"Key difficulties the sector has faced include: planning specific areas for organic farming, little investment for water and soil analysis and low administrative fines for violations, among other setbacks," said Ngoc.
According to a report prepared by the Department of Crop Production under MARD, land area for organic vegetable farming accounts for only 8–8.5 per cent of the country’s total vegetable growing area.
Living standards
Only 14,816ha of land have been reserved for organic vegetable farming in the Red River Delta, including 6,820ha in Ha Noi, 3,000ha in Hai Duong Province and 2,500ha in Hai Phong.
A higher standard of living generally leads to greater health consciousness among the population. While cost remains a factor in choosing consumer goods, it is not always the dominant factor.
According to Trieu Thi Hoa, head of the Ha Noi Plant Protection Department, producers of organic vegetables can sell their products for 3 per cent higher than the price of traditionally grown vegetables and earn a reasonable profit.
Housewife Phan Thi Thanh said she was willing to pay more for organic vegetables if they would help protect her family’s health. However, she has difficulty finding a place to buy organic vegetables in her residential area.
"I have to travel quite far to buy organic vegetables. Even when I get there, I am not positive the vegetables are really organic," said Thanh.
Duong Duc Tung, Deputy Director of the Hai Phong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: "Vietnamese consumers are gradually shifting to choosing organic vegetables."
"There is an increasing demand for safe vegetables in Hai Phong and in some areas of the city the demand exceeds the supply," he added.
Tung posed this paradox exists because there was no proper distribution channel for organic vegetables.
"The problem remains: consumers get frustrated about the trouble they have to go through to buy vegetables and producers worry about the market for their products."
Tung also voiced his concern that farmers growing organic vegetables were scattered over many areas, thus making it difficult to build cost-efficient infrastructure such as suitable drainage systems.
Good strategy
"A good strategy must be developed which includes close and consistent co-operation between companies that process, market or export organic vegetables with co-operatives and farmers who cultivate organic vegetables in specifically zoned areas," said Tung.
"Information about strict compliance with the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) needs to be disseminated to qualified individuals and firms which invest in organic vegetables," he said.
The standards were developed based on ASEANGAP, EUROGAP and GLOBALGAP to ensure organic vegetables grown in the country meet export qualifications for ASEAN and other countries, thus leading to sustainable agricultural production.
Public exposure
The public should also be given information about organisations and individuals caught violating the legal requirements of organic vegetable production.
"The threat of public exposure would make violators think twice before ignoring any legal requirements while giving consumers more trust in the organic vegetable market," said Tung.
He added that more specialised zones should be allocated for cultivating organic vegetables, which would facilitate more efficient investment and bring additional benefits to producers and sellers.
"Clearly there is still a long way to go before the majority of consumers will be able to get their hands on organic vegetables. A lot of things need to be done quickly in order to make this happen," said Tung.
P.Hoa - Dang Quan- V.S