Page 5 - GUIDELINES FOR FOOD SYSTEM PROFILE DEVELOPMENT at sub-national levels in Vietnam

FOREWORD

In Vietnam, the National Action Plan on Food Systems Transformation towards
Transparency, Responsibility, and Sustainability by 2030 (NAP-FST) was approved
by the central government through Decision No. 300/QĐ-TTg dated March 28, 2023.
Achieving the goals of NAP-FST requires implementation at sub-national levels, engaging
various stakeholders who should be equipped with adequate knowledge, awareness,
and capacities to make decisions.

To ensure positive transformation towards desirable goals at sub-national levels,
relevant stakeholders need to have clear understanding of the status of food systems.
Developing knowledge products, tools and processes (e.g. food system profiles,
food system dashboards, etc.) is crucial to help sub-national stakeholders, especially
government officials, map their roles, analyze sectoral trends (if any), assess local food
systems holistically, and further prioritize actions to effectively navigate food systems
transformation, either by integrating existing programs and projects or by developing
new initiatives.

These guidelines support inter-disciplinary/inter-sectoral groups and local and provincial
authorities to co-develop food system profiles that highlight key aspects of the local food
system, such as notable features, trends, accomplishments, and challenges of each
food system element.

The guidelines for food system profile development at sub-national levels are built upon
the experiences from the CGIAR Collaborative Research Program on Agriculture for
Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and Intervention Package 8: Food systems transformation
for more nutritious and healthy diets under the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food
Regional Program. The guidelines are designed to be flexible and adaptable, enabling
various actors to customize approaches according to different local priorities, conditions,
and stakeholder dynamics.

The current version of the guidelines has been refined with inputs from experts across
sectors. However, as the concepts and approaches of food systems and food system
profiling process remain relatively new in the Vietnamese context, we welcome ongoing
feedback to improve the guidelines during the NAP-FST implementation towards 2030.