Also attending the conference was Mr. Phan Nhu Nguyen – Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union, and Deputy Head of the Proposal Drafting Committee – along with representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 Promoting the core role of farmers and the FU in producing and trading safe agricultural products

At the opening of the conference, Mr. Luong Quoc Doan, VNFU Chairman, emphasized that the Standing Committee of the VNFU has developed the Proposal titled “Communication, Mobilization, and Guidance for Farmers in the Safe Agricultural Production and Trading for Public Health, 2025–2030” to be submitted to the Prime Minister. This Proposal is part of the implementation of tasks assigned by the Government under Resolution No. 69/NQ-CP, dated May 11, 2024, which promulgates the Government’s Action Program to carry out the Politburo’s Resolution No. 46-NQ/TW, dated December 20, 2023 on renovating and improving the quality of the VNFU to meet the requirements of the new revolutionary phase”.

“The purpose of the Proposal is to research and recommend to the Prime Minister on specific policies and solutions to enhance the core role of the VNFU in farmers’ movements, and to strengthen the central and leading role of farmers in producing and trading high-quality, safe agricultural products,” said Mr. Luong Quoc Doan. “It also aims to contribute to the implementation of the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies, as well as the Government’s and Prime Minister’s directives on ensuring food safety throughout production, processing, trading, and preservation for the sake of public health and sustainable development.”

Mr. Luong Quoc Doan urged the delegates attending the conference to concentrate their feedback on four key issues to ensure the draft Proposal is both comprehensive and feasible.

Firstly, the Proposal must ensure the completeness and appropriateness of the political, legal foundations and its overall structure, especially in concretizing the Government’s directives and orientations.

Secondly, the draft Proposal should assess the demand and feasibility of the four target groups and four indicator groups identified up to 2030.

Thirdly, the Propoal must provide feedback on the feasibility of the five groups of solutions proposed. Finally, the Propoal should suggest the appropriateness of the division of responsibilities between the FU and relevant ministries and agencies to ensure coordinated collaboration during the implementation of the Proposal.

 Mr. Luong Quoc Doan, Chairman of the Central Committee of the VNFU, also affirmed that the VNFU’s role in implementing the Proposal is primarily to “propagate, mobilize, and provide guidance.”

In recent times, the VNFU has implemented numerous practical activities to promote safe agricultural production among farmers. Notably, the FU at all levels have mobilized over 4 million farming households to commit to safely produce, trade, and store agricultural products. This is an effective form of direct advocacy that helps farmers become more aware of their responsibilities regarding food safety.

The VNFU has also actively contributed to developing value chains, safe food production cooperatives and cooperative groups, as well as good farming practice movements tied to food safety.

Additionally, hundreds of safe agricultural produce outlets have been set up to help promote and support farmers in selling their products.

 Mr. Luong Quoc Doan expressed his hope that state management authorities and relevant stakeholders would continue to provide active support to ensure the Proposal is completed soon. “This is not only about fulfilling the Government’s assigned task, but also serves as a foundation for improving the quality of Vietnamese agricultural products and protecting public health,” emphasized the Chairman of the VNFU.

 The Politburo’s Resolution No. 72 should be integrated into the policy and the proposedsolutions must clarify the role of community monitoring

Chaired by Mr. Luong Quoc Doan, VNFU Chairman, delegates from different ministries actively discussed and contributed valuable input and recommandations to the Proposal.

At the conference, Mr. Ngo Hong Phong, Director of the Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, presented six key recommendations to enhance the quality and practicality of the Proposal.

Mr. Phong expressed strong agreement on the importance and necessity of the Proposal, particularly emphasizing the task of raising awareness among food producers and traders amid the recent increase in food safety incidents. He also supported the flexible approach taken by the VNFU as the leading agency.

Regarding the political basis, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment representative urged the Proposal Drafting Committee to update the Proposal with several key resolutions. These include Politburo Resolution No. 57 on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation which has been considered as a cornerstone for advances in communication content and channels. Additionally, Resolution No. 72 on some breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care and improvement of people's health serves as a solid foundation for the Proposal’s developing.

The proposal should focus on implementing training-of-trainers (ToT) programs, followed by wide dissemination to relevant stakeholders. It is important to clearly define the format, scale, and objectives of the ToT training. In particular, the Proposal’s communication strategies should be tailored to each region, in line with local production conditions and key agricultural products.

A representative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment noted that the role of socio-political organizations in quality management and control needs to be further enhanced, as management authorities at all levels have limited resources.

Mr. Phong suggested that the tasks and solutions section of the Proposal should provide a more detailed description of the development and replication of community-based monitoring models, or boldly include a specific target for the number of pilot models for evaluation and scaling. The role of community monitoring is considered highly important and well-aligned with practical realities.

 Speaking at the conference, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hang, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Food Administration under the Ministry of Health, expressed strong support for the necessity and importance of the Proposal, particularly in creating a breakthrough in public healthcare in line with Resolution No. 72 of the Politburo.

Ms. Hằng emphasized that the Proposal should be updated to reflect newly issued documents and resolutions, including Politburo Resolution No. 72, in order to clarify the link between food safety and the development of public health.

Regarding the structure and core content of the Proposal, Ms. Hang emphasized the need to clarify the link between the assessment of the current situation - which includes existing issues, weaknesses, and causes - and the formulation of tasks and solutions in the subsequent section.

Regarding the objectives and timeline of the proposal, she stated that specific targets should be based on clearer baseline data. For example, ensuring that 95% of farmer households engaged in the production, processing, and trading of agricultural products have proper knowledge and practices on food safety, as well as supporting 70% of professional farmer sub-associations and 50% of cooperatives in safe agricultural production.

 Ms. Hang also proposed dividing the targets into detailed phases within the period from 2025 to 2030, such as splitting them into an initial two-year phase and a subsequent three-year phase. This approach would enable management authorities to monitor implementation progress and promptly adjust or strengthen measures if the results after the first two years fail to meet the expected goals.

At the closing remark, Mr. Luong Quoc Doan, VNFU Chairman, acknowledged and highly appreciated the contributions of delegates in developing the Proposal on “Communication, Mobilization, and Guidance for Farmers in the Safe Agricultural Production and Trading for Public Health, 2025 - 2030.”

He expressed his hope that ministries and sectors, especially delegates with experience in authority management related to food safety, will continue to support the VNFU in finalizing the proposal to ensure its submission to the Prime Minister within 2025.