Replicating and promoting the effectiveness of the VnSAT project

Continue to promote valuable chains of coffee and rice

Regarding rice production in the Mekong Delta, VnSAT has designed and completed the intellectual property registration documents for the VnSAT rice products. 

At the moment, there are two rice products including ST24 and Dai Thom 8 of Tien Cuong Cooperative (Dong Thap) being produced, processed and distributed according to the chains of project VnSAT, winning the Top 10 prestigious brand - exclusive brand award 2019, held by the Intellectual Property Office and the Vietnam Association for Anti-Counterfeiting and Trademark Protection. The ST rice is consumed in Hanoi with a quantity of up to 50 tons/month.

As for coffee, the project has filtered and selected representative cooperatives for support regarding in-depth training of markets, brand building and issued QR Code for product traceability to 30 cooperatives; 22 cooperatives able to sign stable offtake contracts with businesses; 5 cooperatives fully equipped with the knowledge to join the valuable branding coffee chain, which includes: Management staff training, improving production capacity, investing in infrastructure and machinery, website building, capacity profiles, posters, product packaging, promotional films and supportive communication programs to promote brands, promoting chain links and a total area of outsourced coffee of more than 5,000 hectares.

In the extension period until June 2022 of the project, MARD has approved the distribution of the budget for implementation, VnSAT Central has selected and signed contracts with consultants to link landscape coffee chains in order to promote agricultural products brands and advise businesses, form and link valuable chains for farmer organizations/cooperatives and promoting media as well as publicize this result to effectively replicate the impact to other landscape coffee regions.

Until recently, the total cultivated area of rice and coffee of the Project in provinces that have offtake with agricultural businesses continued to increase after each evaluation. For rice, the summer-autumn crop season of 2021 has 61,372 hectares of rice with offtake contracts, for coffee in the 2020-2021 crop year, there are 13,783 hectares with underwriting contracts.

Central VnSAT Project’s Management Board (MB) has requested provinces and cities participating in the project to continue to support, facilitate and promote the development of the value chains of rice and coffee to develop sustainable rice and coffee industries.

Since the start of 2021, the credit component has only disbursed capital from the revolving fund. Disbursement of the revolving fund in the first 10 months of 2021 reached VND 80.27 billion. Accordingly, the accumulated disbursement from the revolving fund has reached VND 265.47 billion.

Meanwhile, as for non-credit capital, since the beginning of November 2021, 13 provinces, component A, the Central Management Board disbursed a total of VND 377 billion, in which the counterpart capital is VND 126 billion, reached 51% of the year planned capital, the disbursed IDA capital is VND 250.6 billion, reached 31% of the year plan. Division by nature of capital: IDA credit capital is VND 2,414 billion (reaching 100% of the plan); Non-credit IDA capital is VND 1,592 billion (reaching 59% of the plan).

Accelerating the implementation of sub-projects

For sub-projects investing infrastructure for farmer organizations/cooperatives, all construction investing operations in the Project do not require land acquisition. The number of sub-projects approved in the list of phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3 of 13 provinces is 133.

These sub-projects have fully completed the procedures regarding reports of the site clearing state. In the construction process, sub-projects included in the safe policy of the Central VnSAT Project’s Management Board have coordinated with the local VnSAT Project’s Management Units to supervise all sub-projects, ensuring compliance with the implementation of social safety policies.

As for the sub-projects investing in infrastructure included in the project’s extension period, the Central VnSAT has coordinated with VnSAT’s Management Board of localities to conduct field trips to examine the conditions on environmental and social safety policies of the sub-projects that have submitted the report on investment intentions. Based on the field results, the local VnSAT’s Management Board has commented and supplemented to ensure that the documents meet the requirements of environmental and social safeguards policies and stay in line with the World Bank and the Government of Vietnam.

Implementation progress at the beginning of November 2021: with 113 sub-projects invested, the provinces have sent the Central Project Management Board to ask for comments on 113 sub-projects, after receiving it, the local VnSAT has sent 113 sub-projects.

Project VnSAT in An Giang has been carried out in 5 districts, 45 communes, with a total of 26,018 households, on an area of 38,602 ha. The VnSAT project in An Giang has been supported by the WB and has brought practical results to rice farmers. The VnSAT Project’s Management Board has brought about scientific and technical advances in rice farming such as “3 decreases, 3 increases” and “1 must and 5 decreases”, water-saving irrigation… helping farmers to reduce fertilizer costs and pesticides but with increased yield, helping to achieve high yield at the end of the season as expected".

Mr. Doan Ngoc Pha, Vice Executives of An Giang VnSAT Project’s Management Board

Focus on finishing up all operations before June 30, 2022

The Central VnSAT Project’s Management Board shared that, they will focus on coordinating with the International Cooperation Department (MARD) and working with relating Ministries and Departments on the content of adjusting investment policies, strive until November 30, 2021, and approved by the Prime Minister, distribute and support project-wide activities related to planning, procurement, financial management, safeguard policies; infrastructure, monitoring and evaluation. Complete the construction of 2 sub-projects supporting incubators invested by local VnSAT, 2 bidding packages for chain consulting and communication.

As for Component A, the project will focus on implementing the final assessment of the quality of public services in agriculture, in order to assess the improvement of public service quality of 4 units of the Ministry and 10 selected provinces; aiding some conferences, seminars and training courses to disseminate the plan to restructure the agricultural industry in the coming period and continue to develop and implement guidelines for legal documents and policies to serve the agricultural industry which serves the Implementation of the plan to restructure the industry and sub-industries.

According to The Central VnSAT Project’s Management Board, for provinces that joined the VnSAT Project, the project will continue to organize training courses on sustainable farming procedures of rice and coffee to ensure sustainability regarding the goals of applying sustainable farming processes of the project (arranging counterpart funds); deploying training on management, usage, operation and maintenance for beneficiaries; promote the development of value link chains, promote the brand and the replication of the project's successes; disbursement of capital for construction and installation of works, organizing the construction and achieve completion before June 30, 2022.

Mr. Phan Hoang Lam, Deputy Chairman of the People's Committee of Krong Buk district (Dak Lak) shared that the VnSAT project has helped the locality to shape a sustainable coffee model. The project helps to increase the value of local coffee products. Most of the re-cultivated coffees are new varieties, accompanied by people’s training in science and technology, making the garden well-invested.

Localities need to continue drastic implementation

To finish up all operations, the VnSAT Project’s Management Board requested Departments of MARD/ VnSAT Project’s Management Boards in the provinces, cities to strengthen contract management, guide contractors to develop construction methods suitable for construction conditions during the rainy season and the complicated development of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Strengthening the coordination between investors, supervision consultants, contractors and localities in the handling of the site, developing detailed progress for each sub-project and forming construction solutions thât are suitable to reality.

Some remaining provinces are speeding up the handling of contracts, including Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Soc Trang; continue to support farmer organizations/cooperatives in capacity enhancing, building valuable production chain and product offtake, using the project’s supported equipment and infrastructure effectively, improving the efficiency of investments.

As for Kien Giang province, completing construction procedures as soon as possible for 3 unfinished sub-projects in phase 1; Provinces and cities will organize inspections and supervisions on the progress and quality of public investment sub-projects to ensure completion before June 30, 2022, according to regulations.

Additionally, The Central VnSAT Management Board requested for an acceleration of supervisions, submitting adjustments of the economic and technical report to the competent authorities for approval and implementing the additional volume in the ongoing public investment sub-projects; requesting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to consider and submit the adjustment of the project’s investment policy (mainly capital source adjustment).