Technology enhances the competitiveness of farm products

In his opening address at the conference, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien highlighted that over the past decade Vietnamese agriculture has achieved remarkable, comprehensive, and sustainable results, serving as a solid pillar of the economy, especially in the face of global disruptions caused by pandemics, climate change, and geopolitical instability.

In his opening remarks at the Conference, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien highlighted that over the past decade, Vietnam’s agriculture has achieved comprehensive progress (Photo: Minh Thanh)

According to the Deputy Minister, preservation, processing, and mechanization are three critical stages in the agricultural value chain. Without technological investment, Vietnam risks remaining trapped in a situation of producing large volumes with low value. Post-harvest losses in key products such as rice, fruits, and seafood have fallen by 5%–10%, while quality has been maintained, storage life extended, and requirements of demanding markets met. Notably, the share of deep and refined processing has increased, adding higher value to strategic export products such as cashews, coffee, tropical fruits, rice, shrimp, and pangasius.

At the same time, agricultural mechanization has advanced significantly. More than 95 percent of land preparation is now mechanized, greatly reducing manual labor. Mechanization in sowing, tending, and harvesting is also rising quickly with the deployment of modern technologies. Advanced models have been introduced in large production zones, including unmanned aerial vehicles, IoT sensor systems for monitoring production environments, artificial intelligence (AI) for pest forecasting, and autonomous robots for sowing and harvesting. These applications not only reduce production costs and raise labor productivity but also directly improve farmers’ incomes and livelihoods.

From heavy reliance on manual labor and traditional methods, Vietnamese agriculture is transitioning toward large-scale, modern, and sustainable production, with science and technology as the core foundation.

However, he frankly acknowledged that the results remain below potential. The application of advanced technologies in preservation and processing is still limited, leading to higher post-harvest losses, particularly in fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products, compared with many countries in the region (Photo: Minh Thanh)

As a result, between 2015 and 2024 agriculture maintained GDP growth of 2.5–3.5 percent annually, providing stable contributions to the national economy. In 2024, agro-forestry-fishery exports reached a record USD 62.5 billion, up 18.7 percent from 2023, placing Vietnam among the world’s top 10 agricultural exporters. The sector’s structure has shifted positively, reducing dependence on raw production and increasing the share of processing. Green agriculture, circular farming, and digital transformation are taking shape in many localities, laying the foundation for the next phase of development centered on technological innovation.

Challenges and demands ahead

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien also acknowledged that despite progress, Vietnamese agriculture continues to face significant constraints. Post-harvest losses, particularly in fruits and seafood, remain high compared with regional averages, causing billions of dollars in losses annually. In mechanization, while land preparation is over 95 percent mechanized, sowing, tending, harvesting, and post-harvest stages remain uneven, limiting production efficiency. Many processing enterprises remain small in scale, with outdated technology, weak value chain linkages, and fragmented investment, particularly in deep processing.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the 2025 national conference is not merely an annual event but a practical scientific forum bringing together scientists, managers, enterprises, universities, and international organizations to seek solutions for Vietnamese agriculture. The conference identified four key priorities: sharing research outcomes and new technology applications; assessing the current situation and proposing breakthrough solutions in processing, preservation, and mechanization; building favorable policy frameworks for innovation; and advancing public–private cooperation, especially the “four-party linkage” among the State, scientists, enterprises, and farmers.

Delegates attending the conference (Photo: Minh Thanh)

To this end, he called on delegates to focus discussions on five core issues: technological solutions to reduce post-harvest losses and improve product quality; developing synchronized mechanization suited to smallholder production and regional conditions; accelerating digital transformation with AI and blockchain for traceability and supply chain management; mechanisms to encourage innovation and commercialization of scientific research; and policies to support enterprises in deep and refined processing to create high-value products for domestic and international markets.

Innovation for green and sustainable agriculture

At the plenary scientific session, speakers presented a comprehensive picture of agricultural development trends in the context of green integration. Reports not only reviewed achievements and challenges but also outlined future directions for research, technology application, and commercialization.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Anh Tuan stressed the importance of adopting eco-friendly preservation and processing technologies, including bio-based preservatives, smart packaging, and biodegradable materials (Photo: Minh Thanh)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Post Harvest Technology, emphasized that the key lies in applying modern, environmentally friendly preservation and processing technologies. He highlighted the need to develop bio-based preservatives, smart packaging, and biodegradable materials that extend shelf life while reducing plastic waste. In addition, the application of biotechnology, physics, and chemistry in energy-saving approaches offers solutions to enhance value and meet increasingly strict requirements from international markets.

Prof. Dr. Tran Dai Lam of the Institute of Materials Science pointed to the great potential of nanotechnology in crop preservation and plant protection. He explained that nanomaterials combined with biological agents are not only environmentally friendly but also safe for human health. Nano-active films have shown significant effectiveness in prolonging fruit storage, underscoring the need to establish standards for product quality assessment and regulation.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Phong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Policy and Strategy, highlighted the multi-dimensional benefits of the circular economy but noted that by-product reuse rates remain low and fragmented (Photo: Minh Thanh)

From a socio-economic perspective, Dr. Nguyen Anh Phong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Policy and Strategy, affirmed that the circular economy provides multidimensional benefits: reducing waste, saving resources, cutting input costs, increasing output value, creating jobs, and improving livelihoods. However, he noted that the current reuse rate of by-products remains low—around 52 percent in crop production and 50 percent in forestry, mainly concentrated among large enterprises, without forming complete value chain linkages.

To promote circular agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has issued four action programs covering crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry. Core measures include developing circular production criteria, extended producer responsibility (EPR) mechanisms, green credit, enterprise access to finance, and trade promotion. Another urgent task is to build a national database on the circular economy while mobilizing state and international resources for research and technology transfer.

Prof. Dr. Le Van Tan of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry highlighted the need for green technologies in agriculture, noting promising innovations but emphasizing high costs and commercialization challenges (Photo: Minh Thanh)

From a research standpoint, Prof. Dr. Le Van Tan of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry cautioned that if Vietnam delays in adopting green technologies, its agricultural export position may be challenged within the next decade. He proposed three major trends: developing circular economy and smart ecosystems; scaling up high-tech applications in processing; and fostering cross-disciplinary technological integration to raise productivity, quality, and value. Cutting-edge technologies such as high-intensity ultrasound, cold plasma, high-pressure processing, and pulsed electric fields have already been tested, offering promising results in extending shelf life while retaining nutritional content. Nonetheless, high equipment costs and commercialization at scale remain critical barriers to overcome.

The overall picture emerging from the conference is clear: science and technology, particularly green technologies, are the core drivers enabling Vietnamese agriculture to enhance competitiveness while meeting stringent international standards in the era of sustainable development.

Policy directions for the future

To further harness the role of science and technology in preservation, processing, and mechanization, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien outlined five strategic directions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

First, he emphasized the need to improve institutions and policies to encourage enterprises to invest in research, application, and technology transfer, particularly in the fields of deep processing and mechanized production. Such improvements, he noted, would create a more enabling environment for businesses to adopt and scale up technological advances.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien further noted that to realize these objectives, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has identified five strategic directions to be implemented in the coming period (Photo: Minh Thanh)

Second, he called for the development of a regional network of agricultural innovation centers that connect universities, research institutes, and enterprises. These centers would serve as platforms to accelerate the commercialization of research outcomes and foster stronger collaboration across the value chain.

Third, the Deputy Minister underscored the importance of strengthening international cooperation in order to adopt advanced technologies from developed countries. Areas such as refined processing, logistics, and smart mechanization, he said, should be prioritized to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.

In addition, he highlighted the promotion of socialization of scientific research by mobilizing non-state resources to drive innovation. According to him, expanding participation beyond state funding would help unlock greater potential in scientific development.

Finally, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien stressed the need to establish high-tech agricultural value chain models with transparent traceability systems. These models are essential to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of both domestic and international markets, ensuring that Vietnamese agricultural products can achieve higher value and sustainable growth.The Deputy Minister expressed confidence that the 2025 national conference would generate new ideas, valuable initiatives, and practical policy recommendations for the sector. The orientations, solutions, and commitments discussed at the event are expected to soon be translated into concrete policies and models, providing fresh momentum for Vietnamese agriculture to rise higher in the global value chain.

Khanh Linh - Ngoc Huyen