BioTrade EU Project’s Joint Monitoring Trip between EU Delegation and Helvetas Vietnam
From 23rd to 25th September 2019, within the BioTrade EU project, a joint monitoring trip was organized by Helvetas and EU Delegation - the Project Donor to review project intervention approaches, progress and results in order to provide timely guidance for the incoming period, ensuring project effectiveness, impact and sustainability.
Headed by Mr. Koen Duchateau, Head of Development Cooperation of the EU Delegation and Dr. Luong Pham, Country Director of Helvetas Vietnam, the delegation visited project partners’ factories and planations of Duc Phu, MOOCOS, TRAPHACO SAPA and ethnic minority farmers who benefit from the project. The delegates also met with Lao Cai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection to discuss project’s relevance and impact on provincial policy development and implementation.
According to Mr. Đỗ Sỹ Tiến, Traphaco SaPa Director, more than 200 households have engaged in contract farming model with the company to produce Actichoke with GACP-WHO standards certified, of which more than 80% are ethnic minorities. H’mong female farmers shared that by growing and supplying Actichoke fresh leaves to the company, they have earned triple income comparing to growing rice in their terrace fields and their earnings have been gradually increased thanks to stable price but increasing yields associated with improved skills. Lao Cai DARD leaders shared that, thanks to the successful value chains in the Natural Ingredient sector supported by the project, Lao Cai Province has developed a master plan and will provide a special support mechanism to promote the development of herbal plant sector.
The BioTrade EU project is implemented in Vietnam with financial support from European Commission under the Switch Asia Program. The objective is to upscale the sustainable EBT business model to the Natural Ingredient sector of Vietnam and make Vietnam an internationally recognized supplier of natural ingredient to phyto-phamaceutical, cosmetic and food supplement industries. For more information about the project please visit website http://biotrade.com.vn/ contact Ms. Nguyen Quynh Anh at email: nguyen.quynhanh@helvetas.org.
