A  shrimp farm applied VietGap standards in the southern province of Kiên Giang. — Photo thuysanvietnamm.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is considering a project expanding 10 million hectares  of agricultural production with VietGap standards.

The ministry had officials consult relevant offices for opinions on the project titled: "Improving the effectiveness of the implementation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and SPS commitments within the framework of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)”.  

The project's objective is to improve Việt Nam’s capacity in implementing its obligations to the WTO and FTA’s SPS Agreement ​​in international trade in agriculture, forestry, fishery and food; develop appropriate SPS measures to protect human, animal and plant’s health in Việt Nam; improve management, assessment and testing capacity to support enterprises to comply with SPS regulations in export markets; take investment opportunities of WTO member countries; and expand export markets for Việt Nam's agriculture, forestry, fishery and foodstuffs.

The project will help the country’s agricultural sector acquire VietGap certificates for 3 million hectares of forests, 30,000 hectares of aquaculture and 15,000 livestock facilities by the year 2025.

The project will also increase the percentage of semi-process and process agricultural, forestry and fishery product establishments getting Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and ISO 2200 or equivalent certificates by 10-15 per cent per year and about 80 per cent of co-operatives will be informed and updated on SPS regulations of the import market.

By the year 2030, 10 million hectares of growing areas, 100,000 hectares of aquaculture and 25,000 livestock establishments will get VietGap certificates.

One of the key solutions of the project is to raise awareness of management agencies, professional associations, businesses and people.

In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will combine the goals and tasks of the project with related programmes such as development strategy for sustainable agricultural and rural development in the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050,  the programme on restructuring the agricultural sector, and the national target programme on building a new countryside.

Ngô Xuân Nam, vice director of SPS-Việt Nam Office, said the project was expected to bring breakthroughs for Việt Nam’s agricultural sector.

The project will focus on roles of localities, businesses, associations and co-operatives in improving capacity and meeting demand of imported markets, said Nam.

Việt Nam would also have a basis to evaluate the SPS system of five major markets in the world as well as draw lessons for the domestic production system, he said.

The SPS-Việt Nam Office will focus on developing the SPS Việt Nam Newsletter with the aim to provide SPS information to the market, guide on SPS regulations, and spread information on SPS integrated with the agricultural, forestry and fishery extension programme to raise awareness on food safety, he added. — VNS