Nghe An was selected by JICA to continue surveying and building a food value chain project.

On the afternoon of December 2, under the chairmanship of comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial People's Committee had a working session with the expert delegation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the orientation of food value chain development.

Working with the province, on the delegation's side were Mr. Naoki Kayano, project formation consultant, JICA Vietnam office; Mr. Yuchi Fukasaka - Team leader - agricultural development policy expert.

Overview of the working session. Photo: Phu Huong

At the meeting, comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu informed the delegation about the current agricultural production situation in Nghe An. Nghe An has nearly 1.2 million hectares of forestry land; over 250 thousand hectares of agricultural land; convenient traffic infrastructure.

Up to now, the annual growth rate of agricultural production value has reached 4.2-4.5%; Total grain output has reached over 1.2 million tons; Concentrated raw material areas associated with processing have been formed.

The livestock, forestry and fishery sectors have all made remarkable progress. Nghe An currently has 150 traditional craft villages recognized by the province; 690 cooperatives and over 8,000 enterprises; There are 182 agricultural, forestry, fishery and service products.

Nghe An province worked with the delegation under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu. Photo: Phu Huong

However, production is small and fragmented; productivity and quality are low, product prices are high; competitiveness is low; especially the connection between production, processing and consumption is not good.

During the survey period, the Japanese JICA expert team made many discoveries and analyzed the food value chain in Nghe An. The delegation's representatives pointed out many existing problems and shortcomings such as: Enterprises operating in the agricultural sector still lack working capital and investment capital, small cultivated land areas, inadequate branch traffic systems, lack of market information...

Representatives of the Japanese JICA delegation worked with Nghe An province. Photo: Phu Huong

At the same time, it proposed directions for developing the food value chain such as: focusing on fruits and vegetables with potential for future development; meeting market demand by strengthening the Agricultural Market Forum; developing infrastructure; supporting technical interns to go to Japan and arranging work in the agricultural sector after returning to Vietnam...

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu agreed and highly appreciated the contents that JICA had raised, affirming that Nghe An will make efforts to build a food value chain - which is considered an inevitable trend in agricultural production today. At the same time, he promised to direct the sectors and levels to closely coordinate with the research team to provide all necessary information for the construction of the food value chain project in Nghe An.

Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu also expressed his honor when Nghe An was invited by JICA to attend the Trade Promotion Workshop scheduled to be held in Hanoi on January 14, 2020; emphasizing that this is an opportunity for Nghe An to introduce and promote some of the province's key agricultural products, and at the same time, an opportunity for Nghe An enterprises to connect and cooperate with Japanese enterprises.

On this occasion, Nghe An is one of four provinces along with Lam Dong, Can Tho, and Ben Tre chosen by JICA to continue surveying and building a food value chain project.

JICA supports Tuong Duong district with a tomato restoration model. Photo: Ho Phuong.

JICA PROJECTS IN NGHE AN PROVINCE

I. Technical Cooperation Project on Agricultural Development Planning

The project is implemented according to the Minutes of Discussion signed between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the People's Committee of Nghe An province on October 15, 2015. The objective of the project is to develop a "Master Plan for Agricultural Development for Nghe An Province" and an "Action Plan" to achieve the objectives of the master plan through the introduction of "Contract Agriculture" to promote the product value chain in Nghe An province. The project implementation period is from March 2016 to March 2019.

II. Project to restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System (ODA loan project from Japan).

General overview:The project to restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for investment in Decision No. 1929/QD.BNN-TCTL dated August 14, 2012 with a total investment of VND 5,705,456,505,000, borrowed from Japanese ODA (JICA); including two components:

- Component 1: Restoration and upgrading of the Northern Nghe An irrigation system invested by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An. The total investment is5,205,583 billion VND.

- Component 2: Strengthening the capacity of irrigation management and training facilities of the Vietnam Institute of Water Resources, invested by the Institute. The total investment is499,874 billion VND.

Target:Restore and upgrade the Northern Nghe An Irrigation System to ensure stable irrigation for 27,656 hectares of agricultural land; create a water supply source for industry 1.89m³/s and living 1.59m³/s (900,000 people) for 5 districts of Do Luong, Yen Thanh, Dien Chau, Quynh Luu and Hoang Mai town. Upgrading and expanding Dien Thanh sluice gate ensures preventing salinity, preserving fresh water, creating a water supply for 15,000 hectares.

III. Project on restoration and sustainable management of protective forests in Nghe An province (JICA2 Project)

Main objectives of the project:

+ Sustainable management and protection of protective forests in Nghe An;

+ Restoration and conservation of biodiversity;

+ Hunger eradication and poverty reduction in mountainous areas.

- Specific objectives:

+ Restoring and developing upstream protection forests in three districts: Tuong Duong, Tan Ky and Quynh Luu;

+ Strengthening capacity for local authorities and protective forest owners;

+ Improve livelihoods for communities who will manage the protection forests.

- Total project investment: 709 million Japanese Yen, equivalent to 134,415 million VND. Of which:

+ JICA loan capital is: 586 million Japanese Yen, equivalent to 111,077 million VND;

+ Provincial counterpart fund: 123 million Japanese Yen, equivalent to 23,338 million VND.

(adjusted in Decision No. 4214/QD-UBND dated September 13, 2017)

IV. Project to diversify livelihoods based on heritage tourism in agricultural and fishing villages

The project was accepted by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 6215/QD-UBND dated December 28, 2015. The project received technical support from JICA Japan; the direct support organization is the Head of Showa Women's University - Japan, the project implementation area is in Nam Dan and Con Cuong districts.

Time: From 2016 to August 2018. After 2 years of operation, the project has improved the livelihoods of people in Nua, Pha, Xieng, Khe Ran villages, Con Cuong district, Van Dien, Nam Anh, Kim Lien communes in Nam Dan district.

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