{"id":613,"date":"2026-03-20T15:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-agri.com\/vietnam-agri\/vietnam-hydroponic-cultivation\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T00:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T15:36:33","slug":"vietnam-hydroponic-cultivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-agri.com\/en\/vietnam-agri\/vietnam-hydroponic-cultivation\/","title":{"rendered":"The latest trends in Vietnamese hydroponics: cases of adopting Da Lat and Israeli technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

You have probably been seeing Vietnamese vegetables in supermarkets more often. Behind this, in fact, lies Vietnam's rapidly advancing protected and hydroponic cultivation technology. Many in agriculture and food importing are curious about what Vietnam's farming situation is really like.<\/p>\n

This article explains the latest trends in hydroponic and nutrient-solution cultivation in Vietnam. It covers a wide range, from leading cases on the Da Lat plateau and around Ho Chi Minh City, to technology introduced from Israel, and business touchpoints with Japan.<\/p>\n

Why Vietnamese agriculture is shifting to protected cultivation<\/h2>\n

Vietnam was long an agricultural country where open-field cultivation was mainstream. In recent years, however, the situation has changed significantly.<\/p>\n

Stricter pesticide-residue standards, rising quality demands from export markets, and unstable rainfall patterns due to climate change. These overlapping factors are accelerating a shift toward cultivation in controlled environments, that is, protected cultivation.<\/p>\n

According to data from Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of 2023 there were about 3,000 certified high-tech farms nationwide, about 2.5 times the 2018 figure. Hydroponic and nutrient-solution cultivation is positioned as the central technology.<\/p>\n

The government is also proactive. Its \"Hi-Tech Agriculture Program\" sets a target of having more than 40% of agricultural GDP come from high-tech agriculture by 2030.<\/p>\n

The Da Lat plateau: the mecca of Vietnam's protected cultivation<\/h2>\n

When it comes to advanced areas for hydroponics, Da Lat comes up first. It is a highland city at an altitude of 1,500 m in Lam Dong Province, with an average annual temperature of about 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. In tropical Vietnam, it has rare climatic conditions suited to growing temperate vegetables.<\/p>\n

Da Lat's farming scale and crops<\/h3>\n

Around Da Lat, more than about 200,000 tonnes of vegetables are now produced annually. The main crops are lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries and flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Items<\/th>\nMain destinations<\/th>\nNotes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Lettuce and leafy greens<\/td>\nDomestic foodservice and supermarkets<\/td>\nHigh share of hydroponics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tomato<\/td>\nDomestic plus exports to Japan and South Korea<\/td>\nMainly greenhouse cultivation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Strawberries<\/td>\nFor domestic premium shops and tourists<\/td>\nA Da Lat specialty<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bell peppers<\/td>\nExports to Japan and Singapore<\/td>\nSome farms are organic-certified<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chrysanthemums and roses<\/td>\nDomestic plus exports to Southeast Asia<\/td>\nCut flowers on the scale of several hundred million stems a year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

VinEco's farm in Da Lat (the agricultural arm of VinGroup) is a leading example. On a site of more than 40 ha, it has state-of-the-art greenhouse facilities and uses an Israeli-made drip irrigation system.<\/p>\n

Da Lat's challenges: land and transport<\/h3>\n

Of course, there are challenges too. Farmland around Da Lat is already tight, leaving limited room for new development. And the roughly 300 km distance to Ho Chi Minh City is a bottleneck for freshness management.<\/p>\n

For that reason, the development of hydroponic facilities on the lowlands near Ho Chi Minh City has been drawing attention in recent years.<\/p>\n

Around Ho Chi Minh City: the rise of urban hydroponics<\/h2>\n

In Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai provinces, within one to two hours' drive of Ho Chi Minh City, peri-urban hydroponic facilities are being launched one after another.<\/p>\n

Vietnam's climate, hot and humid year-round in the lowlands, is inherently unsuited to growing lettuce and leafy greens. However, with closed-type facilities that combine cooling and shading (plant factory<\/a>), a move to overcome this challenge is emerging.<\/p>\n

Binh Duong's GreenFarm brought a closed-type hydroponic facility of about 2 ha into operation in 2022. Combining LED lighting and cooling, it achieves 12 crop cycles a year, supplying about 30 tonnes of leaf lettuce a month to supermarket chains in Ho Chi Minh City.<\/p>\n

Being \"close to the point of consumption,\" \"able to maintain freshness\" and \"able to produce on a planned basis\": this trio is the strength of peri-urban protected cultivation.<\/p>\n

Introducing Israeli technology: what changed, and how<\/h2>\n

In Vietnam's hydroponic and protected cultivation, Israel's presence stands out. Israel is known as a country that \"can farm even in the desert,\" and it is world-class in drip irrigation, nutrient-solution management and greenhouse technology.<\/p>\n

The main technologies being introduced<\/h3>\n

Drip irrigation systems<\/strong><\/p>\n

The drip irrigation system from Netafim (Israel) is widely adopted on large farms near Da Lat. By delivering only the needed amount of water and fertilizer to the roots, this technology can cut water use by up to 60% compared with conventional methods.<\/p>\n

Nutrient-solution management systems<\/strong><\/p>\n

These systems monitor EC (electrical conductivity) and pH in real time and adjust them automatically, maintaining the optimal nutrient-solution composition for each growth stage of the crop. On farms that have introduced them in Vietnam, there are reports of yields improving by 15 to 30%.<\/p>\n

Greenhouse and shading technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Israeli-made multi-span greenhouses have a structure that can withstand typhoons and heavy rain, and have been improved to suit Vietnam's climatic conditions.<\/p>\n

The background to adoption: cooperation with JICA<\/h3>\n

The Japanese government (JICA) has also been involved in bringing Israeli technology to Vietnam. In the \"Project to Support High-Tech Agriculture in Vietnam,\" technology transfer is advancing through a three-way partnership with Israeli research institutions.<\/p>\n

Through this framework, a human-resource cycle is functioning in which Vietnamese agricultural engineers train in Israel and, after returning home, put the technology into practice on local farms.<\/p>\n

Ties with Japan: imports, investment and technical cooperation<\/h2>\n

The development of protected cultivation in Vietnam is not unrelated to Japan.<\/p>\n

From the perspective of food imports<\/h3>\n

The volume of vegetable imports from Vietnam is rising year by year. According to 2023 data from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the value of Vietnamese vegetable imports exceeded about 35 billion yen. Frozen and processed vegetables are central, but with improvements in freshness-preservation technology, the share of fresh vegetables is also rising.<\/p>\n

Hydroponic produce with thorough quality control is easier to clear Japan's import standards, and its reputation among buyers is rising.<\/p>\n

From the perspective of agricultural investment<\/h3>\n

A growing number of Japanese agricultural corporations and trading companies are establishing farms in Vietnam. The model combines low local land and labor costs with Japanese cultivation technology and quality-control know-how.<\/p>\n

Around Da Lat in particular, several Japan-Vietnam joint-venture farms are in operation. A \"production-area direct-link model,\" in which specific crops are grown exclusively for Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores, has also appeared.<\/p>\n

Challenges and outlook: toward 2030<\/h2>\n

Vietnam's hydroponics is growing rapidly, but we need to look honestly at the challenges too.<\/p>\n

High Initial Investment Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Building a full-scale hydroponic facility costs more than 500 million to 1.5 billion dong per hectare (about 3 to 9 million yen). That is a big hurdle for small farmers. Government subsidy schemes exist, but many farmers cannot fully use them because of cumbersome procedures.<\/p>\n

A shortage of engineers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Protected cultivation requires advanced knowledge, but there is a shortage of people who can handle it. Although curriculum development at agricultural universities is progressing, it takes time to spread to the field level.<\/p>\n

Sales channels and price formation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hydroponic vegetables tend to be more expensive than open-field vegetables. Consumer education at home and stronger cooperation with foodservice and retail will be keys to market expansion.<\/p>\n

Even so, the direction is clear. The Vietnamese government plans to triple the current protected-cultivation area by 2030. Taking in technologies from multiple countries, such as Israel, Japan and the Netherlands, a distinctive \"Vietnamese-style high-tech agriculture\" is taking shape.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Vietnam's hydroponic and nutrient-solution cultivation is developing along two axes: the established producing area of the Da Lat plateau and the emerging urban producing area near Ho Chi Minh City. The introduction of Israeli technology has greatly raised production efficiency, and cooperation with overseas partners, including Japan, is driving further quality improvement.<\/p>\n

For those in agriculture, it means more diverse sources of supply; for food importers, a new candidate for procurement. Vietnam's protected-cultivation regions are well worth watching. Depending on whether the government's 2030 targets are met, there is a possibility of growth into Southeast Asia's largest hydroponic vegetable producing area.<\/p>\n

At VN AGRI, we share the latest information on Vietnamese agriculture.<\/p>\n

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