The information was given at Workshop on Organic Agriculture Development organized by Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) in collaboration with Embassy of Denmark on May 15, in Hanoi.
There is still a lot of room for the market
In his opening speech at the workshop, Mr. Pham Van Duy - Deputy Director of Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development said that organic agriculture is increasingly receiving deep attention from consumers and the business community. In recent years, organic agriculture in Vietnam has had positive developments. Area of organic farming has increased, more and more cooperative enterprises are interested in investing and consumers are beginning to trust in clean and sustainable products.
However, organic agriculture has not developed evenly between regions, value chain is still lacking and quality certification control is not really synchronized. Therefore, creating a space for dialogue between stakeholders; Sharing Danish policies, processes and implementation models in organic agricultural production and certification; listening to real stories from pioneering farms in the country; discussing practical initiatives and solutions to scale up and improve efficiency of organic agricultural sector in Vietnam is very important.
Mr. Truong Xuan Sinh - Center for Testing, Verification and Quality Services (RETAQ) under Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development - said that according to the latest updated data, current organic agricultural production area is about 174,579.6 hectares, accounting for 1.41% of agricultural production area; export value of organic agricultural products is about 20 trillion VND, accounting for 1.46% of total export turnover of agriculture, forestry and fishery products.
Affirming that Vietnam has many advantages for organic agricultural production due to favorable natural conditions; Many agricultural products have competitive advantages such as rice, coffee, pepper, cashew, tea, tropical fruits, seafood, etc.; abundant labor resources; Vietnam participates in many Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to help expand agricultural market. However, Vietnam's organic agricultural production is facing many difficulties from market, policies, high production costs, leading to high product prices, fragmented production, low technology and labor skills.
"The Government has issued decrees on organic agriculture. Provinces and cities have developed and issued projects or plans and policies to develop local organic agricultural production. However, development of organic agriculture in Vietnam is still modest," said Mr. Truong Xuan Sinh.
Need for planning of organic agricultural production areas
Affirming that potential for organic agricultural development is still very large, however, to be attractive enough for large enterprises and FDI enterprises to invest in this field, Mr. Truong Xuan Sinh said that it is necessary to have planning of production areas.
According to Mr. Truong Xuan Sinh, organic agricultural production associated with brand building; associated with green transformation and sustainable food production; associated with zero net emissions; associated with ecotourism... will help organic agriculture to be stable in the long term and reduce costs.
In addition, it is necessary to digitize production, business records and traceability. Improve knowledge of organic agricultural production for producers, businesses and consumers. Optimize and reduce costs of organic certification by assessing and maintaining certification instead of re-certification along with increased monitoring from the community. Build a community of producers, consumers and distribution channels.
At workshop, experts from Denmark also shared their experiences and practices from their country. Denmark is a leading country in trend of organic agriculture and sustainable development. About 12% of agricultural land is cultivated using organic methods. Danish consumers especially favor organic food.
Since 1987, Denmark has had an organic law and is also the first country in the world to have a separate law for organic production. Organic criteria are applied throughout the value chain from farm to table. Only when all criteria are met, will producer be granted a certified label as an organic product.
Granting of organic labels is also strictly controlled in each locality. Accordingly, food producers will be subject to regular and surprise inspections by authorities throughout entire supply chain, to ensure that the food reaching consumers is safe.
In 2009, Denmark continued to improve regulations. In addition to labeling products in supermarkets, a label for public kitchens was also created. This helps consumers know whether the food in restaurants, schools is organic or not...
Close cooperation throughout value chain and with stakeholders has made Denmark a country that not only promotes production and consumption of organic agricultural products domestically but also provides consumers around the world with organically produced foods.
At workshop, experts also commented that consumers' views have changed. They do not just want to eat well, they need to eat clean and healthy food. This has a great impact on current farming methods, requiring farmers and producers to work together to create changes for Vietnam's agriculture.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn