On December 15, 2023, the Workshop “Applying sustainable standards in biological conservation” (VSS) was held in Hanoi. In it, the story of ecological agriculture contributing to the development of farmers’ lives is discussed.
The value of VSS in developing key agricultural products
The event was coordinated by the Center for Rural Economic Development (CRED) in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Helvetas Organization and the Department of International Cooperation – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (UNCTAD). Rural development.
Aims to raise awareness of the importance of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) in supporting the development of sustainable supply chains, facilitating international trade in diversity-based products biology. One of the expected outcomes is to identify an appropriate legal framework to facilitate widespread application of these standards in Vietnam. The workshop was conducted within the framework of the Global BioTrade Facilitation Program.
The increasing loss of biodiversity is one of the leading global threats. One of the causes of this situation is unsustainable trade and consumption. Therefore, voluntary sustainability standards are requirements that manufacturers, processors, traders, retailers or service providers can be asked to meet, related to sustainability indicators. firmly.
These include issues of environmental impact, basic human rights, labor standards and gender equality. Currently, more than 500 VSS exist, applicable to key export products of many countries such as coffee, bananas, cocoa, palm oil, wood, cotton and organic agricultural foods.
Coffee herbs products from the organic forest garden model.
At the Workshop, presentations and reports included practical examples of sustainable agriculture, provided updates on regulations and shared knowledge about international standards and effective tools to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity, as well as support livelihoods.
Speaking at the opening ceremony at the Conference, Ms. Sibylle Bachmang – Deputy Head of Cooperation Department of the Swiss Embassy in Vietnam said, “Switzerland is a country that has strongly supported voluntary sustainability standards for many years. VSS seeks to ensure that international trade and production processes meet a certain level of economic, social and environmental criteria. On the other hand, by applying these standards, businesses hope to improve their competitiveness and access to international markets, while contributing to poverty reduction and job creation. This is in line with Switzerland’s cooperation goals to support Vietnam in achieving sustainable, market-based growth.”
Balance raw material areas and ensure fair commitments
In fact, promoting VSS with organic farms and forest garden models has been tested and shown to be effective in terms of product quality, purchasing value and ensuring it meets export standards. At the Conference, the organizing committee displayed a number of export agricultural brands with high quality in terms of commercial purchasing and distribution value.
Organic pepper products.
Cinnamon powder, lemongrass powder made in Vietnam
For example, in Tra Vinh province, organic coconut products are purchased by 7 businesses inside and outside the province at an average price 10 – 15% higher than the market price at the time compared to clear coconuts according to the model. traditional shape.
Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh province Le Van Dong said that in Tra Vinh, organic agricultural production is on the list of industries and occupations with investment incentives. With attractive product value, currently a number of coconut brands have been exporting stably in demanding markets.
However, if we want to develop in a more sustainable way, there are still some issues that need to be resolved. For example, the implementation of commitments between businesses and farmers does not ensure compliance with the commitments. In terms of support policies, although quite diverse, the majority of businesses are small-scale, with limited financial resources, technological capacity, capacity and market access, especially the ability to promote products. Products. This leads to difficulties in the unsatisfactory production-purchasing link between people and businesses.
On the other hand, there needs to be regional connectivity to rebalance raw material areas for industrial processing and raw material areas for export, to have fair price competition, creating harmonious benefits for all stakeholders. multiplication in series…
Issues that need to be discussed will be mentioned at the Conference by experts, representatives of state management agencies, businesses and farmers. At the same time, contribute recommendations and proposed solutions to facilitate strengthening public-private partnerships to promote the integration of sustainability standards in the supply chain and develop national legal frameworks.
According to danviet.vn
