VCCI Launches Sustainable Agriculture Programme in Vietnam

Speaking at the ISAP Vietnam launching workshop, Dr Puvan highlighted benefits of Global ISAP, from exporters, importers, distributors and producers of agriculture to farmers. ISAP is promoted by the UN with the aim of realising global millennium development goals, with the main interest in health and poverty reduction.

 

Accordingly, ISAP will establish and register free identifier codes called blue numbers for farmers. By registering blue numbers, farmers can reveal their personal information on farming and production capacity (product names, geographical indications, etc.), their needs to find partners and product sales channels. Simultaneously, they can capture requirements and standards of products to plan production to meet market demands.

 

For the sake of national interests, the Government, ministries, branches, importers, exporters, distributors of agricultural products base on farmers production capacity to work out orientations for development and consumption goals of agricultural products.

 

Currently, about 20 countries in the world have deployed ISAP. At the reporting conference on implementation of the Millennium Development Goals held in September 2015 in the United States, countries, including Vietnam, will introduce their ISAP.

 

Dr Puvan said importers, distributors and consumers in European and US markets are very concerned about geographical indications, quality, safety and hygiene of products. So, the effective adoption of ISAP will help Vietnam to penetrate into these markets more effectively and help farmers reduce difficulties in selling products.

Sharing the same view, Mr Nguyen Quang Vinh said that although Vietnam has made striking achievements in agriculture, it has still revealed limitations and lack of sustainability.

 

Agriculture is still based on traditional backward farming methods. This leads to substandard agricultural production and low prices. Moreover, backward farming practices also gives rise to degradation of environmental resources and limitation of agricultural production of the country. ISAP will be an effective solution for Vietnam to overcome these limitations.

 

Referring to the ISAP roadmap, Mr Pham Hoang Hai, Head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development of VCCI, said, in the past nearly one month, VCCI has actively collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Vietnam Farmers Association to review and study sustainable production standard sets for fishery, fruit and vegetable and food being applied in Vietnam.

 

VCCI will register and submit to the global ISAP system by the end of August 2015. "To implement ISAP, we will firstly help relevant ministries, branches and farmers understand import and export standards in many regional and global markets to have good solutions and strategies for agricultural production in the future," he said.

 

ISAP Vietnam will be formally carried out from September 2015 to 2018. To achieve effective results, ISAP Vietnam will provide support for farmers to access information technology for selecting and registering, disclosing information. VCCI will also translate ISAP instructions into Vietnamese language for ministries, branches, industry associations, exporters, distributors and farmers.