Tra Vinh provincce.  A consultation meeting co-hosted by FAO and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developent (MARD) took place in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh to introduce the project “Smart Agro-ecological Transformation of Farming Systems towards Resilience and Sustainability in Middle and Coastal Zones of the Vietnam Mekong Delta (STAR-FARM)”.

On this occasion, the meeting with the provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Tra Vinh was held regarding the selection of district-level locations and models for the implementation of the project this year. With total funding of nearly 4.2 million EUR (4.66 million USD), funded by the European Union (EU) through FAO, the project was approved by the MARD in April 2023 and launched in Hau Giang province on December 13, 2023 at the International Rice Festival.

Carried out from 2023-2027, the project consists of three components, including supporting the enforcement of policies related to the transformation of climate-smart agrifood systems, supporting the development and improvement of ecological agricultural value chains, and enhancing the adaptive capacity of stakeholders in monitoring and evaluating the transformation of food systems, promoting innovation and creativity. This encourages equitable, healthy, sustainable agricultural value chains that are climate and environmentally friendly.

Partners of the project include the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD), the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Can Tho University.

The project aims to help improve production, business administration and marketing capacity for at least 24 cooperatives and cooperative groups, and establish 8 cooperatives of youth, women and ethnic minority people. It will also assist 15 agricultural SMEs to access green financial sources, build three support packages for innovative agricultural schemes and eco-agricultural models.