VNFU's Vice Chairwoman Bui Thi Thom received Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Jointly attending the meeting were Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet Ha, Deputy Head of the Farmers’ Affairs Department in charge of external relations and international cooperation at the VNFU Central Committee; senior advisors; facilitators of the FFF program; and FAO officials responsible for the Forest and Farm Facility.

On behalf of the VNFU Central Committee, Vice President Bui Thi Thom expressed high appreciation for FAO’s role in supporting Vietnam’s sustainable agricultural development, particularly through the FFF program, which helps farmers build sustainable livelihoods. She expressed her hope that FAO would continue to assist Vietnam—especially the VNFU—in promoting high-tech, environmentally friendly agriculture that brings tangible benefits to farmers.

During the meeting, Ms. Thom shared updates on the historic restructuring of Vietnam’s political-administrative system toward a more streamlined and efficient model, following the Resolution of the 13^th Party Central Committee. The structure is consolidated from 63 provinces and cities to 34, and the district level removed, moving toward a two-tier local government model (province and commune). The country now has 3,331 communes, wards, and special zones. To be in line with, since July 1, 2025, the VNFU has been integrated under the Vietnam Fatherland Front,

Ms. Thom affirmed that this restructuring does not reduce the Union’s functions or responsibilities. The VNFU remains a socio-political organization representing the farmers, responsible for communicating and mobilizing farmers to implement the Party’s resolutions and the State’s policies, particularly those related to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. The Farmer’s Union continues to take care of farmer’s economic and cultural life, protect farmers’ legitimate rights and interests, provide services, consultancy and support, and help farmers play a central role in agricultural development, rural economy, and new rural development.

In her remarks, Ms. Sophie Gabrielle G. Grouwels, Regional Coordinator of the FFF, sincerely thanked the VNFU leadership for their warm welcome. She introduced the Global OCOP (One Country One Product) program launched in 2021, now implemented in 95 countries, focusing on developing distinctive agricultural products to improve productivity, profitability, and job creation, while enhancing farmers’ incomes and strengthening agriculture’s resilience to climate change.

Ms. Grouwels commended the efforts of VNFU branches across the country, especially in the northern mountainous provinces, for helping cooperatives and farmer groups improve management capacity, enhance livelihoods and promote sustainable growth, develop high-value, climate-resilient agricultural and forestry products, thereby increasing incomes and reducing poverty.

Through the FFF program, several successful value chain models have been established and documented, contributing to improved incomes for cooperative members. Ms. Grouwels expressed her wish to replicate these successful models in the coming period.

She added that the purpose of this visit was to meet with stakeholders to evaluate the program’s outcomes, serving as input for the Impact Assessment Workshop scheduled for September 18 in Hanoi, and to discuss ways to further strengthen project effectiveness in building sustainable livelihoods for farmers.

Sharing that view, Vice Chairwoman Bui Thi Thom proposed several priority actions for FAO’s continued cooperation in supporting farmers, creating jobs and improving income, promoting local socio-economic development, and enhancing forest cover and environmental protection:

1. Continue to support VNFU with capacity building, strengthening existing cooperatives and cooperative groups participating FFF program, while establishing new ones.
2. Promote communication on the benefits of collective action and value chain linkages, and enhance organizational and business management skills for cooperatives and cooperative groups. Document successful models and share best practices.
3. Enhance VNFU’s service capacity—including product branding, geographical indications, input supply, access to credit, and product marketing. Facilitate study tours and exchanges among cooperatives and promote cooperation with local authorities and relevant partners to improve project effectiveness.
4. Support networking and partnerships among cooperatives and between cooperatives and businesses to mobilize more resources.
5. Strengthen communication and awareness-raising on forest management, utilization, and development in connection with sustainable farming and access to carbon markets. Vietnam’s commitment is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, as pledged at COP26.
6. Scale up successful models across the VNFU system, expand project areas, and develop the next phase of the FFF program while continuing unfinished activities beyond the current phase, which ends in December 2025.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further cooperation in the next phase of partnership.