03vu-2555 - Competitiveness of Horticultural Producers
The project was formulated in line with the recommandations of a discussion and workshop organised by the Vietnam Farmers Union (VNFU) and VUSTA concerning WTO and the consequences for the farmers in Vietnam and supported by the agri-agencies Ieder voor Allen and Agriterra (and NGO´s like SNV through the BBO Food Consortium). It was concluded that farmers in Vietnam are not yet prepared to compete in international markets due to their lack of knowledge and skills to produce in line with international food safety and quality standards. The current project aims at enhancing the capacities and skills of farmers to maintain international food safety and quality standards through: formulating and setting out standard protocols for safe and high quality food production. establishing testing facilities (for crop residues) and making them available for farmers. Capacity enhancement of farmers through the establishment of demonstration models and (farmer-to farmer) extension programmes. Dissemination of results on national level through workshops. The project will in this phase focus on a limited number of horticultural crops and be implemented in two pilot areas.