Binh Phuoc: Find Solutions to Apply Advanced Technology to Enhance the Value of Agricultural Products

The seminar had the participation of the Vice Chairwoman of Binh Phuoc People's Committee and the provincial Technology and Science Council - Tran Tuyet Minh, the representatives of boards, departments, specialties, as well as enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers in the province…

Speaking at the seminar, the Vice Chairwoman of Binh Phuoc People's Committee and the provincial Technology and Science Council - Tran Tuyet Minh informed the delegates of the current socioeconomic development situation, as well as the major policies and orientations of Binh Phuong province in terms of developing agriculture. Mrs. Minh treasured the proactive collaboration of the units in organizing the seminar with timely and current topics related to the 4.0 industrial revolution; linked to the province's strategy and direction of building green, efficient, and sustainable agriculture.

Mrs. Minh also suggested that the seminar should be conducted in a scientific and responsible spirit. The results of the discussions, debates, and proposals should be summarized and submitted to the Binh Phuoc People's Committee for consideration.

Also at the seminar, the President of BPUSTA Giang Van Khoa stated that the province always focuses on promoting agricultural production in the direction of developing value chains, and ecosystems, and applying advanced technology in production and processing. However, both the pre-harvest and post-harvest losses are still high, averaging 20% per year. There are many reasons behind these losses, but the main one lies in poor seed management and poor post-harvest preservation, as well as the unsynchronized application of science and technology in the process of preliminary processing, storage, and preservation of agricultural products.

Under the project "Developing post-harvest handling and preservation system for the period 2021-2025, vision 2030", Binh Phuoc province sets the goal of reducing average post-harvest losses to 19.2% by 2025 and to 18.6% by 2030. The purpose of the seminar is to seek effective technological solutions to minimize post-harvest losses.

At the conference, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Khacef from the French National Centre for Scientific Research and scientists from IAMS introduced and analyzed the origins, and outstanding features of Plasma technology, especially Cold Plasma when applied in agriculture. This technology was proven to improve the quality of plant seeds by stimulating germination and promoting plant growth, as well as its ability to resist pests and diseases without affecting the surrounding environment. Cold Plasma also showed prolonged preservation time for food and agricultural products by eliminating microorganisms and improving certain properties of the products.

Many delegates had confidence in the outstanding features of this technology. They believed that Plasma technology would open up a new and promising direction for agricultural development, contributing to green, effective, and sustainable agriculture. However, there were also suggestions for further conferences on this topic to continue experimenting and demonstrating the technology on specific products. This would provide a scientific basis for evaluation before implementing its application.

Concluding the seminar, the President of BPUSTA Giang Van Khoa, acknowledged the opinions, discussions, and proposals of the delegates. He stated that BPUSTA and relevant agencies of the province would soon summarize the contents of the seminar and submit them to the Provincial People's Committee for review.