GLOBAL COFFEEPLATFORM

Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony between IDH (Sustainable Trade Initiative) Vietnam and the Vietnam Sustainable Agriculture Transformation Project (VnSAT)

On 24th June 2016 in Hanoi, IDH Vietnam signed the Cooperation Agreement with Project Management Unit of VnSAT , under the strong support from the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development cum Vietnam Coffee Coordination Board (VCCB) Chairman.

The agreement seeks to promote the collaboration with VCCB to further support the dissemination and adoption of the National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC), improvement of agrochemical control, water saving irrigation, application of agroforestry system in combination with coffee rejuvenation, capacity building for farmer organizations, farmer field book application and information sharing.

Specific areas of cooperation within IDH-VnSAT agreement include:

1. Promoting dissemination and application of the National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and Training of Trainers (TOT) and Training of Farmers (TOF) materials developed based on the NSC by the National Agricultural Extension Centre in training activities on sustainable coffee production;
2. Advising and controlling the proper application of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers in coffee production;
3. Reviewing, designing, developing and promoting water saving systems/models and water harvesting system to support sustainable coffee production in the Central Highlands, Vietnam;
4. Reviewing, designing, developing and promoting agroforestry/intercrops/ boundery and wind break trees demo plots with special focus on landscape improvement through coffee rejuvenation;
5. Supporting capacity building and development of farmer organizations in coffee production and input supply in the Central Highlands;
6. Piloting a landscape model in one district under the ISLA program and scaling up in other landscapes under VnSAT framework;
7. Utilizing farmer field book (FFB) information system as an effective project monitoring and evaluation tool;
8. Promoting information sharing and communication.

The agreement is one of IDH and GCP’s efforts to enhance coordination and alignment among sustainable coffee production programs implemented by various coffee stakeholders in Vietnam.

About the VnSAT Project

The VnSAT project, which borrowed total capital of US$238 million from the World Bank’s preferential loan, aims to effectively implement the restructuring of the agricultural sector by strengthening institutional capacity of the sector, innovating sustainable farming practices and improving value chains for two (02) sub-sectors: rice production in the Mekong Delta River and coffee production in the Central Highlands.