Nestlé places farmers at the center of sustainable food system transformation

On April 25, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinated with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to organize a discussion session on "Clustering Agro-Industry Towards Sustainable Food System Transformation in Vietnam." This is a side event of the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems, with the participation of representatives of UNIDO, Nestlé, Ireland Sustainable Food System, etc.

The need for an agricultural economic cluster

Realizing Vietnam's potential to become a regional center of food system transformation requires a clear transformation to enhance production capacity while accelerating the availability of agricultural economic clusters to promote the development of enterprises in Vietnam.

With the world's premium markets moving towards sustainable standards, food system transformation and a more efficient agricultural sector can help Vietnamese businesses improve their competitiveness in the global supply chain.

In response to that goal, the discussion session "Clustering Agro-Industry Towards Sustainable Food System Transformation in Vietnam," with the participation of many public and private organizations, created a forum to discuss Vietnam’s development of agricultural economic clusters. Through this event, the parties shared lessons learned, thereby identifying improved production methods and finding viable partners to jointly transform the food system.

At the forum, Mr. Gabor Molnar, UNIDO's associate industrial development expert, said that the formation of economic clusters requires not only the participation of businesses but also the participation of the whole ecosystem with businesses and service industries, supporting the business community to cooperate with the government.

An economic cluster is a geographical concentration of interconnected businesses and organizations that share the same opportunities and challenges. Currently, local and global clusters are facing the same challenges, including climate change, environmental regulatory changes, socio-economic crises, etc.

In order to develop an effective agricultural economic cluster, it is necessary to involve many parties, from suppliers of raw materials and agricultural equipment to farms, manufacturing, and exporting enterprises, to connect with domestic and international buyers.

Placing farmers at the center

At the event, Mr. Chris Hogg, Vice President of Sustainable Development and Communications for Asia, Oceania, and Africa at Nestlé Group, said Nestlé is supporting farmers in countries transforming to a regenerative food system, including Vietnam, in order to protect and contribute to environmental restoration, improve farmers' livelihoods, and improve the quality of life of communities and consumers.

Through the implementation in many countries, the Nestlé representative said that the biggest challenge is the farmers’ trust and how they can apply the new farming model because the methods of practicing sustainable agriculture can go against what their forefathers taught and passed on.

"In the transition period, we need to have programs to give farmers the technology and the methods. For transformation to be truly effective, not just a slogan, we need to place farmers and farm workers at the center when designing programs, and we need to make sure these programs bring benefits for communities and the planet. It is also noticed that we can't do it alone, but we have to aim for sustainable agriculture with many different partners," said Mr. Chris Hogg.

Currently, to promote the sustainable food system transformation, Nestlé implements many programs to promote sustainable agriculture in farming and cultivation. Nestlé commits that by 2030, 50% of the main ingredients in the Group's products must come from sustainable agricultural sources.

For the coffee sector, Nestlé recently announced the program “Nescafé Plan 2030” to support the transition to sustainable agriculture and contribute to realizing Nestlé's commitment to net zero emissions (Net Zero) by 2050. Vietnam is one of the seven main markets where Nestlé is implementing Nescafé Plan 2030.

Also on April 25, Mr. Chris Hogg had a meeting and exchanged some information with Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam.

At the meeting, Minister Le Minh Hoan welcomed the programs and projects that Nestlé is implementing in Vietnam. Through this event, the head of Vietnam's agricultural industry hopes that in the near future, Nestlé will further promote circular production models, integrating multi-values in the coffee industry.

Accordingly, the wish of Minister Le Minh Hoan is that none of the coffee industry’s by-products are wasted but will be used for different purposes, creating more products. This not only helps to improve the environment and reduce waste but also contributes to increasing income for farmers and workers in the coffee industry.

For his part, Mr. Chris Hogg said Nestlé had net-zero circular production models. Farmers' livelihoods are also a big concern for the group.

According to Mr. Chris Hogg, although he runs a coffee business, he wants Vietnamese farmers not to monoculture this plant but to be able to properly intercrop other plants in the coffee garden. That not only helps them earn more income but also improves the quality of the land, contributing to environmental protection.