At the opening remark, Mr. Mai Thanh Quang, Director of the Department of Science and Technology stated that startups in general and startups in agriculture in particular has become a nationwide movement. In Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, many models of agricultural start-ups have been successful such as the ViFarm farm, Thanh Dat cocoa farm, pacific oyster farming and greenhouse farming in Dat Do district. They are model of applying science and technology in production to improve productivity and quality and increase product value.

After the opening remark, a talk was held by experts from various organizations working with agricultural startups. Guest speakers included Msc. Hoang Anh Tuan - Deputy Director of Center for High-tech Agricultural Business Incubator, Msc. Nguyen Van Hung - Deputy Director of the Provincial Agricultural Promotion Center, Mr. Le Minh Nhut - Head of operation at Startup Vietnam Foundation, Mr. Ho Khiem - founder and director of Thao Moc Linh Manufacturing and Trading Company. Topics included high-tech agriculture, opportunities and potential for startups in agriculture in Vietnam and in Ba Ria - Vung Tau in particular, the difficulties that agricultural startups may face and how to help entrepreneurs to tackle these challenges in early stage startup companies...

Also at the conference, Mr. Mai Thanh Quang - Director of Department of Science and Technology introduced the 2017 BR-VT Startup Contest. This is a contest for all individuals, teams and businesses with innovative startup ideas and projects with agriculture as one of prioritized field.  Participants of the contests do not only have the opportunities to win monetary prizes totaling 170 million VND but also benefit from trainings and events and access to other supporting policies from the provincial government.