Title of document: VIETNAM ORGANIC AGRICULTURE - An overview on current status and some success activities Authors: Ngo Doan Dam, Doan Xuan Canh, Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, Nguyen Van Tan, Nguyen Dinh Thieu Geographic focus: Vietnam School of agroecology: Organic Agriculture Although it is believed, as in all other countries in the world, Vietnamese farmers were growing crops organically hundred years ago, organic farming according to the international understanding is quite new to Vietnam. There is currently only a very sparse amount of information available on organic agriculture in Vietnam and the topic has received little attention in the academic literature. According to the 2010 IFOAM report, the certified organic area in Vietnam was some 21.000 hectares, equivalent to 0.2% of the total cropped area of which 7000 ha was for aquaculture (mainly shrimp). The total export value of the organic products was some 12-14 million US$. Vietnam also has some 44 ha of natural forest for wild harvesting.   Read More

Title of document: VIETNAM ORGANIC AGRICULTURE An overview on current status and some success activities - Korea Author: Ngo Doan Dam Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Field Crops Research Institute (FCRI); Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS) Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: Vietnam Main issues / topics addressed: Presented at the 4th ANSOFT Workshop; Gwangju, Korea, 18-20 October 2012 School of agroecology: Organic Agriculture Modern organic agriculture is new to Vietnam. Organic Information: Few and scattered. Certified organic area and value (2010): • 21.000 ha (0.2% of the total cropped area) of which 7000 ha was for aquaculture (mainly shrimp). • Total export value: 12-14 million US$. Organic commodities: vegetables, tea, shrimp, and small amounts of specialty products, such as herbs, star anise, ginger, spices and essential oils… for export to Europe.   Read More

Title of document: Country Strategy Paper, Vietnam - Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component”/Towards a non-toxic environment in South East Asia – Phase I Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: FAO; FAO IPM; IPM Vietnam Year of publication: 2013 Year / period of application: July 2010 - June 2013 Geographic focus: Vietnam Main issues / topics addressed: Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component” School of agroecology: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) / Integrated Cropping Management (ICM) The National IPM Programme in Vietnam was established in 1990 with support from FAO to address concerns regarding heavy reliance on chemical inputs in crop production and protection, negatively affecting smallholder farmers, their livelihoods, consumer health and the environment. The implementation of the FAO Intercountry Programme for IPM on rice was carried out from 1992-2002. The Plant Protection Department (PPD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) became the responsible implementation agency of the programme in Vietnam. A network of farmer field school (FFS) facilitators was established nationwide that trained over half a million farmers in rice IPM. Following the success with the rice programme, other crops like maize, sweet potato and estate crops (such as tea) became targeted for IPM implementation on smaller scale in specific areas. The FAO Intercountry Programmes on rice, vegetables and cotton, and the DANIDA ASPS Programme on rice and vegetables provided support to the National IPM Programme/PPD for implementation of IPM farmers training during the last decade, bringing the total number of trained farmers to more than one million. Additional initiatives were supported by various NGOs [e.g. CIDSE on tea, maize and soybean IPM and the plant genetic resource conservation and development project (BUCAP) implemented by the INGO SEARICE and funded by the Norwegian Development Fund]. Initiatives have also been supported by national and international research institutes. For example, research and development for extension of IPM in citrus implemented by the National Institute for Plant Protection (NIPP) under an ACIAR-funded project and development of IPM for potato and sweetpotato with support from the International Potato Center (CIP).     Read More

Title of document: Assessment of policies and public service impact rice cultivation technique based on SRI principles applying on large scale Authors: Dao The Anh, Nguyen Ngoc Mai, Ung Thi Hong Nhung, Vu Nhat Canh, Nguyen Van Thang Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: Vietnam School of agroecology: System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Organisation: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam Summary of the document: The paper indicates the applying of SRI, the lessons and advantages of SRI in Vietnam. It also presents a comparison of techniques between the SRI and conventional rice production techniques in Vietnam. At the end, the paper also gives recommendations for policy making in both short-term and long-term period.   Read More

Title of document: Food safety advocacy program for small-scale vegetable production Authors: MA. Nguyen Thi Ha, MA. Ha Dung Minh, Dr. Dao The Anh Organism: Veco Vietnam, Centre for agrarian systems research and development Year of parution: 2013 Objectives of the document: To present the situation of Vietnam concerning Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) Geographical region: Vietnam After giving a general context on the need of this study and details on methodology, this paper present the current situation of Vietnam in relation to PGS. This study allows authors to finish by giving recommendations concerning that system.   Read More

Title of document: Towards an agroecological transition in Southeast Asia: Cultivating diversity and developing synergies Authors: Jean-Christophe CASTELLA; Jean-François KIBLER Organisation: GRET; AFD ABOUT THE STUDY Starting from the early 1990s, a multitude of national and regional initiatives have emerged in the Great Mekong Sub-Region for supporting ecological intensification of agriculture or agroecology. The French Agency for Development (AFD) has been a very active supporter of these initiatives, especially in relation to the promotion of Conservation Agriculture and the establishment of the Conservation Agriculture Network for South East Asia (CANSEA). In addition to its initial focus on Conservation Agriculture and with the objective of widening the scope of agroecology by including all other “schools” such as Organic Agriculture, Agroforestry, Integrated Pest Management, System of Rice Intensification…, the AFD commissioned a study to better understand regional and national agroecology dynamics and initiatives, their strengths and weaknesses as well as the main issues at stake for their large scale dissemination. The authors conducted this study in 2013 in the six countries of the GMS, through a review of the literature combined with country based consultation workshops in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam and expert surveys in Thailand and Yunnan-China. This publication aims at sharing some of the study’s key findings, and at providing a broad, yet non-exhaustive, overview of the current situation of agroecology in the Great Mekong Region. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jean-Christophe CASTELLA is a geo-agronomist from IRD, seconded to CIRAD and based in Lao PDR. Over the past two decades, he has worked in the Mekong region on agrarian changes and their impacts on landscapes and livelihoods. Contact: [email protected] Jean-François KIBLER is an agro-economist from GRET with 20 years’ experience in rural development. He has coordinated a number of development projects in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar. Contact: [email protected]   Read More