Buying and producing organically is growing, according to experts in a seminar on Organic Agriculture Development on Thursday in Hà Nội.
Over the last few years organic agriculture production in Việt Nam has made significant progress, with increasing cultivation areas and participation by more and more businesses and co-operatives, said Phạm Văn Duy, deputy head of Quality, Processing and Market Development Department.
Export values of organic agriculture products have reached about US$20 billion a year, accounting for 1.46 per cent of the total export turnover of agro-forestry-aqua products, he said.
However, the development of organic agriculture remains patchy among regions nationwide, lacking value chain links and synchronous quality control, he added.
Therefore, the seminar, co-held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the Danish Embassy, was a perfect space to encourage dialogue between stakeholders, as well as somewhere to share Danish policies, processes and implementation models in organic agricultural production and certification.
The forum heard real-life stories from pioneering domestic farms, and discussed practical initiatives and solutions to scale-up organic agriculture and improve efficiencies within the sector in Việt Nam.
Trương Xuân Sinh, an expert from Reference Testing and Agrifood Quality Service Centre (RETAQ), said that the current organic cultivation area is about 174,000ha, accounting for 1.4 per cent of the total agriculture domain.
Việt Nam has a great potential for organic agriculture thanks to favourable natural conditions and an abundant labour force that helps grow many high competitive products such as rice, coffee, pepper, cashews, tea, tropical fruits and seafood, Sinh said.
Additionally, participation into many international trade agreements also helps expand markets, Sinh said.
However, organic agricultural production in Việt Nam is still facing many challenges in terms of policies, high production costs leading to high product prices, fragmented production, low technology and labour skills.
To make the sector attractive enough to draw investment from major firms, along with foreign direct investment (FDI), the sector needs a clear production zoning plan tailored for organic agriculture, he said.
Organic production should be linked with brand building, the green transition, sustainable food production, net-zero emissions goals and eco-tourism. These links will contribute to the long-term stability of organic agriculture and reduce associated costs, he added.
According to the experts, the key to successful organic agriculture lies in setting clear standards, ensuring transparent monitoring mechanisms and procedures, and raising awareness among both farmers and consumers.
(VNS)
