Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen "gives tips" to develop the economy of Western Nghe An

That is the opinion of former Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen, former Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee for provincial leaders and related functional units at the scientific workshop "Orientation for development of Western Nghe An to 2020 with a vision to 2030":

Conference scene. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

“In my opinion, considering the West as the focus of socio-economic development of the province is necessary and correct. I am not talking about new points but talking about old issues from a new perspective. That is, the deeper the integration, the more the middle class develops and there is a trend of shifting consumption. In the world and in the country, consumers are tending to gradually reduce the need to use starch, switch to using organic substances, and increase vegetables and fruits. The growing middle class creates a consumption trend with cleaner and safer requirements.

Even in our country, the middle class is also following that choice. This is the opportunity for Western Nghe An with its potential advantages in area, soil, people, products and other unique values ​​to carry out a revolution in agriculture to meet the demands of the market.

According to Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen, the Western Nghe An region has two outstanding comparative advantages: tourism and agriculture. It is necessary to know how to invest in depth and exploit these two advantages to develop the economy. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Regarding agriculture, in my opinion, Western Nghe An must develop fruit and vegetable production. We know that in 2017, Vietnam exported 3.6 billion USD of fruit and vegetables, this year it is expected to reach about 4 billion USD. The export growth rate of fruit and vegetables is fast. Therefore, Western Nghe An has many advantages to develop fruit and vegetables, including many specialty products such as: oranges, passion fruit, pineapple, dragon fruit.

Regarding medicinal plants, the Western Nghe An region is also an advantageous area for development. Currently, the demand for medicinal plants in our country is up to 50-60 tons/year, while domestic production is only 18 tons/year. The Southwest region can develop endemic medicinal plants such as: Panax notoginseng, Cordyceps, and ginseng. Leaders at all levels need to have a way to create a movement to grow medicinal plants, especially to develop medicinal plants under the forest canopy.

Yellow tea flower trees in the natural environment in Que Phong district. Photo: Dao Tuan

Regarding the wood processing industry, in 2017, Vietnam exported wood and wooden products worth 76 billion USD. The demand for wood in the country and the world is very large. Meanwhile, the Western Nghe An region has advantages for developing planted forests, especially acacia trees. The acacia care cycle only takes 4-5 years to harvest. Currently, Nghe An has 2 wood factories, and there needs to be policies to develop more wood processing enterprises.

In addition, to develop the Western Nghe An region, it is necessary to select strategic industrial crops, such as tea, coffee, and rubber. In the livestock sector, the Western Nghe An region has special potential for developing buffalo and cow herds. However, to promote the value, it is necessary to expand on a larger scale, including encouraging the expansion of industrial livestock farming.

In addition, to improve people's living standards, it is also necessary to develop traditional craft villages and handicraft products. It is necessary to link traditional handicraft products of people and craft villages with businesses to bring them to the market. On that basis, we will focus on investing and developing tourism, with an emphasis on community and experiential tourism.

Tourists can eat, stay in local houses and try to make products that local people are making. We must guide ethnic minorities to learn English and speak English. This experience can be learned in the Northwest region of our country such as Sa Pa, Ha Giang…

Passion fruit trees have contributed to changing the lives of people in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district. Photo: Dao Tuan

Regarding the solution, I think we need to change our thinking. We need to shift from the thinking of developing a comprehensive agricultural sector to the thinking of developing a multifunctional agricultural sector, and of course, it must be based on comparative advantages. On that basis, we can form a product value chain from production to consumption.

Why do we need to switch to multifunctional agricultural thinking? First of all, we need to ensure food security, then the function of environmental improvement and soil improvement. We need to change our thinking about agriculture, we need to see it as a food and food production industry. For a long time, we have been talking about economic structure such as: how much should we strive to reduce the proportion of agriculture, how much should we increase industry and services... This is not wrong, but it does not have much value because their boundaries are blurring.

Let’s try to look at and evaluate TH Group as an industrial or agricultural enterprise. In fact, it is agriculture, industry, and service, all integrated into a corporate value chain. That’s why the mindset needs to change.

Former Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee Truong Dinh Tuyen said: We need to pay attention to processing, especially agricultural processing, but we should not think too much that we can process everything. The important thing is to ensure the quality and value of the products. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Pay attention to processing, especially agricultural processing, but don't think too much about processing everything. The most important thing is to ensure the quality and value of the product. A rule is that fresh products are more delicious and have a wider market.

Do we want to enjoy fresh oranges or drink orange juice, especially bottled or canned oranges? The processing industry with specific agricultural products here is to preserve the product, because fresh is not always available but must follow the harvest season. To do so, we must invest in high technology.

We use blockchain technology to control product quality. Products from planting to preservation, processing, circulation and distribution all comply with the blockchain process. Blockchain, in my words, is a series of actions that take place continuously in real time, digitized and recorded so that everyone in need can control it accurately without the need for second or third party verification.

This technology is very important in traceability, quality control and is not only needed for vegetable and fruit production but also in wood processing and product processing in general"...