Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Gia Lai (VNA) - As of the end of June, the total area of coffee being sustainablygrown in the five central highlands provinces exceeded 36,266 ha, a conference held on September 16 on accelerating the progress of the Vietnam Sustainable AgricultureTransformation Project (VnSAT) heard.
Thefigure represents more than 90.7 percent of the project’s goal of developing40,000 ha of sustainable coffee plantations.
Co-held bythe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vietnam Coffee andCacao Association (VICOFA) in the central highlands province of Gia Lai, the conference heard reports on project progress in the firsteight months of this year and plans for the remainder of the year and theextension period from 2021 to 2022.
Under VnSAT’sComponent on Supporting Sustainable Coffee Production and Rejuvenation, 185farmer groups were established and reinforced as of the end of August, 14percent more than the target of 162, while over 40,000 farming households were giventraining on how to grow coffee sustainably.
Close to22,000 farming households have rejuvenated their ageing coffee areas, whichcover a total of more than 18,000 ha. A full set of standards on sustainablerejuvenation have been applied on 13,137 ha of coffee in the region, 31 percenthigher than the initial goal.
Theproject has also helped renovate 11 State-run and 21 private nurseries whichhave supplied to the market about 5.1 million coffee trees on 5,000 ha.Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development have also licensed 51more private nurseries.
Provincesin the region have so far disbursed 380 billion VND for the project. The figureincludes 280 billion VND (12.06 million USD) from the International DevelopmentAssociation (IDA), 71 billion VND in counterpart funding, and 28 billion VNDfrom the private sector.
In the closingfour months of 2020, the project will provide training on sustainable coffeeproduction to more than 6,000 households and on sustainable coffee rejuvenationto 2,000 others.
The VnSATproject has total investment of 301 million USD, including 237.2 million USD inIDA funding. It aims to sustainably farm 69,000 ha of coffee, increase profitsfrom coffee production by 20 percent, support 162 farmer groups, and help thecoffee industry in 33 districts and towns across the five central highlands’provinces improve competitiveness and reduce the environmental impact./.
