Vietnam Strengthens Supply Chains for Sustainable Organic Agriculture

As demand for organic agricultural products continues to rise due to their sustainability, safety, and nutritional benefits, Vietnam is making concerted efforts to enhance its organic farming sector. Despite this growing interest, organic farming currently represents only a small fraction of the country's overall agricultural landscape.

Recognizing the potential of organic agriculture to improve farmers' incomes and promote sustainable development, experts are emphasizing the need to strengthen supply chains across the sector.

The Vietnamese government has shown strong support for organic agriculture through various policies aimed at advancing this sector. The Party Central Committee's 2022 Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW on agriculture, farmers, and rural areas underlines the importance of promoting green, organic, and circular agriculture. Prior to this, in 2018, the government issued Decree No. 109/2018/ND-CP on organic agriculture, followed by Decision No. 885/QD-TTg in 2020, which outlined a comprehensive plan for the development of organic agriculture from 2020 to 2030. These policies are designed to bring Vietnam's organic farming in line with global trends.

Dao Thanh Van, Vice President of the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA), noted that while organic farming is practiced in 191 countries and territories, including 74 with specific regulations, Vietnam's traditional organic farming remains relatively small in scale.

By the end of 2023, Vietnam had approximately 495,000 hectares dedicated to organic farming, representing 4.3% of the nation's total agricultural land and 0.69% of the global organic farming area. Despite its modest scale, Vietnam has successfully implemented several effective organic farming models that have bolstered the reputation of its agricultural products.

For instance, Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands boasts over 1,500 hectares of certified organic land, with 1,308 hectares meeting international standards and 270 hectares satisfying Vietnamese standards. By late 2023, Lam Dong had established 10 organic production and consumption chains, yielding higher profits for local farmers compared to traditional farming methods.
Similarly, the southern province of Binh Duong has 600 hectares under organic cultivation. Pham Van Bong, Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shared that Binh Duong is executing a strategy to sustain and expand its organic cultivation areas by 2025,as part of its broader organic agriculture development plan for 2020-2030.

Organic agriculture not only delivers higher economic returns but also enhances farmers' knowledge and skills, encouraging a shift from conventional practices to safer and more responsible farming methods. Organic products are sold through supermarkets, clean agricultural stores, and exports, effectively meeting growing market demand.

Experts believe that organic agriculture aligns with Vietnam's agricultural restructuring policy, which aims for increased added value and sustainable, environmentally friendly development. This approach also enhances the global competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products.

However, long-term success in organic farming hinges on close collaboration among all stakeholders within the organic production system. Le Minh Linh, Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, emphasized that collaboration is crucial to developing a modern agricultural sector that balances the interests of all participants. Organizing organic agricultural production through horizontal (farmer-to-farmer, cooperative-to-cooperative, enterprise-to-enterprise) and vertical linkages (farmer-cooperative-enterprise) linkages is essential for increasing value and ensuring sustainability in both crop and livestock sectors.