Representatives of the Australian Embassy in Việt Nam, STAMEQ and project partners attend the handover ceremony for the V-Standard platform in Hà Nội on Friday. — VNS Photo Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI — The Commission for the Standards, Metrology and Quality of Vietnam (STAMEQ) under the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Australian Embassy in Việt Nam on Friday launched V-Standard, an AI-powered digital platform designed to help Vietnamese farmers and businesses improve agricultural certification and product traceability, supporting access to higher-value export markets.

Developed by Australia's Griffith University under the Australian Government-funded Aus4Innovation programme, the platform was officially transferred to STAMEQ for further operation and expansion in Việt Nam.

Launched in 2024, the project aims to address longstanding challenges facing the agricultural sector, including lengthy certification procedures, limited product traceability and difficulties in complying with increasingly stringent international standards.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Lê Xuân Định said that in the digital era, the competitiveness of agricultural products depended not only on quality but also on the ability to demonstrate compliance through reliable data, recognised standards and transparency.

He said digital platforms and artificial intelligence should help farmers, cooperatives and businesses reduce compliance costs, improve transparency and strengthen the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products in global markets.

Australian Chargé d'Affaires Renée Deschamps said the project reflected the growing cooperation between Australia and Việt Nam in science, technology and innovation following the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024.

Deschamps said the initiative brought together Australian and Vietnamese expertise to strengthen agricultural certification and traceability by combining artificial intelligence with a human-centred approach.

She said the V-Standard platform would help farmers and cooperatives improve production management, meet certification requirements more efficiently and expand access to higher-value markets, contributing to a more productive, sustainable and resilient agricultural sector.

Participants at the workshop. — Photo courtesy of STAMEQ

The initiative comes as Việt Nam seeks to help farmers and cooperatives adapt to increasingly demanding international standards.

While the country exported a record US$70 billion worth of agricultural products in 2025, fragmented production, limited access to technical support and cumbersome certification procedures remain major challenges, particularly for smallholders.

New requirements such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) are also increasing pressure on exporters to provide reliable digital records and end-to-end traceability, creating demand for AI-enabled certification tools such as V-Standard.

V-Standard enables farmers to digitise production management by recording farm activities, managing crop seasons and production areas, uploading supporting documents and monitoring compliance with certification requirements.

The platform also generates QR codes for product traceability and is designed to connect with Việt Nam's National Product Traceability Portal.

A mobile application allows users to maintain electronic farm diaries, upload evidence through images or documents and use voice input and optical character recognition (OCR) to simplify record-keeping and reduce paperwork.

For cooperatives and certification bodies, the system centralises production records and supporting documents, streamlining administrative procedures and improving the efficiency of certification management.

According to the project team, the technology can reduce on-site assessment and certification time by around 40 per cent while improving transparency across agricultural supply chains.

Consumers can also verify product origins through the national traceability portal.

Pilot implementation has produced encouraging results.

As of May 2026, the platform had been used to manage data for more than 127 crop seasons and 147 agricultural products, with 230 registered user accounts connecting farmers, cooperatives, buyers and certification organisations.

Nineteen cooperatives have participated in certification activities, uploading more than 1,000 supporting documents and 620 monitoring reports through the system.

The project has also provided training for about 450 participants, including women and members of ethnic minority communities, helping strengthen digital skills and improve compliance with certification requirements.

STAMEQ Chairman Nguyễn Nam Hải said the project had demonstrated the commission's capacity to develop digital systems that met international standards while addressing the practical needs of Vietnamese farmers.

Following the handover, the platform will continue to be upgraded and expanded by STAMEQ, with plans to integrate it more closely with the national quality infrastructure and traceability system to support the digital transformation of Việt Nam's agricultural sector.

The project is funded through the Aus4Innovation Partnership Grants, part of the 10-year Aus4Innovation programme (2018–28). The programme is funded by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and delivered by CSIRO in partnership with Việt Nam's Ministry of Science and Technology. — VNS