According to the Dong Thap Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, over the past three years, Dong Thap’s industrial promotion program has focused on implementing three main contents, including: information dissemination, supporting the application of machinery and equipment to production, and development of outstanding rural industrial products.

Production at Farm 123 Co., Ltd. in Hoa Thanh Commune, Lai Vung District, Dong Thap Province

As for the support for application of advanced machinery and equipment to production, Dong Thap Province has supported 51 rural industrial establishments operating in fields of agricultural and aquatic processing with a total funding of VND10.5 billion, while the reciprocal capital of the establishments reached VND19.6 billion.

The province also certified 63 products as outstanding rural industrial products at the provincial level, 18 products at the regional level and six products at the national level. All of these products have been included in plans to receive support in production development and trade promotion programs.

According to the leaders of Dong Thap Department of Industry and Trade, the achieved results after three-year implementation of the Dong Thap Industrial Promotion Program for the 2021-2025 period are positive, contributing to the development of the local rural industry and growth of the industry and trade sector.

However, like many other localities, rural industrial establishments in the province are mostly of micro- and small-scale, and, therefore, are limited in financial resources. As a result, they face many difficulties in the application of science and technology to production and still focus on raw processing, while few establishments are interested in investment in deep processing. Meanwhile, the raw product segment is facing fierce competition, with product value being not high, causing workers’ income to be unstable. Another important issue is that the support funding from the State budget is not commensurate with the level of investment of rural industrial establishments; therefore, rural industrial establishments have not boldly invested in and expanded production.

These difficulties have been pointed out as a big challenge for Dong Thap Province in completing goals of the industrial promotion program for the period. To overcome the difficulties, leaders of the Dong Thap Department of Industry and Trade proposed that the first knot that needs to be untied is that the State should increase the level of support funding for the provincial industrial promotion projects and programs.

For its part, Dong Thap Province will carry out activities to improve the competitiveness of rural industrial establishments on the basis of technological innovation to improve productivity and product quality. It will prioritize the development of intensive processing industries and products with high added value or of the province’s advantageous establishments; encourage and replicate technical demonstration models for technology transfer and application of advanced machinery and equipment based on the application of science and technology.