Production facilities and enterprises have increased the application of technology in processing, contributing to exploiting the diverse value of agricultural products and improving economic efficiency for farmers
According to estimates, Vietnam’s annual fruit and vegetable output reaches 31 million tons, but only about 12 – 17% of it is deeply processed . Fresh fruit is delicious, but the disadvantage of tropical products is that they cannot be preserved for long.
Contributing to solving this problem, recently production facilities and enterprises have increased the application of technology in processing, contributing to exploiting the diverse value of agricultural products and improving economic efficiency for farmers.
Instead of making soursop tea by hand, for over 3 years now, this facility has been using soursop cutting machines, dryers and roasters. In addition to adding more machinery, the unit has focused on upgrading product designs and packaging.
Ms. Ha Thi Nhan – Nhan Ha Production Facility, Hau Giang Province said: “Improving product design and packaging and registering for HACCP process, raising the product from three stars to four stars”.
The application of technology helps this facility to proactively source goods, not dependent on the weather. From here, the loss rate is reduced, food hygiene and safety issues are controlled and can meet large orders, so revenue has also increased many times compared to before.
Mr. Truong Dac Nguyen – Huynh Duc Food Production Facility, Hau Giang Province shared: “Since applying this solar drying technology, the progress and speed of product output are faster than traditional manual methods. Second, I can control the temperature, drying time and ensure that the room is not contaminated by harmful microorganisms, ensuring better output products and higher productivity.”
In addition to the initiative from small and medium-sized processing units, local authorities also devote resources to researching processed products, solving the problem of agricultural product output. The Hau Giang Center for Information and Application of Science and Technology has been researching drying yogurt, pineapple, mango, melon, longan, lotus, durian, etc. This is a new drying technology, the product has beautiful color, delicious taste, especially retaining nutritional value.
The province has invested in a medicinal herb extraction machine for the Center to enhance its technological potential. The processes of extracting extracts from agricultural products and medicinal herbs are also being researched for industrial scale replication.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Kieu – Director of the Center for Information and Application of Science and Technology of Hau Giang province commented: “If this processing technology is developed, it will collect agricultural products as well as medicinal herbs of Hau Giang province, to have a source of raw materials. From there, we can extract products, create new products on the market from nature”.
In addition to a series of modern technologies and large-scale investments from corporations and companies, the trend of investing in agricultural processing is also gradually spreading to small and medium-sized enterprises, and is receiving more attention from the local agricultural sector. It will still be the flavors of the plains and hometown, but preserved longer, going further and bringing more value to farmers and businesses.