Drone is used to spray bio-pesticides on a vegetable garden in Ba Ria city. (Photo: Nguyen Long/VTCNews)

In its digital transformation roadmap for the agricultural sector, Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has piloted the installation of a handbook app to monitor crop production for several local businesses, cooperatives, and crop production cooperatives.

Information about Ba Ria-Vung Tau OCOP products is provided to the provincial Department of Information and Communications, the provincial Post Office, and Viettel Post in Vung Tau to create digital accounts and booths on e-commerce platforms. More and more agricultural production households are realizing the effectiveness of e-commerce and want to put their products on e-platforms.

Nguyen Kim Chuyen, Director of the Quyet Thang Agricultural Cooperative specializing in seafood business in Ba Ria-Vung Tau city, insisted that the Cooperative follows the development and requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and have the workload eased.

“We have used e-commerce platforms to increase our sales. That’s a step forward in production so that agriculture can integrate into this 4.0 era,” said Chuyen.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also helps businesses set up an origin tracing system using QR codes to provide information about the origin of goods to meet the strict requirements of export markets.

Nguyen Kim Chuyen, Director of the Quyet Thang Agricultural Cooperative in Ba Ria-Vung Tau city, says thanks to high-tech shrimp farming, the cooperative has minimized risks in the farming process. (Photo: Hoang Nhi/ VNA)

According to Phan The Hoanh, Director of the Nhan Tam Agricultural Service Cooperative in Xuyen Moc district, origin tracing is mandatory for agricultural products exported to stringent markets like the European Union, Japan, and the US.

Since 2023, Nhan Tam Cooperative has had a growing area code for exports to Japan and, for each export shipment, is digitalizing logs of fertilization, watering, and harvest dates using a Japanese software app. To meet the requirements of its Japanese partners, the Nhan Tam uses Sorimachi software to keep production logs for longan farms.

The provincial Sub-Department of Plant Protection has set up courses to teach cooperative members how to enter daily fertilizer and pesticide data and harvest yields into the cell phone app, said Director Hoanh.  

He added, “Growing area codes deliver great benefits and higher profits by making cultivation management easier and increasing the trust of trading partners.”

Two years ago, Vu Thi Thuy of Tan Hung commune in Ba Ria city began posting video clips introducing her home-grown vegetables on social networks. She says she believes internet promotion increases sales. She has attended e-commerce courses to learn how to create more effective video promotions.

“Since I started applying high tech, my sales have increased. I sell more products, and our onion products in particular are reaching more customers. Many people now order by text message or phone call,” Thuy recalled.

The provincial Farmers' Association works with other sectors to organize training courses for officials and farmers on digital transformation in agriculture, and has encouraged businesses and cooperatives to participate in digital transformation projects, programs, and value chain linkages.

As a result, there are now more agricultural models that use digital technology and smart agriculture, focusing on data collection, processing, and storing, and monitoring and controlling production stages.

Digital transformation in agriculture supports transactions, sales, and product introductions on e-commerce and social platforms, bringing products closer to consumers and increasing revenue.

According to Tran Van Mang, the Vice Chairman Ba Ria-Vung Tau Farmers’ Association, “Farmer associations at all levels have asked Party committees and authorities to implement support programs and policies for farmers, mobilize resources, and encourage them to apply new technologies to agriculture production. These efforts have helped farmers prosper.”

Promoting digital transformation in agriculture has helped add value of Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s agricultural products by improving quality, cut production costs and minimize negative impacts on the environment.