Vietnam, German share experience to develop agricultural value chains

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union Leu Vu Dieu speaks at the conference (Photo: dangcongsan)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Farmers’ Union (VFU) and German Farmers’ Association (DBV) held a workshop in Hanoi on October 4 to share experience in developing value chains in agricultural production.

Vice Chairman of the VFU Leu Vu Dieu said Vietnam is modernising agriculture and rural areas while actively promoting integration in the global economy, and the formation of value chains in agriculture will be the key for success in this task.

The country has implemented the “New Vision for Agriculture” initiative from 2010 with a view to developing comprehensive and sustainable agricultural value chains in line with global value chains and climate change response, he added.

So far over 10,000 farmers have joined technical demonstration models and applied sustainable standards for some agricultural products with the cooperation of multinational groups, according to Dieu.

Many cooperative groups and cooperatives have been formed, helping farmers connect with each other and with the market, he noted.

However, the VFU made it clear that the formation of value chains in agriculture has faced many difficulties, the greatest of which is capital shortage, hence the few number of value chains in the country.

Former Secretary of the DBV Helmut Born stressed that in a value chain, the customer has the decisive voice, so farmers must understand better customers’ needs in order to meet demand.

Based on opinions raised at the workshop, the VFU will make recommendations to the Party, State and Government to improve policies and mechanisms encouraging farmers to set up cooperative groups and cooperatives, and businesses to invest in agricultural production value chains.