As many as 15 vegetable and fruit production establishments in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang have been granted Vietnam Agriculture Practice (VietGAP) certificates for their safe farm products.

Fruit and vegetable products with VietGAP certificates in Coopmart. (Photo for illustration: laodong.com.vn)

The certificates were presented at a ceremony held by the Management Board of the “Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development” (QSEAP) project and the provincial Centre for Agricultural Development Promotion in the locality on May 8.

The awardees included 13 agricultural cooperatives, specialising in planting guava, grape fruit, durian, dragon fruit, clean vegetables and pepper as well as two dragon fruit-producing farms.

According to Tran Thanh Phong, Director of the Centre, the implementation of safe vegetable models in the locality helped local farmers access advanced technologies thus creating high-quality products meeting VietGap standards.

The models also contributed to build a consulting network for expanding agricultural production models in line with the VietGAP production process in the future, she noted.

Tien Giang boasts the largest fruit-tree area in Mekong Delta with over 85,000 hectares generating an annual yield of 1.3 million tonnes. It is also home to over 43,000 hectares of vegetables.

The province hopes 80 additional hectares of dragon fruits and durian will be granted Global Good Agricultural Practice (GlobalGAP) certificates in 2015.

Source: VNA