A delegation of Japanese businesses operating in the agro-sector wrapped up a five-day visit to Vietnam last Saturday, concluding their search for opportunities in the country’s agricultural powerhouses in the northern, central and southern regions.

The delegation, comprising 52 Japanese enterprises, has an interest in doing business in the agricultural sector in Vietnam, where they can sell Japanese fertilizers, seeds and agricultural machinery, according to the Japan Foreign Trade Promotion Organization (JETRO), the organizer of the trip.

Some want to buy agricultural products from Vietnam, while others are looking for investment opportunities in the country’s agricultural sector, JETRO said.

As planned, the delegation visited a number of production areas in Hanoi, Ha Nam Province and Thai Binh Province, before traveling to the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City, and An Giang Province.

JETRO said the trip offered Japanese firms a chance to survey the Vietnamese market, learn about farm practices and exchange ideas with leaders of local authorities and businesses.

The introduction of Japanese techniques in agricultural production in Vietnam will help raise productivity and incomes, as well as contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture in Vietnam, Hirotaka Yasuzumi, managing director of the JETRO office in Ho Chi Minh City, said at a meeting between the delegation and Vietnamese firms in Can Tho last Thursday.

Japanese agro-technology transfer

Vietnam’s listed technology firm FPT Corporation and Japanese technology company Fujitsu last Wednesday announced that they had recently completed building a 400-square-meter cooperative agricultural center in Hanoi.

At the FPT - Fujitsu cooperative agricultural center, two models of “Green House" and "Vegetable Factory" are being trialed to produce high-value vegetables.

The “Green House” model is equipped with multiple sensor systems to collect information on the environment including temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, sunlight, rainfall, wind direction and speed in real time.

This enables the system to automatically control blinds, windows, and the fan system to adjust to the prevailing conditions.

Meanwhile, "Vegetable Factory" is a completely closed system cultivating vegetables applying similar technologies used at the Aizuwakamatsu Akisai vegetable plant in Japan.

"Vegetable Factory" also has a sensor system to collect environmental information and works in the same way as the system in the “Green House” model does.

Teams responsible have been able to collect initial results within the framework of agricultural cooperation projects between the sides that kicked off in October 2014.

After trial operation, FPT and Fujitsu will officially launch the smart agricultural center on a wider scale in February next year.

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