JICA project supports Nghe An to promote agricultural product consumption
(Baonghean.vn) - That was the issue raised at the meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee of the Technical Cooperation Project on Agricultural Development Planning in Nghe An Province held in Vinh City on the afternoon of March 15.
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| Meeting scene. Photo: Minh Chi |
Attending the meeting were Mr. Kosaburo Shimose - Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Vietnam; Naoki Kakioka - Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office and project consultants. On the provincial side, there were Mr. Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of some provincial departments and branches.
The Technical Cooperation Project on Agricultural Development Planning in Nghe An Province was implemented for 3 years (2016 - 2019), with the set goal of establishing a master plan for agricultural development in Nghe An Province and an action plan to achieve the goals of the master plan through introducing the idea of the Agricultural Market Forum and Contract Agriculture, to promote the value chain of agricultural products in Nghe An.
Up to this point, after 2 years of implementation, the project has carried out many important tasks. In particular, based on research on Nghe An's agricultural sector, the project has pointed out existing problems in marketing agricultural products, thereby proposing approaches to solve the problems.
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| Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong pledged to continue maintaining and expanding successful pilot models and projects to improve agricultural production in Nghe An in the coming time. Photo: Minh Chi |
Notably, the project established the Nghe An Agricultural Market Forum and organized 5 domestic market exchange conferences and 3 international market exchange conferences; the project identified specific market needs, and connected potential buyers (enterprises) to Nghe An producers (farmers), thereby creating food value chain models through pilot projects.
Specifically, in 2 years, the project has successfully built 10 models of food value chains including oranges, grapefruit, ginger, chicken, rice, potatoes, etc.; at the same time, the feasibility of 15 models of food value chains is being tested.
At the meeting, based on the assessment of the progress and some of the results achieved by the project, the delegates focused on discussing the overall plan idea and the 2018 operation plan. Accordingly, the main activities to be implemented in 2018 include searching for market demand and connecting businesses; promoting contract farming and business transactions; promoting the consumption of Nghe An agricultural products.
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| Mr. Naoki Kakioka - Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office affirmed the initial successes of the project. Photo: Minh Chi |
Regarding the operating model of the Nghe An Provincial Agricultural Market Forum after the project ends, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Lap - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department has submitted to the Provincial People's Committee to continue organizing this forum to carry out the task of consulting and supporting the proposal of ideas and models in the districts; at the same time, it is responsible for appraising ideas and models and advising the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and other sectors before submitting them to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. According to Mr. Lap, regarding the organizational structure of this forum, there is the participation of leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and some provincial sectors.
Expressing a different opinion, Mr. Tran Quoc Thanh - Director of the Department of Science and Technology, said that in the current context of reducing the number of administrative agencies, it is difficult to establish an organization in the State apparatus.
The Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology suggested that this forum should belong to businesses through the establishment of an Agricultural Production Association and be sponsored by the State in the initial stage through the Agricultural Extension Center.
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| Mr. Kosaburo Shimore - Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam pledged to continue supporting Nghe An to complete the project in the most effective way under the bilateral cooperation program between Japan and Vietnam. Photo: Minh Chi |
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Kosaburo Shimore - Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam affirmed the role and significance of the Technical Cooperation project on agricultural development planning, which, once completed, will positively contribute to the economic growth of Nghe An.
Mr. Kosaburo Shimore also pledged that Japan will continue to support Nghe An to complete the project in the most effective way according to the bilateral cooperation program between Japan and Vietnam.
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| Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong presented a Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People's Committee to Mr. Kosaburo Shimore for his many contributions to the project implementation in Nghe An. Photo: Minh Chi |
Comrade Dinh Viet Hong thanked the support of Japan in general and JICA as well as JICA's advisory and consulting team in particular for supporting and helping Nghe An with a new approach in building a plan for Nghe An's agricultural development in the coming time in the direction of a value chain associated with production, processing, trade - consumption to maximize value in agricultural production.
The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also pledged to continue maintaining and expanding successful pilot models and projects to improve Nghe An's agricultural production in the coming time.