Attracting investment in the agriculture sector in Vietnam
SNV co-organised and sponsored a workshop on “Promoting the linkage between production, processing and consumption of agricultural products to attract investment in the agriculture sector” on 21 December 2019 at Da Lat Palace Hotel, Da Lat, Vietnam. The workshop was chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, Mr. Pham S and the director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Nguyen Van Son, with the aim to promote the linkage between all actors of the agri-product chains and attract more investment for the sustainable development of agriculture Lam Dong province.
The workshop attracted more than 200 participants from private sector (companies, processors, supermarket chains), public sector (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development, local government, research institutes…) and producers (companies, cooperatives, farmers…). Key note speakers presented various topics on Vietnam’s agriculture market, leverage of agriculture and rural development policy, the role of Lam Dong province as an important food supplier for Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city as well as the current issues and opportunities for the development of Lam Dong agri-food value chains.
Lam Dong agriculture production and status of agri-food value chain development
Lam Dong province has developed into the one of the biggest vegetable and flower production regions in Vietnam, thanks to the suitable natural conditions that enable all year-round production, the development of infrastructure, application of innovative farming techniques and modern agriculture technologies as well as the introduction of new and improved varieties. The province produced 2.58 million tons of vegetables and 3.57 billion cut flowers in 2018, mostly (90%) for the domestic consumption, especially for Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi markets (Workshop proceedings). The agriculture sector (including aquaculture and forestry subsectors) contributes 46.8% of the provincial GDP (Workshop proceedings).
However, despite the fast growth in production, food processing and value chain development remain the two weak fields of the agriculture sector in Lam Dong. The capacity of food processors can only meet 13% of the total vegetable production volume and only less than 50% of the fresh produce is pre-processed in Lam Dong. There are only 145 agri-food linking chains, of which only five chains are fully developed into value chains (linkage from input supply to production, processing and consumption). The total volume under agri-product linking chains accounts for only 10-12% of the total volume. The province also attracts investment from 1,425 companies in Vietnam and 72 foreign companies in agriculture sector (Workshop proceedings).
Coffee production and coffee value chain
Lam Dong has the second biggest coffee production are in Vietnam (160,705 ha). However, there are only 19 coffee value chains with a total area of 18,965 ha produced by 9,156 households, accounting for only 11.8% of the total coffee production. Lam Dong also has the biggest Arabica coffee area (13.685 ha), distributing mainly in Lam Ha and Lac Duong districts and a small area of Da Lat city.
CAFÉ-REDD promoting inclusive value chain development
The SNV CAFÉ-REDD+ project, with the aim to reduce deforestation and degradation by addressing the conversion of forest to agriculture land in the Lang Biang landscape, also facilitates the development of Arabica coffee value chains in Lac Duong district.
The project links public partners (DARD and DPC) with private companies and producers to create high quality of Arabica coffee products that are also deforestation-free and fully traceable from farm to cups applying high technologies such as drone-based monitoring and QR codes. Other off-forest value chain models such as artichoke, mushroom and persimmon are also supported and promoted by the project. Important partners of the CAFÉ-REDD project, who are receiving the project support to develop inclusive Arabica coffee Value chains such as K’ho coffee, Tam Trinh, the Married Beans and Chappi Mountains Coffee companies as well as Yumonang, a speciality coffee shop, also participated in this workshop and presented information of their coffee value chains in the workshop proceedings.
Future of value chain development in agriculture sector
The workshop organised the signing of an MoU for production and sales of agri-products between cooperatives and farmers in Lam Dong with companies and supermarket chains in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city, thereby promoting the linking chain development. In his closing remark at the workshop, Mr. Pham S emphasised the continual support and focus of Lam Dong province on the enhancement of value-added products and sustainable development of agriculture sector. To successfully achieve this goal, Mr. Pham S addressed six issues that need strong collaboration between all actors whose benefits and responsibilities should be shared professionally and transparently. The role and investment of private sector in the agri-food value chain development is remarkably important to achieve the target that at least 65% farmers will participate in one or more collaborative forms of linking chain and value chain and around 50% of the total agri-products will be purchased through contracts.
The visit of the Deputy Prime Minister to K’ho Coffee
In parallel to the workshop event, on the morning of 21 December 2019, the K’Ho Coffee company and CAFÉ-REDD project had the honour to welcome the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Truong Hoa Binh and the delegate. The CAFÉ-REDD staff demonstrated how the QR codes on K’ho coffee packages enable consumers to trace information related to the products.
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