Xuan Loc Ward develops high-tech agriculture

Xuan Loc Ward has identified agricultural development as both the backbone and key strength of the locality. The ward features extensive agricultural land and favorable weather conditions for the development of farming and aquaculture.

Nguyen Dinh Dien, a resident of Xuan Loc Ward, introduces his indoor microgreen farming model. Photo: Binh Nguyen

Xuan Loc has achieved the goal of building a model new-style rural area towards sustainable agricultural commodity production. This milestone also provides a solid foundation for the locality to continue developing high-tech, green, and circular agriculture, thereby maintaining its position as the key economic sector of the locality.

Farmers prosper through high-tech applications

The ultimate goal, and also the most important achievement of Xuan Loc in building new-style rural areas, is that the material and spiritual life of local people has continued to improve. By 2025, Xuan Loc’s average per capita income had reached more than VND101.6 million per person per year, many times higher than in the period when Xuan Loc first began building new-style rural areas.

Farmers in Xuan Loc have boldly shifted from traditional agricultural production to applying high technology, not only enriching themselves but also contributing to building an increasingly prosperous homeland.

Since 2011, the family of Nguyen Dinh Dien in Xuan Loc Ward has invested in microgreen cultivation. Initially, he experimented with growing the crop simply to provide his family with clean vegetables. Recognizing its high economic value and food safety benefits, he later invested in workshops and shelving systems to scale up production for the market.

According to Dien, indoor cultivation enables farmers to fully control factors such as sunlight, rainfall, humidity, and temperature, thereby minimizing the risk of crop failure. The products also meet food safety standards. “Microgreens grow quickly and can produce large yields on small areas, generating high economic returns,” he said. “Thanks to high-tech applications, the model requires little labor. My wife and I can manage both gardening and microgreen production without excessive hardship.” Wholesale prices for microgreens range from VND40,000 to VND60,000 per kilogram, depending on the variety, with stable year-round prices, ensuring reliable income and profits for farmers.

Nguyen Phat, a farmer in Xuan Loc Ward, is a pioneer in urban agriculture in the locality. In addition to operating an integrated garden-pond-livestock farm, raising wild boars and investing in industrial-scale cold-chain white pig farming, he has also developed a large ornamental plant garden with thousands of trees.

Nguyen Phat shared: "With the rapid pace of urbanization, the demand and interest in ornamental plants among people are increasing. Therefore, in recent years, I have invested in an ornamental plant model not only out of passion but also because I see that this initiative brings high economic value. Just considering the two main types of high-value ornamental plants, my garden has nearly 2,000 pine trees and several hundred apricot trees. Many of these ornamental plants are decades old, and their prices at the garden range from dozens of millions of VND to hundreds of millions of VND per tree."

As part of its strategy for sustainable large-scale agricultural production, Xuan Loc has established specialized farming zones for high-value crops, including pepper, mango, dragon fruit, pomelo, and cocoa. The ward has also developed industrial-scale livestock farming areas for pigs, chickens, and cattle. To date, the whole ward has established 16 cooperatives linked to supply chains from production to consumption. The One Commune One Product (OCOP) program has also achieved encouraging results, with many local agricultural products earning national five-star OCOP recognition.

Creating momentum through policies and investment environment

Recognizing the development of high-tech, green, and circular agriculture as its core economic driver, Xuan Loc Ward has prioritized investment in irrigation infrastructure for production. The ward currently has two major irrigation projects, Nui Le Lake and Gia Mang Lake. In addition, its network of irrigation canals has been upgraded and expanded, largely meeting irrigation and disaster prevention needs.

During a 2024 survey of Xuan Loc’s model new-style rural development achievements, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam praised Xuan Loc as the first locality in the country to basically complete the criteria for a model new-style rural district. What is particularly commendable is the locality’s success in developing specialized commodity production through creative applications of science, machinery, and technology. Accordingly, the locality has attracted leading enterprises that apply advanced technology to production with cost-effective innovations ready for transfer and replication among farmers. These achievements stem from the strong determination and decisive leadership of local authorities in building advanced and model new-style rural areas, thereby creating favorable mechanisms and an attractive investment environment.

Tran Quang Tinh, representative of Viet Farm Trading Co., Ltd. in Xuan Loc Ward, said the company chose Xuan Loc to invest in a high-tech organic fertilizer plant and greenhouse farms for fruit and vegetable production because the locality offers favorable climate conditions, strategic location advantages, and proximity to large livestock farming areas. An important factor that convinced the business to invest and remain committed here is the supportive policies and favorable business environment created by the local government.

By Le Quyen – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho