Dong Thap promotes nature-based agrifood transformation

Dong Thap Province, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, in coordination with the International Cooperation Department under the MAE, the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Environment (ISPAE), the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, organized a training course on transforming food systems toward greater transparency, responsibility, and sustainability.

From agricultural production to a whole-chain perspective

Transforming the food system toward greater transparency, responsibility, and sustainability was set as a priority by the Prime Minister under Decision No. 300/QD-TTg dated March 28, 2023. In Dong Thap, Plan No. 241/KH-UBND, issued on July 6, 2023, was adopted to implement the decision in the province prior to the administrative merger.

According to Ms. Truong Thi Thu Trang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Environment (ISPAE), under the new development context, Plan No. 241 needs to be reviewed and updated to align its objectives and tasks with the province’s new development space. At the same time, intersectoral coordination and the participation of non-state individuals and organizations should be strengthened.

Dong Thap has a strong agricultural and fisheries production and processing base in the Mekong Delta. In 2025, the province’s rice output reached approximately 4.1 million tonnes. Fisheries exports were worth around US$1.15 billion, while rice exports reached US$1.09 billion. By mid-2026, the province had 1,500 growing areas serving exports, with 3,449 growing area codes and 1,061 certified OCOP products.

However, according to Mr. Le Chi Thien, Deputy Director of the Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Environment, current development requirements are no longer limited to producing larger volumes of agricultural products. More importantly, production needs to be organized and different stages of the value chain connected in a more efficient, safe, and sustainable manner.

The food systems approach therefore looks beyond production alone, encompassing the entire chain from input supply and production organization to processing, distribution, and consumption. The goal is to ensure economic efficiency and food safety while using resources rationally, protecting the environment, and strengthening resilience to disruptions and changing conditions.

Drawing on Dong Thap’s experience, Mr. Thien said the key challenge is enabling farmers to produce more efficiently, providing businesses with more stable and reliable sources of raw materials, giving consumers better access to safe food, and ensuring natural resources and the environment are used and protected more effectively.

This also marks the difference between a mindset focused simply on increasing output and a systems-based approach.

The market is no longer assessing products solely based on their selling price or output. Requirements are increasingly extending to the place of production, farming practices, input materials, quality, food safety, traceability, environmental impacts, and the responsibilities of each stakeholder involved in the value chain.

According to Mr. Thien, the three principles of “transparency, responsibility, and sustainability” need to be translated into concrete actions throughout the entire chain. Transparency means making information about production processes and product quality increasingly clear and accessible; responsibility requires clearly defining the role of each stakeholder in the chain; while sustainability calls for a balance among economic, social, and environmental objectives.

Nature-based production must go hand in hand with market

One topic discussed during the training was organizing production to adapt to natural conditions and climate change. Models such as rice-fish, rice-duck, lotus-fish farming, and production combined with experiential tourism were highlighted as approaches that could make better use of local ecological conditions, generate additional value, and reduce pressure on natural resources.

Alongside these approaches are solutions for managing rice straw, making use of agricultural by-products, reducing chemical inputs, and adjusting cropping schedules to suit water availability. However, experts noted that scaling up these models will still depend on their economic efficiency, market demand, and the ability to establish effective value-chain linkages.

Data transparency is also becoming increasingly important as markets tighten standards for agricultural products.

Dong Thap currently has 3,449 growing area codes serving production management and exports. In addition to expanding raw material areas, the challenge is maintaining the required conditions after codes are granted, regularly updating data, and ensuring genuine traceability.

During the training, participants were also introduced to electronic production diaries, the electronic fisheries traceability system (eCDT), and several data management tools. Technology can improve information transparency, but its effectiveness ultimately depends on data quality and user responsibility.

According to Mr. Mark Lundy from CIAT, transforming food systems requires an appropriate institutional and policy framework, the participation of relevant stakeholders, and strong coordination capacity among officials. Key personnel need not only to understand the concepts but also to identify priority issues and connect stakeholders in practice.

Ms. Tran Tu Anh, Deputy Project Manager of the VN-ADAPT Project at SNV, said that the process of updating Plan No. 241 should focus on reviewing its objectives, strengthening intersectoral coordination, and promoting the participation of non-state actors, thereby expanding linkages among businesses, cooperatives, and farmers.

Another issue raised by Ms. Huynh Thi Thanh Tuyen, CIAT National Coordinator, was consumer access. If the transition to sustainable production methods drives costs too high, safe food could become less accessible to some segments of the population. Therefore, food system transformation must consider production efficiency, prices, nutrition, and market purchasing power at the same time.

According to Mr. Le Chi Thien, the Training of Trainers (ToT) course goes beyond updating knowledge. More importantly, key personnel need to strengthen their capacity to analyze local issues, identify the roles of different stakeholders, coordinate efforts, and mobilize resources for practical implementation.

For Dong Thap, food system transformation is therefore not simply a matter of how much more rice, fruit, or seafood can be produced. The bigger challenge is to reorganize value chains so that farmers can produce more efficiently, businesses have stable sources of raw materials, consumers have better access to safe food, and natural resources are used more sustainably.