Japanese firms eye organic agriculture in An Giang

An Giang (VNA) – Japanese businesses have expressed their wish to invest in organic agriculture and agricultural tourism in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.

Toshitsugu Hagihara, General Director of Hagihara Company – one of Japan’s leading businesses in organic agriculture, told local leaders at a working session on May 23 that his company wants to plant mask melon in glass houses using Japan’s cutting-edge technologies, in the province.

Hagihara Company will firstly analyse soil samples in An Giang to put forth a suitable cultivation process and then send leading experts to the locality to transfer farming techniques to local farmers, he said.  

If the work proves effective, the company will build factories processing farm produce, helping musk melon and other agricultural products of An Giang penetrate the Japanese market through supermarket chains.  

Although An Giang has favourable conditions for organic agriculture, local farmers have yet to meet requirements of organic agriculture, he said. 

Koichiro Abe, Director of Raycean Company, said Raycean and Hagihara are confident to become An Giang’s important and long-term partner in organic agriculture and agricultural tourism development in order to raise competitiveness of local farm produce. 

Vuong Binh Thanh, Chairman of the An Giang People’s Committee, pledged that local authorities will help the Japanese businesses with legal procedures, promotion and technology transfer. 

He highlighted low-cost labour force and production as advantages of An Giang despite its limitations in infrastructure. 

A project to transfer technologies between An Giang and Hagihara is expected to be implemented in 2017, under which four musk melon farms will be built in Tinh Bien, Chau Doc, Chau Thanh and Thoai Son districts