Le Hong Hoanh, deputy director of the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the current 2,046 ha could only meet 30 per cent of the demand for vegetables that are free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

The city will expand the safe-vegetable growing area in the outlying districts of Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh and Cu Chi over the next four years.

Hoanh said the department had trained vegetable farmers in organic farming, including advanced methods on growing foreign hybrid products from Japan, Holland and France.

The city’s demand for pesticide-free and organic vegetables such as tomatoes, cauliflowers, pumpkins and cucumbers is rising rapidly among local residents, restaurants, supermarkets, and factory kitchens.

The city recently co-operated with local district authorities to conduct inspection of vegetable quality on 630 crop samples.

Results showed that only 0.47 per cent suffered from pesticide residue, compared to 2 per cent in recent years.

The city’s agricultural sector has encouraged farmers to shift from low-yielding rice fields to organic vegetable and bonsai farms to increase farmers’ incomes.

The city needs 1,600 tonnes of organic vegetables a day, but its vegetable farms can only meet 30 per cent of the demand.

The city is now co-operating with eight neighbouring provinces to produce organic vegetables.

A trial project in each local province is currently being tested on five hectares of land as part of an effort to respond to the government’s plan to ensure food safety and public health. — VNS