Providing organic producers with self-marketing skills

Ms. Ino Mayu, Seed to Table's Head Representative in Vietnam, noted that Vietnamese farming households are highly experienced in agricultural techniques and have extensive experience with vegetable production. She has learned a tremendous amount from these producers. However, these producers are unfamiliar with distributing their own products directly to consumers.

When Mrs. Ino Mayu encouraged organic vegetable production groups to sell their produce at Ho Chi Minh City's Green and Kind Market, everyone hesitated and said, "I'm very shy, so I'll ask Mayu to sell it for me." According to Mrs. Mayu, organic farmers in her native Japan are acclimated to distributing their products directly to consumers.

Farmers in Ben Tre and Dong Thap have confidently taken their organic vegetable products to the Green and Kind Market in Ho Chi Minh City and sold them locally thanks to Ms. Ino Mayu's determination and unwavering support.

Farmers have learned a great deal through direct interaction with consumers after their first few sales. For example, they needed to diversify their product offerings. To satisfy the diverse requirements of consumers, they increased the variety of vegetables from 5 to 6 to 14 to 15 varieties. Additionally, even within the category of vegetables and fruits, there are distinct market demands.

People in Cao Lanh City, for instance, favor squash and gourds over leafy greens because they reside close to the countryside. Numerous households in Cao Lanh cultivate their own spice vegetables in containers, so the demand for spice vegetables is low. In contrast, the demand for verdant greens, fruit vegetables, and aromatic vegetables is substantial in Ho Chi Minh City.

From these markets, Ms. Ino Mayu emphasizes the significance of direct producer-consumer interaction. The Green and Kind Market in Ho Chi Minh City and the organic vegetable market in Cao Lanh City have become crucial conduits between PGS-compliant organic producers and consumers.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Dong Thap is collaborating with the Seed to Table project to assist organic vegetable cultivation groups in adhering to PGS standards and increasing their product consumption capabilities. They are assisting producers in improving a variety of aspects, such as how to bundle organic vegetables to make them more visually enticing.

In addition, at the site of processing for organic vegetables, demonstrations will be organized for consumers to directly observe. The production, processing, and packaging of organic vegetables will be documented via video snippets and photographs for promotion and communication on various media platforms, social networks, and e-commerce platforms. The creation of narratives related to organic vegetable production seeks to provide consumers with a better comprehension of the organic vegetable production process, increase consumer confidence in product quality, and assist farmers in developing their sales abilities.

Currently, Vietnam’s organic products are present in 180 countries with an annual revenue of 335 million USD, still a very modest share.

Countries were also increasing the standards for sustainability, product labeling process and quarantine regulations to aim at protecting public health and the environment.

The organic food market was expected to reach 437.36 billion USD by 2026 with a compounded annual growth rate of 14%.

With the organic agriculture development project for the 2020-2030 period, organic farming emerged to be a trend in Vietnam. Statistics showed that the total agricultural land for organic farming reached 174,000 hectares, an increase of 47% over 2016, putting Vietnam in the top ten countries with the largest organic agricultural land in Asia.

Vietnam set the target of increasing the total organic land area to 2.5-3 % of the agricultural land area by 2030.

Mr. Le Quoc Dien, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Dong Thap, stated that numerous rural markets continue to operate in various districts of Dong Thap, typically on Saturday afternoons and holidays. The department is considering allowing PGS organic producers to sell and trade their products at these rural markets. In larger markets, organic producers will have designated stalls and racks to sell their produce. The sale of vegetables at these markets need not be a daily occurrence; producers can choose specific periods of the week when more people frequent the market.