Project background: Aquaculture development in one of the crucial contents of Program on maritime economy development in Nam Dinh province. Nam Dinh province has 72 kms of beach. Aquaculture raising area is 17,200 ha. Agriculture has made relative contribution to generating income and improving living condition for aquacultural farmers nearby the sea. However, aquaculture development faces some difficulties such as: selling products with low price, small scatted production, not large concentrated quality material areas, low competitive products. Aquaculture raising infrastructure and facilities do not meet the requirements of production. Environmental pollution is increasing. It is very difficult for the aquaculture households to access the market. Farmers are lack of knowledge on technology due to lacks of application materials. In the process of production, farmers have not yet cooperation; have no high quality commodity production zones. Presently, in 9 communes, there have been 105 farmers’ households who trade fresh aquaculture products. These households are scattered in various villages who do business by themselves. The authority can not control and manage them, the products are not certified the quality standards. Because most of households do business based on the crops, they have no business plan and accouting, their benefits are low, the effectiveness of business is not high. On the other side, these households usually compel the products from other farmers’ households who produce. This is unfare and ineffective way for both of two side, thus facing difficulties in production and business aquaculture products. The reasons are as follows: - Not yet many organized trainings on improving capacity on planning on bussiness, production, management of production, marketing information and technology application skills. - Few accesses to maketing information and knowledge for aquaculture farmers. Sale linkage network among aquaculture farmers’s households has not been paid attention. - Awareness of aquaculture farmers on food safety is low. - Have no demonstrations on aquaculture and lacks of experiences on mobilize farmers to cooperate in production, linked with capacity building on food safety for farmers. 2.1 Development objectives: - To raise awareness, knowledge for aquacultural farmers on techniques and science, business plan, marketing, information technology in 9 communes and towns to set up VietGAP prduction area to protect the health for producers and consummers. - To create stable jobs, to generate income for aquaculture farmers who involve in the project in make a contribution to poverty reduction policy in the provicne. - To establish material production area to become the realiable business address for local and regional consummers. 2.2 Immediate objectives: - Awareness raising among large and medium scale farmers on the ways of production following safe food standard regulation, improved skills of businness and production planning - Improve the capacity of access to the market, information and technology application in trading linkages, to improve the skills of information exchange through internet. - To learn the way of production and bisiness from other localities and farmers’ household through exchage visits. - To mobilize and gather farmers who are members of the clubs to form cooperation groups who provides services such as feeding, technology, selling products, material pre-processing. Expected outputs: Output 1. Awareness raising among farmers and people in the locality. Output 2: Improved capacity on business, marketing, selling safe products for farmers and improved awareness on invironmental protection. Output 3: Improved capacity of processing products Output 4: Establishement of the service cooperation groups Output 5 . Evaluation, withrawing lessons, proposed expanding the model to other communes. 2. Social impacts: - The project can help NDFU to mobilize, change mall and scatter production areas to be centralized cooperatives and cooperation groups who can make business plan and production areas to ensure the safe standards and environmental protection to protect the health for producers and consumers. Farmers will get knowledge and awareness on marketing, information technology to help them in their life. Economic impacts: The project will help farmers to get sustainable jobs, to generate their income, to increase their daily standards by access to the stable market for the production areas to build trademarks for the production area, to build up this area to become a trust address for consumers Partners and stakeholders: - Farmers and people community who express their needs, customs, local knowledge who are beneficiaries. - Vietnam Farmers’ Union at Central level - Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Commodities: aquaculture products Markets: Local and export market

Nam Dinh Province Farmers’ Union is a provincial organisation under Vietnam Farmers’ Union (VNFU). Nam Dinh Province is located in the north-east of Vietnam and the maritime economy is very important for this coastal area. Out of a total of 467 farmers’ clubs, 30% are animal and aquaculture raising clubs, where farmers can exchange experiences and information to each other. The project's objective is to improve awareness and knowledge for aquaculture farmers on food safety and environmental protection for aquaculture farmers’ households who raise and process aquaculture products in Nghia Hung, Giao Thuy and Hai Hau districts in order to achieve an income increase and make a contribution to poverty reduction.