Sustainable Landscape Program helps improve farmers' income

The Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee in coordination with the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and other units on April 14 organized an annual meeting of the Lam Dong province's Steering Committee for Sustainable Landscape Program. The meeting aimed to review and set a working plan for 2022.

The IDH reported that it has cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, local authorities, and domestic and foreign businesses since 2014 to implement the Sustainable Landscape Program in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The program targets to promote sustainable development of agricultural landscapes through strengthening public-private partnerships, mobilizing resources and advantages of parties, and coordinating to implement solutions for sustainable production combined with natural resource conservation and social security. Since then, large-scale raw material areas have been built, able to connect to the market through online platforms.

Under the management and supervision of the Program Steering Committee co-chaired by Lam Dong provincial People's Committee and IDH, the Lam Dong Sustainable Landscape Program has been implemented since 2015 and has achieved progress, especially in two pilot areas of Di Linh and Lac Duong districts.

By the end of 2021, more than 10,000ha of agricultural land and 9,000 households have been supported for sustainable production. 100% of the forest area in the pilot area is protected and restored, and farmers' income has increased by 20% due to crop diversification and efficient use of input materials, thereby reducing chemical fertilizers by 14% and carbon emissions by 60%. 

At the same time, the program has strengthened production linkages through service delivery models and supported farmers to access quality agricultural materials and services such as fertilizers and their ways of spraying. It also helps promote disease management, plant nutrition, preliminary processing, and application of preservative techniques for high-quality coffee as well as approaching green financial sources, thereby helping farmers to be qualified to practice and maintain sustainable agricultural production methods in the long term.

Based on the successes of the pilot areas, IDH, and its state partners from central to local levels, businesses, and domestic and international development organizations have agreed to jointly invest in and replicate the program for the period 2021-2025.

At the meeting, relevant parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding of Production - Protection - Inclusion Compacts in Di Linh and Lac Duong districts, period 2021-2025. Accordingly, the goal of this phase is to expand the direct effects of the program on the entire Di Linh and Lac Duong districts with a total area of ​​more than 52,000ha of agricultural land for coffee and other crops mainly the intercropping ones with the aim to protect 130,000ha of forest and improve income for more than 36,000 farmers. 

In addition, IDH and Lam Dong People's Committee will also accompany in implementing the province's green growth plan which was issued in early 202 and associated with methods to approach to landscape and large scale material areas.

In 2022, the Lam Dong Sustainable Landscape Program will focus on a number of specific activities such as supporting the development of green growth action plans for Di Linh, Lac Duong, Duc Trong, and Lam Ha districts.  The program will introduce and support the Bao Lam district and Bao Loc city to propose a production alliance that combines conservation and social security in these two localities.

Along with monitoring the implementation progress of approved projects, the program will organize and participate in seminars to share experiences and models to attract participation and investment from businesses and other organizations. It will also support the completion and submission of project proposals to donors and the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee for approval with a total estimated investment of up to 25 million Euros.