However, the potential has yet to be fully realized, as agricultural production in Điện Biên is mostly small-scale and fragmented, lacking sustainable development links. To achieve sustainable agricultural development, Điện Biên needs a breakthrough mindset in strategy, systematic investment, and effective models to enhance the value of agricultural products.

Located in the heart of the Điện Biên basin, the Mường Thanh rice field is the largest rice production area in the Northwest. At an altitude of over 400 meters above sea level, the Mường Thanh rice field stretches over 20 kilometers along the Nậm Rốm river, covering both Điện Biên and Điện Biên Phủ cities. The Mường Thanh rice field is renowned for producing the famous sticky rice of Điện Biên, aided by the Nậm Rốm irrigation system. High-tech farming, including mechanized seeding and harvesting, has been applied on the Mường Thanh rice field, along with organic farming models aimed at enhancing rice quality and ensuring clear origins.

Recently, a smart rice farming model that reduces greenhouse gas emissions has been implemented on 86 hectares, including 53 hectares of the Mường Thanh rice field. This model supports farmers with organic fertilizers, biotechnological products, and agricultural training while significantly cutting costs, reducing carbon emissions, and ensuring high-quality rice with low pest infestations, all while offering guaranteed output.

In addition to rice, many areas of Điện Biên have suitable climates and soils for crop restructuring, with potential to develop regions of economically advantageous crops. Areas of the province have been planned for key crop cultivation, including rice, macadamia, coffee, fruit trees, and vegetables. Within the Điện Biên basin, residents cultivate a wide variety of vegetables, providing fresh produce throughout the year. Meanwhile, clean farming farms producing fruits like Cara orange, green-skinned grapefruit, mango, and passion fruit are growing. These farms utilize organic farming techniques that avoid chemicals, creating balanced ecosystems to improve quality and market prices.

With the goal of becoming a key fruit-producing region of the province, Mường Ảng district has implemented 3 production linkage projects for fruit cultivation and consumption from 2021-2023. A total of 218 households in 8 districts have participated in growing mangoes and grapefruit, covering nearly 70 hectares. Today, Mường Ảng has over 510 hectares of fruit trees, with 357 hectares already in harvest.

Identifying specific crops, Tuần Giáo district has developed a plan to create a region for macadamia and coffee cultivation. With a daring mindset, Tuần Giáo has mobilized the involvement of the entire political system in planting these crops. By 2025, Tuần Giáo is set to expand macadamia cultivation to 2,168 hectares, increasing the total macadamia area to nearly 6,000 hectares, making it the largest macadamia-growing district in the country.

Despite exploiting land potential and applying effective production models, Điện Biên’s agriculture has yet to develop sustainably. The province aims to restructure its agricultural sector, taking advantage of its unique potential, ensuring that agriculture, forestry, and fisheries will contribute 4.15% to the province’s GRDP growth. The key challenge remains improving productivity, quality, and farmers’ income as the province implements plans to shift crop structures and enhance agricultural product quality. The production mindset needs to shift from fragmented to linked systems, creating crop regions and products, and adopting technology to raise product quality and value.

To promote the development of advantageous and specialty fruit crops across the province, the provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No.3417/QĐ-UBND in December 2021 to approve the “Development Plan for Advantageous and Specialty Fruit Crops towards Sustainable, Large-scale Commercial Production from 2021-2025, with a vision towards 2030.” As part of this, the province has already converted 578 hectares of rice and annual crop land into fruit orchards. Currently, the total fruit orchard area in the province is estimated to be over 4,130 hectares. The province has not only invested in producing seeds but also encourages production standards such as VietGAP, organic, and safe methods while focusing on training, technical progress transfer, and helping farmers enhance their production skills and access the market. The agricultural products are oriented towards deep processing to increase value, aiming to meet OCOP standards, with links between production and product consumption to ensure stable output.

By tapping into agriculture’s potential, Điện Biên needs to focus on developing agriculture as a commodity sector, applying science and technology, promoting clean and organic agriculture, and linking production in value chains. By identifying and establishing regions for key crops suited to local conditions with high economic value, sustainable poverty reduction for local residents is within reach.

Clear mechanisms and policies in production linkage, defining key crop regions to create characteristic agricultural products, will serve as a catalyst for sustainable agricultural development, increasing income, and improving local livelihoods.