Vietnam, France enhance cooperation in organic agriculture development

Businesses of Vietnam and France on February 26 gathered in a forum in Paris to exchange know-how and explore cooperation opportunities in organic farming.

33 out of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam have organic farming models

At the event, Vietnamese firms had opportunities to learn about France’s state management in the field while French organic certification providers had a chance to study Vietnam’s investment climate to assist local businesses develop organic farming sustainably. 

Participants agreed that the demand for healthy and environmentally-friendly agricultural products will become an inevitable trend in the coming time in many countries, especially developed nations. 

Executive Director of Ecolink Pham Minh Duc said his company has successfully brought clean O Long tea grown in Vietnam’s northern province of Lai Chau to the French market. 

He hoped to share his experience with policymakers through this forum to help them devise more proper financial and policy mechanisms to develop Vietnam’s agriculture and tea products in particular. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a conference recently that Vietnam will invest more in organic agriculture in the coming time to meet the increasing demand for organic products of high-income people and penetrate growing global organic markets. 

Organic agriculture in Vietnam should be developed together with ecotourism and in line with international regulations. The government will issue a new decree facilitating organic agriculture development, Phuc said.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said organic farming in Vietnam is still underdeveloped. Many farmers still hesitate to invest in organic farming due to high costs, strict requirements and unstable markets. Few businesses have international organic certificates, casting doubt on their organic products.

Cuong said Vietnam should develop organic agriculture in a sustainable way to meet its food security goal given climate change and arable land loss.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is actively implementing an agriculture restructuring project which pays special attention to creating environmentally-friendly and high added-value organic farm products for exports. 

The ministry will promulgate appropriate policies to help production units and associations to speed up the development of organic agriculture and maintain ecological balance, especially in the light of international economic integration and climate change adaptation. 

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that to meet challenges and promote organic agriculture, the key is to fine tune economic mechanisms and policies. The ministry will work with relevant agencies to compile a decree on organic agriculture to submit to the Prime Minister.

 “We should focus on producing safe products following VietGap and GlobalGap standards and sustainable and environment-friendly production, particularly organic farming. We’ll propose measures to the government to strengthen organic agriculture”, he noted. 

According to the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association, the organic farming area in the country has been increasing, reaching about 77,000 hectares in 2016, 3.6 times higher than it was in 2010. 

Currently, 33 out of the country’s 63 provinces and cities have organic farming models, with many offering high economic efficiency and higher incomes for farmers, contributing to agricultural restructuring. 

Though it is modest compared to the total farming area, businesses and organizations are applying international organic standards and certified organic products are being exported to many markets, including the US and EU. 

Organic agriculture offers advantages such as no pesticide residue, higher value of products, and greater likelihood of being accepted in choosy markets.