Organic cultivation procedures will be improved to ensure food safety in the agricultural sector (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Large-scale production areas for key nationalproducts will be expanded this year under the country’s action plan to ensurefood safety in the agricultural sector, according to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
Agricultural products are classified into three main groups, including keynational products, key provincial products and local specialties.
The ministry this year has expanded the One Commune One Product Programme,in which each rural commune or district will develop its own specialty, applyhigh technologies, use organic cultivation procedures, and global GoodAgricultural Practices in farming and production.
It is also strengthening chains for “safe” agricultural products andaquatic and forestry products.
The origin of products continues to be traced, and the ministry has madeefforts to seek markets for products.
According to the ministry’s report, 1,845 farms with a total area of80,000 ha and more than 500 aquatic farms with an area of 2,618 ha last yearwere issued Vietnamese GAP (good agricultural practice) certificates.
The country set up 1,249 chains of safe food with 1,450 products lastyear.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien saidthat food safety in the agriculture sector improved last year thanks to moreunannounced inspections.
More than 70,500 agricultural material production and trade establishmentswere inspected. Among these, 5,223 were fined 39.8 billion VND (1.7 million USD)for violations.
The number of food safety violations last year fell by 38 percent comparedto 2017 and the number of food poisoning cases dropped by 26 percent.
Nguyen Nhu Tiep, head of the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries QualityAssurance Department under the ministry, said the Law on Cultivation and Law onAnimal Husbandry contain clear criteria on quality and food safety foragricultural products.
Last year, the department reviewed the list of agricultural materials andrejected 1,774 plant protection products, 1,052 veterinary drugs, and 3,621fertilisers, all of which were considered substandard and unsafe.
Tien said that producers and agricultural product traders should learnabout the new food safety regulations to avoid problems in the export ofvegetable, fruit and seafood.
The ministry will continue training staff for monitoring and managing foodsafety while upgrading testing equipment to ensure food safety that meetsglobal criteria.
Last year, export value of agro-forestry and aquatic products reached 40billion USD. It is expected to increase to between 42 billion USD and 43billion USD this year.-VNA
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