Hanoi, 27 November 2008
Vietnam’s agriculture ministry increases funds for farmer training by tenfold
Move to raise crop yields, improve farmers' livelihoods

27 November 2008 (Hanoi) – Vietnam’s agriculture ministry plans to increase its funding for farmer training by tenfold in 2009, a move aimed at preventing food shortages while helping farmers protect their crops and improve their livelihoods.

The Plant Protection Department (PPD) of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development plans to invest US$100,000 in 2009 to train farmers nationwide, up from $10,000 this year. The PPD’s partnership with CropLife Asia, an industry association representing the plant science industry, has been instrumental in helping Vietnam’s small-scale farmers harness technology to boost productivity and contribute to food safety.

The proposed funding will benefit more than 2,000 farmers in 2009, double the number trained this year. For the first time, the new programme on the responsible use of pesticides will be extended to rice farmers in the country. Current initiatives focus on crops such as vegetables, fruit and tea. Since 2003, the partners have trained about 6,800 farmers in 28 provinces and cities combined. In addition, hundreds of thousands have learnt good agricultural practices through mass media campaigns, including TV contests for farmers.

The planned increase in funding in 2009 has two key objectives – firstly, reach out to more small-scale farmers in Vietnam to help them boost productivity; secondly, help them achieve better incomes and transcend subsistence farming.

In August, CropLife Asia established a local industry association called the CropLife Sector Committee under the European Chamber of Commerce, to steer efforts toward stewardship, regulatory affairs and farmer training in partnership with the Vietnamese government.

“Vietnam is a key producer of key agricultural commodities and we are delighted to be working in partnership with the government to provide expertise to farmers with solutions toward growing sustainably,” says Jenny Wang, Managing Director of Syngenta Vietnam and stewardship lead of the CropLife Sector Committee.

Ngo Quang Dinh, 57, a rice and vegetable farmer from Dong Mai village in Bac Ninh province, says his life has been transformed after being trained on the responsible use of pesticides.  In contrast to the losses he suffered in the 1990s, Ngo’s rice yields have jumped by as much as 50 percent after he learnt how to protect his harvests.

With a better income, Ngo has added a second floor to his three-bedroom house and built a house for his sons and their spouses.

“Previously, I was a subsistence farmer growing enough to feed myself and my family. Now, we grow enough to sell and make a good living. That’s how agriculture technology has made a difference to my life.”