• The new Taskforce is a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) that aims to improve the quality, nutrition, and sustainability of Viet Nam’s rice industry by harnessing the efforts of diverse actors across the value chain.
• Outcomes from the Taskforce will contribute to Viet Nam’s transition towards a low-emissions, climate-smart future as part of the new Viet Nam Food Innovation Hub.
• The Taskforce is the latest joint initiative between the Partnership for Sustainable Agricultural in Viet Nam (PSAV) and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), with support from Grow Asia’s multi-donor Impact Funds.

Grow Asia, through its Country Chapter in Vietnam – the Partnership for Sustainable Agricultural in Viet Nam (PSAV), and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) today announced the establishment of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Taskforce on Rice in Cần Thơ, Việt Nam. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is committed to transforming Viet Nam’s agriculture sector towards a low emissions and climate-smart future. The Taskforce will focus on improving farmers’ income, ensuring food security, and forging stronger linkages between agriculture and tourism in the country. The Taskforce on Rice is committed to transforming Vietnam’s rice industry from competing on price to competing on quality, nutrition, and sustainability. 

It will do so by strengthening farmer partnerships, improving compliance to meet market requirements, and promoting access to retail distribution channels in different markets. 

“The restructuring of the rice industry must deliver effective income growth for farmers, safeguard environmental sustainability, provide greater value for consumers, and promote high-quality and high-value rice exports,” said Nguyễn Đỗ Anh Tuấn, Director General of International Cooperation Department.

The establishment of this Taskforce forms part of a wider effort by Grow Asia and its partners to build and promote more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia. The Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Viet Nam (PSAV) is an important Country Chapter in the Grow Asia Network and is working closely with the World Economic Forum and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to build the region’s first Food Innovation Hub. Rice has been identified as a priority focus for this Hub, and as one of the world’s largest rice exporters with an export volume of 6.8 million tons in 2022, Viet Nam is a key participant in the effort to develop more sustainable production systems.

“The establishment of the PPP Taskforce on Rice in Vietnam represents a critical step towards transforming the country’s rice industry and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth for all stakeholders involved. We are excited to work with our partners in the public and private sectors in Viet Nam to create a more resilient and prosperous rice value chain that has the potential to serve as a model for the rest of the region,” said Erin Sweeney, Director of Programs at Grow Asia.

The Vietnamese government is committed to enabling and transforming Viet Nam’s food systems to become transparent, responsible, and sustainable, ensuring low emissions and promoting climate-smart agriculture. Establishing the PPP Taskforce on Rice will be crucial in increasing investment and modernizing agriculture and food systems through technology and innovation. In April this year, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will host the 4th Global Conference of the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems Program in Hanoi, which will focus on how food systems need to be transformed to overcome the interlinked crises of climate, biodiversity, conflict, energy, prices, hunger, malnutrition, and health to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Grow Asia and PSAV are honored to join the ministry in launching the task force, which will serve as an important stepping stone ahead of the 2023 Stocktaking Moment of the UN Food Systems Summit follow-up process.