Part of the Food Policy Snapshot Series
Policy name: Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Taskforce on Rice
Overview: In March 2023, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced the establishment of a task force whose mission is to increase the sustainability, efficiency, and marketability of the rice industry.
Location: Vietnam
Population: 99.8 million
Food policy category: Sustainable agriculture, climate change, food production and distribution
Program goals: To improve the quality, nutritional content, and sustainability of the rice grown in Vietnam.
How it works: The task force is a joint initiative between the Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Vietnam (PSAV) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) with support from Grow Asia. It will focus on moving the rice industry away from competition based on price to competing to provide the best quality, nutritional value, and sustainability of the rice produced. To accomplish these goals, the task force will work to improve and increase the use of technology and innovation in agriculture, strengthen partnerships with farmers, and help farmers to meet market requirements and access distribution channels in various markets.
Progress to date: On March 3, the establishment of the task force was announced at a Strategic Orientation and Launching Workshop. During this workshop, attendees discussed the strategic development vision of the task force and an action plan for 2023. On April 7, MARD announced a project to develop and set aside a specialized area of high-quality, sustainable rice production totaling one million hectares (2.47 million acres) along the Mekong Delta beginning in 2024.
Why it is important: During the 2022-2023 production year, Vietnam produced 27 million tons of rice and exported 6.8 million tons. Rice not only provides food security for the country’s population, but is also a source of income for more than 15 million Vietnamese farmers. Agriculture makes up 24 percent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), with rice production accounting for 30 percent of the total.
Currently, Vietnamese rice is produced in high volumes, but it is considered to be of low quality and is sold at low prices, making it difficult for farmers to earn a living. The task force will work on improving not only the efficiency of rice production but also the quality and sustainability of the product, and, as a result, increasing the economic yield for farmers and the nation as a whole.
Program/Policy initiated: The task force was announced on March 3, 2023.
Point of contact:
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Email: trangtin@mard.gov.vn
Grow Asia
Email: info@growasia.org
Similar practices: In December 2022, Grow Asia and PSAV signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on food systems transformation, including climate-smart technology in agriculture, gender-inclusive approaches to food production, and moving towards establishing Vietnam as a Food Innovation Hub in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.
Evaluation: Evaluation has not yet been conducted.
Learn more:
- Agricultural Authorities Draft Plan to Grow One Million Hectares of Low-Carbon Rice (Viet Nam News)
- Cultivating Rice—and Sustainable Farming Practices—in Vietnam (International Finance Corporation)
- How Vietnam Is Trying to Stop Rice Warming the Planet (Phys.org)
- Vietnam Looks to Become Asian Food Innovation Hub (Vietnam Times)
References:
- Accelerating Food Systems Transformation in Vietnam through Public-Private Partnerships (Grow Asia)
- Food Innovation Hubs (World Economic Forum)
- Principal Rice Exporting Countries Worldwide in 2022/2023 (Statista)
- Public Private Partnership Task Force on Rice Established (Vietnam Plus)
- Public-Private Partnership Taskforce Set Up for Rice Sector (Vn Economy)
- Rice as a Determinant of Vietnamese Economic Sustainability (Sustainability)
- Strengthening Public-Private Partnership in Rice Sector Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)
- Sustainable and Inclusive Rice in Vietnam (Rikolto)
- Sustainable Development of 1 Million Hectares of High-Quality Rice in the Mekong Delta (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)
- Task Force Established to Promote Public-Private Partnership in Rice Sector (Nhan Dan)
- Vietnam Rice Area, Yield and Production (Foreign Agricultural Service)
- Vietnam Rice Competitiveness in the International Trade Market in Recent Years, Opportunities and New Challenges for Vietnam Rice Export (American Journal of Industrial and Business Management)
- Vietnam Rice Strategic Orientation and Launching Workshop of the PPP Task Force on Rice (Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Vietnam)
- Viet Nam Unveils Multi-Stakeholder Taskforce for Sustainable Rice (Grow Asia)
