JICA’s cooperation in Agriculture sector towards Vietnam is implemented along with the Mid and long-term vision for agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Japan, which was agreed and signed by both Ministers of MARD of Vietnam and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan in 2020. The vision aims at strengthening of FVC in Vietnam, in a joint effort by both public and private sectors.
We have three prioritized activities under the vision. First, agricultural infrastructure development, second, investment promotion to introduce new technologies, and third, policy formulation for agriculture promotion and human resource development.
Agri-Business Japan Desk, ABJD, was established under International Cooperation Department of MARD, with the support of JICA. ABJD serves for the second prioritized action of the vision, by promoting the investment of Japanese resources into Vietnam, improving the agri-business environment in Vietnam, and revitalizing the potential of Vietnamese agriculture with Japanese support from the private sector.
To date, ABJD, with the support of JICA expert, Mr. Morita, has played a role in connecting Japanese and Vietnamese companies by finding business partners and clients. It has helped both Japan and Vietnam to flow the activation of agriculture-related businesses and achieve win-win development.
The demand for food safety for high-end retailers and exports to international market, especially to Japan is very high. However, awareness of food safety is still low at production sites, which remains a challenge.
Record keeping is one of the most important factors to promote production of safe food. High-end retailers and traders require production record to proof the safety of food to ensure that consumers feel secure in their purchases. Moreover, it is expected that digital record keeping will not only reduce the burden of recording work, which result in cost savings.
Mr. Murooka Naomichi, Senior Representative, JICA Vietnam Office
The more you keep accurate record, the more you get trust from the market, buyers, and even banks, thereby improving profitability and access to the finance. This workshop provided a precious opportunity to understand how to make your production more efficient and reliable for consumers through the demonstration of a digital record keeping application provided by Nagase Vietnam.
Through the presentation of the Vietnamese food processing company, Japanese food processing company and Japanese trading company, you can understand the condition of the market and requirement. It is crucial to meet customers’ needs in sales promotion and expansion of sales channels.
After the workshop, the farmers may apply what they learn to your production activities, including record keeping and market-oriented mind, which will help you to reduce the cost and therefore increasing the profit.