JICA encourages record archiving in safe argicultural production

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), hosted a workshop on the Efficient Record Keeping System in agriculture.

According to industry analysts, the Vietnamese agriculture sector is poised for rapid growth. Although Vietnam's agricultural GNP in 2018 was just a tenth of Japan's, the country's population of 22 million was 11 times that of Japan. Vietnam has around 12 million hectares of arable land, which is almost three times the size of Japan. Vietnam has tremendous agricultural output potential and capacity for expansion.

Mr. Murooka Naomichi, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA, highlighted the growing demand for food safety in Vietnam, particularly among high-end stores and Japanese exporters. Due to this, we must enhance production scheduling by increasing awareness of the significance of record keeping in agriculture using software and digital technologies.

Good record keeping aids in mitigating costs, limiting labor, and enhancing crop output, all while satisfying the criteria of the many parties involved in the traceability issue.

To take advantage of this opportunity, the Agribusiness Japan Desk (ABJD) was founded with the purpose of boosting investment of Japanese resources in Vietnam and reviving the potential of Vietnamese agriculture with Japanese private sector cooperation.

ABJD has served as a connector for businesses by finding business partners and consumers. Both Japan and Vietnam have advanced in the direction of mutually beneficial growth due to their strong connections, which have facilitated the activation of agriculture sector firms.

Ms. Vo Thi Nhung, the Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the workshop aimed to promote knowledge of the significance of record keeping in agriculture by establishing several goals. Accelerating the application of scientific and technical advancements, particularly digital technology, to manufacturing is required. 

Ms. Nhung stated that the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development tasked the Agricultural Market Forum Management Board with coordinating with relevant units and localities to continue coordinating, working, and grasping details of activities, conditions, and methods of purchasing agricultural products to promote the consumption of local products in the future.

Nghe An has been implementing three agricultural projects with the assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Vietnam: A technical cooperation project on planning agricultural development (completed); a Project to restore and upgrade the Northern Irrigation System (ongoing loan project); and Project on restoration and sustainable management of protection forests in Nghe An province (JICA2 project is underway).