Find market for clean vegetables

Clean vegetables are one of the top concerns of housewives today. In fact, for many years now, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has oriented some vegetable production areas towards VietGAP to increase the area of ​​safe vegetables. However, up to now, vegetables grown in this direction are still struggling to find a foothold in the market.

Farmers do not like to grow clean vegetables

According to the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the total vegetable growing area in the country is 823.7 thousand hectares, with a total output of 14 million tons/year. About 85% of vegetable production is consumed domestically, 15% is exported. However, the area of ​​clean vegetables grown with VietGAP certification is only 14,500 hectares. The number of vegetable samples on the market found to have pesticide residues exceeding the permitted limit accounts for 5 - 7% of the output.

Model of growing baby cucumbers according to VietGAP standards in Gia Cat commune, Loc Binh district, Lang Son. Photo: Vu Sinh - VNA

In fact, the demand for safe vegetables is very high, but expanding the growing area is still facing many difficulties. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Deputy Head of Van Duc Agricultural Service Cooperative (Gia Lam District, Hanoi), the model of producing vegetables according to VietGAP standards has not attracted farmers. The reason is that production in this direction requires strict technical requirements: ensuring the origin, recording field logs from the stage of planting, caring to harvesting. Meanwhile, the selling price is not higher than other vegetables on the market.

"To grow vegetables according to VietGAP standards, farmers have to invest more effort and the cost is also 10-15% higher than growing vegetables using conventional methods, but the selling price is not higher," Mr. Nguyen Van Minh affirmed.

Similarly, Mr. Dang Ba Thang, Chairman of Dai Lan Cooperative (Thanh Tri District, Hanoi) said that because farmers are not "keen" on clean vegetables, after nearly 4 years, the area of ​​vegetables grown according to VietGAP standards has only reached about 20 hectares, accounting for a very small proportion compared to the area of ​​​​normal vegetables. Many households have even stopped growing safe vegetables to return to growing vegetables in the normal way. Finding outlets for clean vegetable products is still very difficult. Farmers mainly consume products through traditional channels such as wholesale markets, stores, etc.

Link to identify clean vegetables

The demand for safe vegetables among people is very high, but it is very difficult to distinguish between safe vegetables, which have been quality tested, and normal vegetables. In addition, due to overlapping management, the vegetable market in Hanoi and some big cities often has a situation where the origin and quality of vegetables cannot be controlled.

Vegetable production according to VietGAP process must meet 4 criteria:

+ Criteria for standard production techniques.

+ Food safety criteria include measures to ensure there is no chemical contamination or physical contamination during harvest.

+ Criteria on working environment suitable for farmers' labor. + Criteria on product origin from production to consumption.

(Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)

Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that many clean vegetable production models failed because the products sold were not recognized by consumers and the distribution network was not widely organized.

“There needs to be a way to identify and distinguish safe vegetables from other types of vegetables to build trust with consumers. Many countries have built a system of standards to recognize safe vegetable programs and popularize this certification program to consumers. This is a necessary way to help consumers increase awareness of safe products,” said Ms. Thu. Although production according to VietGAP standards still faces many difficulties, this is a solution to improve the quality of vegetable products, protect the environment... to meet the increasing demands of consumers, thereby increasing added value and efficiency of crop production.

To develop vegetable production according to VietGAP standards, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Head of Transaction Department (Hanoi Fruit and Vegetable and Safe Food Exchange), in addition to investing in production, it is necessary to pay more attention to solving the output market for clean vegetables through organizing a consumption network. There needs to be support from the State to create a market for VietGAP vegetables and fruits.

“To effectively organize the production and consumption of vegetables according to VietGAP processes, there must be a close connection between the State - farmers - scientists - businesses,” suggested MSc. Nguyen Thi Tan Loc, Institute of Vegetable and Fruit Research.

According to News