Since 2022, FiBL Switzerland has collaborated with the Center of Agricultural Research and Ecological Studies (CARES) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in the research and innovation project «Agroeconvert» on organic participatory guarantee systems (PGS) in vegetable production in Vietnam. From 3 to 6 December 2024, the project team organised a series of impactful workshops and field visits on “Enhancing Organic Agriculture and Agroecological Transition in Vietnam”, in close collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
The workshops brought together more than 50 local and international stakeholders, including decision-makers from government and NGOs, as well as farmer representatives (from Hoa Binh, Ha Nam and Hanoi), who shared grassroots insights about how to strengthen agroecology and PGS in the region. PGS are local quality assurance systems for agricultural products that are affordable for smallholder farmers and are increasingly seen as an alternative to third-party certifications; especially for organic farms.
In the workshops, FiBL researchers Robert Home and Christian Grovermann, contributed key research insights from the Agroeconvert project on enabling factors for PGS adoption and on the economic and environmental impacts of PGS participation. Discussions and group exercises with the participants confirmed findings about challenges, such as low labour productivity, and opportunities, such as high market demand and income gains. Farmer representatives also highlighted the positive implications for their health from changing to organic production.
Inspired by the feedback from the workshops and the fertile partnership with CARES and FAO, FiBL is seeking to pursue further collaborative research into labour-saving technologies, soil health, and marketing channels related to organic PGS-certified vegetables. PGS scientific community The PGS scientific community has been launched by FiBL Switzerland in 2024 in order to foster exchange and collaborative research that may strengthen PGS schemes worldwide.
Further information at www.fibl.org/en
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