If organic agriculture is to thrive, it must first establish a brand and a consumer market

DNHN - That is one of the points made by Mr Hoang Nghia Hieu, Vice Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, during a meeting to comment on the proposed Provincial Organic Agriculture Development Scheme for the period 2022-2030...

It is known that during the meeting, the delegates analyzed the benefits and challenges of implementing the Scheme, in which: Regarding the challenges, the majority of opinions stated that investing large amounts of money to obtain organic agricultural products is required; product design must be diverse and eye-catching...

Furthermore, there is no strong enough legislation to encourage the growth of organic agriculture. As a result, if a distinct policy for the growth of organic agriculture is issued, it must be well studied to avoid unfair circumstances with other agricultural production systems.

At the same time, it should not support prices but should promote trade for organic agricultural goods to foster healthy competition among agricultural products. Some delegates stated that to properly execute the Scheme, comment on tasks, and implement solutions, it is vital to develop a market and bring organic products closer to customers.

According to the leader of the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Government issued Decree 109/2018/ND-The Government on organic agriculture and the Prime Minister issued Decision 885/QD-TTg dated June 23, 2020, approving the organic agriculture development plan for the period 2020-2030, stemming from the trend of developing clean production to ensure health, protect the environment, and ensure sustainable development.

Nghe An has a huge agricultural land area, a broad product line, and the potential for organic agriculture growth... The project is based on the following principles: developing organic agriculture following the provincial socioeconomic development orientation in the period 2022-2030; associated restructuring of the province's agricultural sector in the direction of increasing added value and sustainable development; and utilizing the potential and strengths of organic agriculture in localities.

This is seen as a watershed moment in the agriculture sector's transformation. As a result, there are seven important goods for implementation: rice; fruit (orange, grapefruit, pineapple); processing raw materials (tea, sugarcane); meat (swine, chicken); fresh cow's milk; wood and wood products; shrimp and fish. Over 265 billion VND is projected to be required for fiscal support.

After hearing the presentation of the draft strategy and the sectors' suggestions, Mr Hoang Nghia Hieu, Vice Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, concluded the meeting by emphasizing: "If organic agriculture wants to flourish, it must construct a product brand." At the same time, a consumer market is necessary due to the high investment requirements for organic agriculture production.

As a result, the drafting agency is asked to include sectoral input into the Scheme's draft before submitting it to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. The process of designing the Scheme, in particular, must carefully adhere to Prime Minister's Decision 885/QD-TTg. Furthermore, the system must include groups of medical items and non-timber forest products. Furthermore, it is vital to examine the Central Government's aims to strive for implementation to reach the national average and have solutions appropriate to local reality for effective implementation.

Hoang Lan