Tea Chain Yen Lap

Yen Lap District Women’s Union is a civil society organization with Women’s Union representatives at the village and commune levels and a total membership of 1325 women in Luong Son Commune. Having contributed to successful tea chain development, the Union is supporting the development of tea farmers’ organizations and facilitating farmers’ access to preferential loans for tea production and marketing development. They will also support the farmers of the 7 villages of Luong Son Commune to register as a cooperative in 2011.

Phu Ha tea limited liability company is a family enterprise based in Yen Lap, Phu Tho Province, founded in 2006. In 2010, it processed 1200 tons of fresh tea and 5160 tons of black tea of 22 different quality grades. It exports most of its production to the Middle East through a national consortium of 12 tea factories named Future Generation. In the tea chain, the company has been supporting tea farmers in terms of production, tea collection and marketing.

Safe Vegetable Chain Lang Son

LANGSONSTAS is the provincial branch of the Vietnam Standards and Consumers Association (VINASTAS) and works with VECO on consumer awareness raising. In addition, Langsonstas also provides support to farmers’ organizations (FO) on marketing initiatives so that FOs are able to coordinate the harvesting, collection and transport of SV, meeting SV supply contracts with restaurants and the demand of the SV stall at the central market

Lang Son Plant Protection Department (PPD) is a provincial state management agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and has technical expertise in agriculture, pest and disease management. PPD has cooperated with VECO to develop Lang Son SV chain in terms of safe vegetable production techniques and certification and the piloting of PGS – Participatory Guarantee System with Na Chuong Cooperative in 2011.

Safe Vegetable Chain Viet Tri

PHUTHOSTAS is the provincial branch of the Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association (VINASTAS) and has experience in public education, promotion of safe vegetables and other agricultural products. In the SV chain development program, Phuthostas is going to implement and coordinate activities on consumers’ awareness raising.

Phu Tho Plant Protection Department (PPD) is performing the function of state management and inspection over plant protection & quarantine, plant protection substances in Phu Tho province. In cooperation with VECO to development SV Chain in Viet Tri City, PPD takes on the components of SV production and certification, PGS development – Participatory Guarantee System to all zones of Tan Duc Commune, and Marketing to SV stalls and restaurants.

Viet Tri City Women’s Union plays an important role in group development including management of group fund, and provides information and support to farmers on small loans provided by Vietnam Bank of Social Policies and other banks for agricultural production. They will also support farmers of Tan Duc commune to register as a cooperative in 2011.

Advocacy

CASRAD - Center for Agrarian Systems Research and Development was founded in April 2006 under the Field Crops Research Institute. It is a scientific unit responsible for research and development for sustainable agrarian systems, consultancy, co-operation and training in agriculture. They have research, technical support to production and value chain experience with various agricultural commodities and will mainly carry out an evidenced based research on the impact of the new Food & Safety law on small scale farmers.

IPSARD - Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development joins VECO in supporting initiatives for institutional and agricultural production policy change for rural development. Its strength is its extensive network as an agency of MARD (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) with access to information and the ability to influence the government through many means and media. They will cooperate with CASRAD to support them in their research, set up a food and safety forum with national stakeholders, develop a policy brief on the gaps of the new law and lobby with government agencies in favour of small scale farmers.

Consumer Awareness

VINASTAS - Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association, is a national NGO with branch offices in some provinces. It has experience in public education, promotion of safe vegetable and other agricultural products. VINASTAS implements effective consumer education strategies to raise awareness on the benefits of safe vegetables consumption at national level, and through the provincial branches of its network. They actively link with a broad base of consumers and other organizations including the media to share and exchange about the importance and benefits of food safety. They will also play a key role in linking consumers with retailers and producers. VINASTAS implemented VECO Vietnam’s programme in 2008-2010 to raise consumer awareness and set up the participatory certification system in Viet Tri. They kicked off the new program by carrying out a mapping of retailers and production areas of safe and organic vegetables in and around Hanoi which is now available on the Internet as reference for consumers (click here).

Phu Tho Plant Protection Department(Phu Tho PDD) is a boundary partner of VECO in Viet Tri City with practical experience on PGS application for small-scale producers of safe vegetables. The organisational capacity and leadership of Phu Tho PPD is suitable for replication of the PGS in nearby Vinh Phuc Province where vegetable production is significant. Through its experience in piloting and upscaling the PGS for safe vegetable farmers in Viet Tri city, it leads initiatives to inform other PPDs at provincial level about this participatory certification system. Phu Tho PPD plays an active role in encouraging replication of the PGS in other safe vegetable production areas and acts as coach to the PPD of those provinces in implementing the system. They also share their experience with a wider audience to promote learning related to food safety and certification.