By 2025, 75% of pepper produced and exported will meet the requirements of a developed market, 25% of farmers will be able to access safe production models and improve livelihoods.
In addition, at least 25% of pepper farmers increase their income by 25%, 25,000 farmers receive training and access to agricultural services, and 70,000 tons of pepper are produced sustainably. That is the goal of the public-private partnership group in the pepper industry in the coming time.
Market love school clean pepper
At the preliminary meeting for the first 6 months of the year, the public-private partnership group for pepper industry, Mr. Nguyen Quy Duong, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that today’s preliminary meeting aims to evaluate and find direction to solve some outstanding problems related to the general quality of Vietnamese pepper products when exporting to the US market. Those are residual active ingredients on pepper products. If the required threshold is not reached, it will be difficult to enter the US market.
“We are building a threshold for Vietnamese pepper. In addition, today’s preliminary meeting also summarizes and evaluates the implementation results of the EU-funded sustainable Vietnamese pepper development project, implemented in 3 provinces, Dak Nong, Dak Lak and Gia Lai. After the conference, we will sign a memorandum of understanding on the integrated plant health care program between the Department of Plant Protection and 2 other units, “Sustainable Spices Initiative” (SSI) and “The Sustainable Spices Initiative”. Sustainable Trade Initiative” (IDH)”, Mr. Duong said.
In order for pepper products to meet the standards for export to the US market, it is necessary to follow a standard farming process according to the program launched by the public-private partnership group. Photo: Hong Thuy.
The basic content of the memorandum of understanding between the three parties is to support and promote sustainable pepper production in Vietnam through the management and guidance of responsible use of pesticides; Strengthen effective cooperation between public and private partners to control pesticide residues in pepper production to meet market requirements; Promote safe production linkages; Strengthen policies and capacity of public partners to scale up sustainable pepper production; calling on fertilizer enterprises to build models of using organic fertilizers in Dak Lak and Dak Nong.
According to Mr. Duong, the important thing to export pepper products to the US market is not what farming process is applied, but the problem is to reach the threshold of MRL (remains of maximum plant protection substances). allowed) as required by this market. “To solve the problem of pesticide residues, the whole system has to step in, including the state, businesses (quadrant), farmers. And also state-owned social organizations such as Farmers’ Union, Women’s Union, Youth Union…
Private groups are businesses with a very important role. The cooperative group currently has 8 participating enterprises and is promoting its role in this public-private group very well. It is a production link with farmers. In addition to solving product output, they also train farmers in farming techniques. From there, people understand the regulations and procedures for using fertilizers, pesticides, etc. And the Department of Plant Protection will support these training programs, guide the use of pesticides, which types are used, which ones should not be used. , the process of using from the beginning until the time of collection follows the principle of “4 right” …”, Mr. Duong continued.
To produce a sustainable lake, it is necessary to involve the whole system, including the central, local, businesses and farmers. Photo: Hong Thuy.
In addition, the public-private group will have a training program for key farmers on sustainable farming, plant health, and ecological environment. The program helps farming to ensure productivity, while also solving environmental problems, especially the problem of pesticide residues. This is the strategy that the Department of Plant Protection is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to develop an action plan to 2030 with a vision to 2050 according to the plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which has just been signed by the Prime Minister.
At the preliminary meeting, the conference also discussed a number of other issues that businesses and international organizations are interested in, such as the use of child labor in the pepper production industry. Or the problem of land degradation is becoming more and more serious in the pepper growing area in the Central Highlands. “The solution proposed by the group in the last 6 months of 2022 is a proposal to build an ecologically sustainable production program to restore the health of the soil.
The most important goal of the public-private partnership program in the pepper industry is safe production, sustainable farming, and ecological agriculture. In addition to the training and training contents, the Department of Plant Protection also proposed to include two programs: plant health management in the period 2022-2030, integrating food safety issues, and adapting to climate change. and transboundary pest management; develop and implement an action plan for integrated crop health management for the period 2022-2025, integrating food safety, pest management and risks caused by pesticides.
Top priorities
Vietnam is the world’s largest pepper producer and exporter, accounting for about 60% of the total pepper volume traded worldwide. However, Vietnam’s pepper industry is facing major challenges such as low selling prices, lack of sustainability, and not meeting the increasingly higher requirements of markets. “It is very important to ensure that there are no pesticide residues in exported pepper products. Even China, an important import market for Vietnamese pepper, has increasingly strict requirements on food quality. Therefore, sustainable production of the pepper industry is an indispensable and important task. One of the top priorities of the public-private partnership in the pepper industry is to support small and medium-sized enterprises and farmers to control pesticide residues in pepper; chain production links; promote communication and replication of safe pepper production models”, said Mr. Nguyen Quy Duong.
In particular, the Plant Protection Department plays a key role in promoting the improvement of the policy system and capacity in managing and guiding the responsible use of pesticides, promoting safe production linkages, food safety supervision and traceability of exported pepper in order to expand the scale of pepper production and meet the market’s standards for safe and sustainable production.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quy Duong, pepper growing land in the Central Highlands is increasingly seriously degraded, significantly affecting the quality of pepper. Photo: Hong Thuy.
In addition, according to Ms. Mac Tuyet Nga, manager of the seasoning program IDH Vietnam, some other important contents of the public-private partnership (PPP) group in the priority pepper industry are the strategy to improve the quality of pepper. increase income, improve working conditions for farmers, especially female workers, ensure cooperation between public and private sectors to effectively control pesticide residue levels in pepper production to meet market requirements; Supporting businesses to fulfill their sustainability commitments and helping farmers apply sustainable initiatives and practices for inclusive growth.
According to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), EU countries commit to eliminate tariffs on pepper products as soon as the Agreement comes into effect, especially for previously processed products. tax rates from 5 to 9%. Thus, Vietnam’s pepper exports are facing many advantages in the EU market. Besides, the fact that investors in the EU are considering moving their processing plants to Vietnam to take advantage of cheap raw materials and labor, will create a driving force to promote pepper exports to diverse markets. EU. In which, unground or unground black and white pepper will be the two main export items of the pepper industry. At the same time, Germany and the Netherlands continue to maintain their position as the largest importers of pepper from Vietnam. Therefore, the opportunity for pepper products to increase value and grow pepper’s income is very large. However, in order to have this opportunity, it is necessary to strictly implement the contents and programs that the public-private partnership group has proposed.
According to Nongghiep.vn
