Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, a representative from the Association of Food Transparency (AFT), made the statement at the Vietnam Agricultural Policy Forum in Hanoi on September 19.
The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Agriculture Coalition and the Oxfam Organisation under the theme "How to develop a clean agricultural product market?"
Experts stated that Vietnam currently has over 76,600ha of organic farm land and 33 out of 63 provinces and cities are developing organic farming models, with the focus on the provinces and cities of Hanoi, Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Ha Nam, Quang Nam and Lam Dong.
However, only 20% of clean agricultural products are consumed by enterprises, while the remaining products are self-produced and self-consumed. In addition, a large number of consumers do not know about organic agriculture, leading to the unstable consumption of farm production.
Delegates said that the authorities of provinces and cities nationwide should quickly implement the Government Decree 109 on organic agriculture in their localities, while developing additional preferential policies for organic farming.
Experts also suggested that firms involved in the production and consumption of organic farm produce should clearly identify the consumption markets, while enhancing the transparency of the quality certification process of organic products in order to win trust from consumers.
