Gia Lai aims to develop ecological agriculture and elevate the value of Gia Lai’s agricultural products.

Mr. Nguyễn Tuấn Thanh, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee, shared that after the administrative merger, the province now has a natural area of about 21,577 km², making it the second largest in the country. With diverse terrain and climate, along with fertile soil, Gia Lai has favorable conditions to develop key crops such as coffee, pepper, durian, and passion fruit, as well as short-term industrial crops like sugarcane, cassava, and corn.

Its vast land area also provides great potential for developing livestock farming—especially large ruminants—and aquaculture. These advantages position the province as one of the important production hubs for agricultural commodities, not only in the region but also nationwide.

Currently, Gia Lai has approximately 255,670 hectares of crops produced under standards such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic, 4C, and Rainforest Alliance, accounting for more than 41% of total cultivated area; nearly 70,000 hectares have been certified. The area using advanced irrigation technology has reached nearly 131,500 hectares, helping reduce costs, increase productivity, and adapt to climate change. The province has been granted 255 planting area codes covering around 10,246 hectares and 40 packing facility codes serving export markets.

From 2021 to 2025, the agriculture–forestry–fishery sector has maintained an average annual growth rate of 3.75%. Its share in the provincial economic structure remains nearly 30%, continuing to serve as an essential pillar of Gia Lai’s economy.

It can be affirmed that in recent years, the agricultural restructuring in Gia Lai has moved in the right direction—developing more deeply and adding greater value, particularly focusing on high-quality production for export. The province has formed linked production chains and fostered development associated with processing. Gia Lai has established concentrated specialized farming zones for high-value, competitive crops aligned with brand and trademark building. At the same time, ecological agriculture, high-tech applications, and deep processing have been strongly promoted to enhance climate resilience.

The livestock sector is developing toward industrial, concentrated, and biosecure models, with 180 affiliated farms and 31 safe food supply chains. Many livestock operations apply high-tech, closed-loop systems that ensure effective disease control and meet the standards of both domestic and export markets.

The province has established specialized commodity production zones focusing on its key agricultural products; built agricultural product brands integrated with e-commerce and traceability; and formed an agro–forestry–fishery processing center linked with logistics service hubs. The goal is to position Gia Lai as a regional center for agro–forestry processing within the Vietnam–Laos–Cambodia Development Triangle.

In the coming period, the province will prioritize investment in agricultural infrastructure, particularly the completion of the western irrigation system to secure water for crops. It will restructure cultivation areas, promote high-tech agriculture linked with deep processing, and build brands for major crops such as coffee, avocado, durian, pepper, and passion fruit. In livestock farming, the province will continue to develop concentrated, high-tech, and environmentally friendly models associated with value-chain linkages, as well as establish deep-processing factories to serve both domestic and export markets.

The province will continue restructuring crops and livestock to align with its comparative advantages, market demand, and climate change adaptation. It aims to standardize crop production under VietGAP and organic standards, strengthen value-chain linkages to enhance the value of agricultural products, and expand cultivation areas certified under GlobalGAP and organic standards to create opportunities for direct export to high-end markets.

Despite these orientations, the province still faces several challenges. Cooperative systems and purchasing enterprises remain underdeveloped; the high proportion of smallholder farmers limits participation in value chains. Intra-regional transportation, cold storage facilities, and processing infrastructure have yet to meet the requirements for expanded production and product preservation. Quality standards, traceability, and competitiveness in international markets remain uneven. These are issues the province is determined to address in the coming years.

Source: Agricultural and Environmental News.