Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and short organic supply chains have emerged as promising solutions for smallholder farmers to provide organic produce to nearby consumers. PGS is an institutional innovation that builds trust among producers, traders and consumers through a low-cost transparent and participatory certification mechanism. They have particularly gained a foothold among smallholder farmers in middle-income countries, where third-party certification costs are often unaffordable.

In Vietnam, PGS schemes have now been set up in more than seven provinces in Vietnam (Ha Noi, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Ben Tre, and Hoi An). With training and coaching by the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA), at least five other local governments have expressed their intention to set up organic PGS groups in their respective provinces. Nevertheless, the local organic sector in Vietnam has grown slowly in recent years. PGS-certified vegetable production in Vietnam is generally more profitable and sustainable compared to non-certified production. However, it is constrained by crop productivity challenges and requires higher returns to labour.
In this Good Practice Note, Christian Grovermann, Pham Van Hoi, Pierre Ferrand and Robert Home reflect on the lessons learned from implementing PGS in Vietnam.

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For the previous notes:
Good Practice Note on Institutional Innovations 1
Good Practice Note on Institutional Innovations 2

Good Practice Note on Institutional Innovations 3

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) and short organic supply chains have emerged as promising solutions for smallholder farmers to provide organic produce to nearby consumers. PGS is an institutional innovation that builds trust among producers, traders and consumers through a low-cost transparent and participatory certification mechanism. They have particularly gained a foothold among smallholder farmers in middle-income countries, where third-party certification costs are often unaffordable.

In Vietnam, PGS schemes have now been set up in more than seven provinces in Vietnam (Ha Noi, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Ben Tre, and Hoi An). With training and coaching by the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA), at least five other local governments have expressed their intention to set up organic PGS groups in their respective provinces. Nevertheless, the local organic sector in Vietnam has grown slowly in recent years. PGS-certified vegetable production in Vietnam is generally more profitable and sustainable compared to non-certified production. However, it is constrained by crop productivity challenges and requires higher returns to labour.
In this Good Practice Note, Christian Grovermann, Pham Van Hoi, Pierre Ferrand and Robert Home reflect on the lessons learned from implementing PGS in Vietnam.

Download from here

CIRAD and ASEA have announced that the ICBPSA23 – International Conference on BioProtection for Sustainable Agriculture is taking place on 26th-28th July, 2023, in Can Tho, Vietnam.

The conference will bring together scientists and stakeholders involved in improving crop protection. Its agenda comprises 01 day of plenary sessions, 01 day of parallel sessions and 01 day of field visits. This is an opportunity to share experiences in the field of bioprotection with participants from different parts of the world.

The conference is organised by 5 universities in Vietnam and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD). It is financed by CIRAD and the platform in partnership ASEA . It also received great support from the French Embassy in Vietnam, as a part of the  activity series to mark 50 year of Vietnam-France diplomatic ties.

Participation is free of charge, and participants are invited to submit oral or poster papers in English. Internationally renowned personalities in the field of bioprotection will give keynote lectures during the plenary session.

More details on ICBPSA23 First announcement.

A second announcement will soon give more precise information on registration, abstract submission and deadlines.

One-week intensive hands-on training on Microbial Biopesticide Production was provided under the STDF funded project entitled “Asia Pesticide Residue Mitigation through the Promotion of Biopesticides and Enhancement of Trade Opportunities” from 24-31 October 2022. The training was conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Southern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam facilitated by Dr. Stefan Jaronski, Adjunct Professor, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, USA. Ms. Martina Spisiakova, KM Coordinator and Dr Sasireka Rajendran, Project Manager facilitated the development of business model for microbial biopesticide production.

The training was attended by 19 participants from different institutions including Department of Agro Industry MAFF (Cambodia), Plant Protection Wing, Department of Agricultural Extension, (Bangladesh), National Agricultural and Foresty Research Institute (Laos), Ministry of Agriculture and Foresty (Laos), Horticultural crops research and development institute (Sri Lanka), Indonesian Agricultural Environmental Research Institute (Indonesia), Institute of Agricultural Sciences for Southern Vietnam (Vietnam), Southern Pesticide Control and Testing Center (Vietnam), Nong Lam University (Vietnam), Yergat Food Company Limited (Vietnam), Center for Business Incubation of Agricultural High Technology (Vietnam).