7 years of "betting" on organic agriculture
In the period 2026-2030, Vietnam sets a double-digit growth target. To maintain high and sustainable growth rates, the economy not only needs to mobilize more resources but also needs to improve the value created from existing advantages.
As one of Vietnam's advantageous sectors, agriculture needs to go deeper into the value chain, from building standard raw material areas, organizing sustainable production to deep processing, building brands and developing markets.
In that flow, organic agriculture is not only a story about "clean production", but also a problem of reorganizing the value chain. From land improvement, building raw material areas, quality control to processing, traceability and brand building, each stage determines the ability to increase the value of Vietnamese agricultural products.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Hoai - Chairwoman of G.Organic Group Joint Stock Company said that to create a quality organic agricultural product, businesses cannot take a "shortcut".
7 years is the time I'bet' to bring organic products to the market. This is not only an investment cost problem but also a journey that requires a lot of effort, time and perseverance, especially in soil improvement and building raw material areas. Organic agriculture cannot be done quickly" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai shared.
According to Ms. Hoai, the biggest difficulty for businesses developing organic agriculture lies in the raw material area. Finding a land area that meets standards is already difficult, maintaining a stable raw material area is even more difficult. Even in large agricultural production areas such as Da Lat, finding land areas that fully meet organic requirements is not simple. Because when raw material sources are not controlled, businesses find it difficult to maintain stable quality, difficult to build long-term brands and even more difficult to meet the increasingly high requirements of export markets.
Another challenge for organic businesses, according to a representative of G.Organic, is the market. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoai, the number of consumers who understand organic products and proactively choose this product line is not large. Meanwhile, production costs, quality control and building raw material areas make the price of organic products often higher than ordinary products.
The State can continue to support businesses through communication, consumer education, and market quality control. When the market is better controlled, businesses that seriously invest in quality, raw material areas and technology will have more development opportunities," Ms. Hoai emphasized.
In the context of the market still lacking confidence, according to Ms. Hoai, standards are an important tool to standardize awareness and action. Without standards, any product can be considered organic, leading to a situation of "gold and brass mixed".
Elevating Vietnamese agricultural products through value chains
Looking more broadly, the requirement to increase the value of agricultural products is becoming an issue for the entire industry, not only for organic agriculture. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang - an economic expert, to elevate Vietnamese agricultural products, it is important to shift from exporting raw materials to participating more deeply in the value chain.
In the new period, as the agricultural sector moves towards modern, sustainable and highly competitive commodity production, the value of agricultural products will increasingly depend on the ability to organize chains, master processing technology and build brands," this expert analyzed.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang said that it is necessary to strengthen propaganda and provide information to help consumers understand organic products correctly, and at the same time strictly control the quality and use of information and labels related to organic products. When the market is transparent, businesses investing seriously will have more motivation to expand production, thereby contributing to the formation of a sustainable agricultural product value chain and improving the value of Vietnamese agricultural products.
