Summary:

PGS was first implemented in Vietnam in Thanh Xuan commune, Soc Son district, in Hanoi. It was introduced by the Danish nongovernmental organization ADDA in 2008, following the model developed by IFOAM for organic agriculture. In 2010, Rikolto (then called VECO) started using the same PGS mechanism with a food safety standard. In order to inform future advocacy activities & to facilitate PGS replication by other actors, the project funded by ALiSEA will produce 3 deliverables. First, it will carry out a PGS assessment study which will include a desk review of PGS experiences & successes outside of Vietnam, an overview & analysis of PGS experiences in Vietnam including lessons learned & best practices, and recommendations for improvement. Second, the project will produce a toolbox to facilitate the adoption & replication of an ideal PGS model for safe vegetables. The toolbox will be comprised of a reader-friendly training of trainer manual explaining step by step how to set up Participatory Guarantee Systems for safe vegetables, a summary of the manual, a PGS handbook, and various factsheets on key building blocks of PGS “at a glance” (e.g. on PGS structures, indicative budget, capacity & extension needs, BasicGAP standard). Third, a policy brief will be developed and disseminated.

Activities: