved Plants and Animals for Export

Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City will set up areas that will specialize in producing plant hybrids and animals for breeding, according to the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. HCM City, which has several agriculture research institutes and schools and a large number of agricultural scientists, is considered a good site for plant hybrid research and production. Advanced techniques in producing crop seeds and breeder animals have been developed and are used in research institutes and production and supply companies.

Last year, the city produced 8,857 tonnes of 500 different kinds of crop seeds, including rice, cross-bred corn and vegetables, for export and for local farmers. The city has supplied 1 billion breeder fish and shrimp for farmers in the city and southern provinces a year. The HCM City People’s Committee has also set up a city centre that will be responsible for selecting and propagating good plant seedlings and breeder animals. New plant hybrids will be used for production of organic vegetables and flowers as well as bonsai trees, which are key agricultural products that have high economic value. The farmland for rice cultivation has fallen while the areas for flower and organic vegetables have increased in recent years. The city’s flower and ornamental tree planting area has increased to more than 1,200 ha compared to 880 ha in 2005, mostly in Binh Tan, Thu Duc, Cu Chi and Hoc Mon districts. Dao Dong Ha, head of Binh Chanh District’s Economic Office, said that the district had turned more than 1,000 ha of low-yield paddy fields to high-value crop and animal breeding areas in the past two years.

For more information, pls access: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2008/07/793972/ and for details on crop biotechnology in Vietnam contact Hien Le at hientttm@yahoo.com.