Sa Dec city to diversify flower industry

The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap plans to expand the flower village in Sa Dec city by growing ornamental trees and flowers on a large scale.

Currently, the village, one of the most famous of its kind in the delta, cultivates 2,000 kinds of flowers and ornamental trees on 355ha.

It earns total annual revenue of 170 billion VND (8 million USD), accounting for 35 percent of the Sa Dec city's total agricultural value.

The village's products are exported, mostly to Laos, Cambodia and China, and sold domestically as well.

At a seminar in Dong Thap recently, Le Vinh Tan, Secretary of the province's Party Committee, said the area's geographical location had a lot of potential for the cultivation of flowers.

However, problems still exist, including small-scale production, low-value products, unstable outlets, weak post-harvest preservation and a lack of tourism services.

Nguyen Thanh Tai, Deputy Director of the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that cultivation areas should be zoned for ornamental trees, flowers, and ancient ornamental trees.

Ho Minh Thu of the Flower and Ornamental Tree Co-operative Team No. 1 in Sa Dec city, said that farmers needed to learn new techniques to improve flower quality as they now rely solely on weather conditions for growing plants.

New flower strains should also be developed, he added.

Pham Phuoc Loc, Chairman of the Sa Dec Ornamental Creatures Association, said a research centre should be set up to develop new strains, and that the city should focus on improving human resources and infrastructure.

Processing, packaging and logistics should also be improved, Loc added.

"Flower roads" in the city and clusters of flower villages for tourism purposes would also be beneficial, he said.

Phan Van Nhieu, Chairman of the Sa Dec city People's Committee, said this year Sa Dec planned to develop a large-scale model of cultivation and offer tourism services in Tan Quy Dong Ward.

The model, which will promote Sa Dec flower village, will be expanded in subsequent years.

New transport infrastructure, including ports along the Tien River, and rest stops at Sa Dec flower village will also be built.