Vietnam

Using multi-stakeholder platforms offers a promising approach for sharing agricultural innovation, reducing transaction costs, and catalyzing development through stimulating stakeholder engagement in the innovation process to accelerate food systems transformation. Agriculture-related multi-stakeholder platforms (AMSPs) are major players to intervention strategies of agricultural development programs. However, AMSPs face multiple challenges that limit and negatively impact their functions. This study aims to map the AMSP landscape, examine their operational activities, and provide recommendations for strengthening private- and public-sector engagement to support long-term agricultural sustainability in Vietnam. The study used a three-step qualitative research approach to identify AMSPs and subsequently collected secondary and primary data. Results reveal three types of AMSPs classified from 35 identified platforms: (i) development organization-led, (ii) civil society organization (CSO)-led, and (iii) government organization-led platforms. Their main characteristics were then investigated according to the four basic dimensions of organizational theory: structural, contextual, operational, and relational aspects. Next, the study analyzed the influence of each AMSP type on agricultural policies and practices, including those integrating agroecological approaches. The study then examined each AMSP’s achievements and challenges related to AMSP impact and sustainability, together with the constraints related to private- and public-sector engagement, and incentives and investment in agroecological transition. This landscape analysis has identified various mechanisms and possibilities for the Agroecological TRANSITIONS Program — and other related sustainable approach projects — to engage with these AMSPs. This collaboration will stimulate a process for the co-design and co-creation of innovative incentive mechanisms to leverage investment, support the use of holistic traceability tools, and scale-out agroecological practices in rice value chains in Vietnam.

This report documents the regional workshop on agribusiness public-private partnership (agriPPP), organized in Luangprabang, Laos, from 15–16 March 2024, with 47 participants from Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao People Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The event was hosted by the Policy Think Tank (PTT) initiative of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF). The event was supported by a funded project of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) via the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The overall goal of the workshop was to strengthen effective practices in Agri-PPPs through promoting evidence-based policy formulation practices in the Mekong region. Key specific objectives for the case of Lao PDR were to a) contribute to a consultative process for agribusiness policy development in Lao PDR and b) share practices, experiences and lessons learned on different forms of the Public-Private Partnerships towards sustainable agribusiness practices. This event comprised of a one-day consultation meeting and a half-field visit on the following day. Key sessions of the consultation meeting included a panellist discussion, presentations and discussions.

Agroecological approaches are increasingly promoted for food systems transformation by applying ecological principles, regeneratively using natural resources and ecosystem services, and addressing the need for socially equitable food systems. Yet, despite widespread support from social movements, agroecological transition (AET) is still constrained by a lack of holistic performance metrics, top-down incentives and investments, and limited capacity to engage with private-public finance models, businesses, and policy processes. Large-scale AET requires empowering diverse actors and organizations to exercise their choices and roles to develop individual and institutional capability pipelines to create and harness opportunities for new businesses to capture more value from agriculture and food systems.

A bibliometric study on mapping the rice cropping systems in VMD is crucial for understanding the trend of EO-based rice mapping and how remote sensing technologies are essential to address the food security issue in the region. This article presents an overview of Earth observation (EO)-based rice mapping strategies since 1979, prioritizing the scope of data, approaches, and techniques derived from 3700 research articles worldwide and contrasting them with the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). Various quantitative analyses were conducted through bibliometric analysis using the VOS viewer and Scopus database. Optical images, particularly the Landsat (~16%) and MODIS (~12%) time series datasets, were the most commonly utilized globally. MODIS data (~31%) had the highest share in the VMD context, followed by Landsat data (~19%), while Sentinel series (~13% for global and ~16% for VMD) data became more popular in recent years. Research on rice mapping using UAVs has been gradually creeping into rice mapping research globally, but a gap is yet to be filled in the VMD. The most widely used approaches for rice mapping globally were Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, and Principal Component Analysis. Spectral indices like EVI, NDVI, and RVI were commonly used for rice mapping and monitoring. The findings underscore the critical role of EO-based rice mapping studies in the VMD in addressing sustainability and food security challenges.