(HBO) – Though about 80 percent of Hoa Binh’s population are earning their living from agriculture, the sector makes up only 20 percent of its Gross Regional Domestic Products (GRDP). The mountainous province is pinning high hopes on digital transformation to shift the smallholding agriculture to an economy that goes towards sustainable development.
Photo: Hoa Binh’s provincial post cooperates with farmers to offer local specialty – Cao Phong orange – on e-commerce platforms.
Over recent years, Hoa Binh has paid more attention to developing clean and hi-tech farming models in three areas of horticulture, husbandry, and processing. The province has been actively deploying a number of digital systems managing agricultural and rural database.
A highlight among these is a natural disaster warning system providing hourly updates on rainfall information on vinarain.vn. They also include a disease monitoring statistics system, a system managing database on agricultural land at datnongnghiep.hoabinh.gov.vn, and a system for traceability of goods’ origin and buyer-seller linking in the province at hb.check.net.vn.
Additionally, information on agriculture has been provided to locals via four websites of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. With these websites, farmers can look for information on farming techniques, prices of agricultural products, high farming technologies, and disease prevention, among others, to improve productivity and efficiency.
Nguyen Huu Tai, head of the division on management of agricultural, forestry and fishery quality, said his office is cooperating with several Vietnamese e-commerce sites, such as Postmart.vn (Vietnam Post), Voso.vn (Viettel Post), and Sendo.vn (FPT), to sell local farm products online. Thirty-one agribusinesses and cooperatives in Hoa Binh have joined Postmart.vn so far and 53 participated Voso.vn, Tai said.
The province is doubling efforts to implement its digital transformation programme in agriculture for the 2021 – 2025 period, with a vision towards 2030. The programme aims to build a digital ecosystem for the transformation from an agricultural production to an agricultural economy and the development of hi-tech agriculture, smart agriculture and accurate agriculture, and to increase the share of smart agriculture in the economy./.
Dao Village’s honey – a product certified with a 3-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) rating by Thong Nhat Agricultural Cooperative in Dao Village (Hoa Binh City) – is highly regarded by consumers for its quality, richness, and variety in packaging. The distinctively sweet taste of Dao Village’s honey leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has tried it.
In alignment with Project No. 07-DA/TU, issued by the Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee on November 1, 2021, Lac Thuy district has actively promoted investment and supported the sustainable development of its industrial and handicraft sectors during the 2021–2025 period. Alongside this, the district has remained committed to preserving and revitalising traditional craft villages.
Located in the northern part of Lac Thuy district, with a temperate climate and fertile soil, Phu Thanh commune has great potential and advantages in growing tea. The long-standing experience, combined with strict adherence to organic farming practices in the tea gardens, ensures that the dried tea products from Phu Thanh and Lac Thuy as a whole are sold out immediately upon production, providing a stable and prosperous life for the local people.
Amid efforts to streamline the administrative apparatus, Hoa Binh province has intensified measures to address challenges in land clearance, resettlement support, and infrastructure investment, aiming to speed up the progress of key projects.
Hoa Binh province has posted an unprecedented economic growth rate of 12.76% in the first quarter of 2025, marking its highest quarterly performance to date and positioning it as the second fastest-growing locality in the country, trailing only Bac Giang province.
Under current regulations, products in the One Commune – One Product (OCOP) programme that are rated three stars or higher must undergo re-evaluation every three months. However, in reality, some of these products fail to consistently meet the required standards, raising concerns about the sustainability of their OCOP certification. This underscores the urgent need for producers to enhance product quality and gradually develop their OCOP products into strong, marketable brands.
