There are many agriculture-related projects being implemented in Vietnam. Among them is BRIA, a publicprivate initiative designed to improve farmers’ livelihoods, rice quality and the rice value chain in the Mekong Delta. BRIA seeks to strengthen collaboration among farmers, farmer cooperatives and millers/traders. To be profitable, farmers need to deal directly with millers/traders.
Seventy per cent of the population in Dong Thap, a major rice producing province in Vietnam, is engaged in agriculture. Most farmers are smallholders who cultivate rice using family labour. They hire farm machinery to cope with labour shortages and sell rice immediately after harvest.
Hoang Long Joint Stock Company has participated in the BRIA PPP model in this province. Its plant is located along the Tien River in a total area of 14,000 square meters. Its storage area covers 1,000 square metres and its rice milling capacity is 300 tons per day.
Mr. Ho Vinh Tan, Deputy Director, said that to be qualified to export rice in Viet Nam, a trader needs to have facilities to process 15 tons of rice per hour approved by the government, a storage capacity of 5,000 tons and a certificate to export. The trader needs to establish cooperation with rice farmers covering an area of 500 ha to provide the raw material.
His company collects its rice supplies from Can Tho and some locations in Dong Thap, and transports the rice to its milling plant, also in Dong Thap. The company exports milled rice and broken rice to the Philippines and China as well as Indonesia and Africa. As the quality of rice is not high, the company is currently not certified to an international standard or Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). However, it plans to apply for certification in the future.
Mr. Tan explained that joining the BRIA project was beneficial to the company because it did away with the need to find or organize farmers or cooperate with farmer cooperatives.
His milling plant now enjoys a new supply of quality paddy rice provided by farmers taking part in the BRIA PPP model in Dong Thap. BRIA farmers use certified seeds and receive technical advice. The company has signed contracts with farmer cooperatives.
“BRIA helps stabilize supplies for export. We have signed contracts to buy 1,200 tons of rice in the 2015 and 2016 seasons covering a rice growing area of 200 ha. The project convinced farmers to change their approach. Farmers use certified quality seeds. We are assured of higher quality rice,” Mr. Tan explained.
To meet market demand for high quality, the company will apply for ISO or GMP certification. The fact that BRIA farmers grow rice with a high standard will contribute to the company’s certification to the system. The company urges BRIA farmers to grow Jasmine rice, a high-quality strain.
In collaboration with the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the BRIA PPP model strengthens stakeholders in the rice value chain. In this model, rice is produced with good yields and quality to meet millers/ traders’ requirements in accordance with the signed contract. For this, BRIA provides technical training to participating farmers who produce rice on a large scale rice field (LSRF). Millers/traders give farmers and cooperatives an assurance that all rice produced that satisfies requirements are purchased. They contribute to stabilising the local rice market and farmers’ incomes.
BRIA together with its public and private partners provides capacity development and field technical support for farmers, farmer cooperatives, local extension workers and technical staff. The project also seeks to improve the certification system on rice quality and/or rice farming practices to meet traders’ requirements.