Hanoi (VNA) – The fruit farming area in the MekongDelta, the largest agricultural hub in Vietnam, is set to be expanded by150,000ha between now and 2030 to help with local agricult🍒ure’s sustainabledevelopment and adaptation to climate change.

The country earned some 240 million USD fromfruit and vegetable exports in July, raising the seven-month figure to 2billion USD. The revenues respectively fell 1.8 percent and 12.3 percent fromthe same period last year. The Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Associationattributed the decline to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has discouragedcountries’ import of these commodities. However, despites export difficulties, fruitfarming is still a good source of income for farmers as its profit is aboutthree to eight times higher than that from rice cultivation, Mekong Deltalocalities’ departments of agriculture and rural development noted. According to the plan to sustainably develop andadapt the region’s agriculture to climate change until 2030 with a vision to2045, rice production will be reduced while fruit farming increased. In particular, the land under fruit trees willbe expanded by 150,000ha in areas with inefficient rice cultivation to reachabout 650,000ha by 2030. The Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment said the sector will develop and put into use climatechange-resistant plant varieties with high yield and quality. It will alsoassist local farmers to apply sustainable farming practices and cut down costswhile boosting farmers and cooperatives’ connectivity with businesses./.