Vietnam’s Department of Cooperative Economy organised a workshop in Hanoi on 30 July to exchange knowledge with Irish counterparts.
The department – part of the Ministry of Planning and Investment – hosted the event in collaboration with the Irish Embassy in Vietnam and Sustainable Food Systems Ireland.
The event gathered a range of government representatives including the Irish ambassador to Vietnam; representatives of the Irish Sustainable Food Systems Agency and agri co-op leaders.
The workshop was an opportunity to exchange knowledge on developing agricultural and food co-operatives and share experiences between Ireland and Vietnam to help the sector adopt climate-friendly, resilient practices and increase the added value of agricultural products.
The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in June, with the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Maritime Affairs (DAFM) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment committing to strengthening co-operation in the fields of business development, industry, co-operatives and agricultural and food innovation.
Dang Van Thanh, deputy director of the Department of Cooperative Economics, Ministry of Planning and Investment, told delegates that Vietnam has 34,000 co-ops, 22,000 of which are in the agri sector. Innovation and quality improvement are key priorities for his country’s agri co-ops, he added.
Co-operatives must “promote the application of international quality standards, improve production processes and strict quality control, improve food hygiene and safety and traceability, and build brand equity,” he said.
Conor Finn, deputy head of mission at the Irish embassy in Vietnam, discussed the co-op movement’s long history in Ireland, and their role in the country’s economic development.
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“The co-operative movement in Ireland has a proud history, dating back to the 1880s before our political independence was achieved,” he said. “Over many decades, co-operatives have played an invaluable role in our country’s economic development. Like Vietnam, Ireland recognises this important legacy and, at the same time the need to provide a modern legal framework and innovation ecosystems to help the co-operative sector grow.”
The event was organised under the Ireland Vietnam Agri-food Partnership, funded by the Irish embassy. This five-year programme aims to support Vietnam in transforming its agri-food sector through three work packages that include actions in climate-resilient primary production, food systems transformation and co-operative development through technical assistance, knowledge sharing, training and skills development.
Delegations from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development traveled to Ireland in February and June for study visits. They visited the Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre and the Food Industry Development Department and local farms; engaged in conversations with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, SFSI, the Irish Food Board and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland to discuss further collaboration; and visited food and beverage retailers.
