Page 13 - GUIDELINES FOR FOOD SYSTEMS ISSUES PRIORITIZATION, ACTOR AND ACTION MAPPING at sub-national levels in Vietnam

1. INTRODUCTION

In March 2023, the Government of Vietnam issued the Decision No. 300/QĐ-TTg approving
the National Action Plan on Food Systems Transformation towards Transparency,
Accountability and Sustainability until 2030 (NAP-FST) (Government of Vietnam, 2023).
The plan promotes an integrated, multi-stakeholder approach to building transparent,
accountable, and sustainable food systems, achieved through multiple proposed targets,
objectives and tasks. Key priorities include advancing ecological agriculture, supporting
smallholder competitiveness and resilience, improving product quality and supply chain
transparency, and ensuring safe, diverse, and nutritious food for consumers.

However, the implementation of NAP-FST at subnational levels might encounter various
provincial contexts depending on local priorities and available resources. Many food
systems issues are determined nationally, leading to broad and all-encompassing
targets and tasks that might not fit local circumstances. Therefore, these guidelines aim
to achieve the following:

(i) Explore, identify, and prioritize food systems issues at local scales and according
to different local stakeholders.

(ii) Identify the local actors who engage in food systems issues, subject to local
circumstances and resource allocation.

(iii) Propose key activities tailored to local contexts that address priority food systems
issues and serve as a foundation for developing provincial implementation plans
under the NAP-FST.

This guide discusses some of the methods and tools—including meetings, workshops,
and interactions—that are organized and applied to achieve the objectives listed above.

2. CONTEXT, DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE OF THE ACTIVITIES

2.1. Context and definitions

Among various frameworks of food systems that have been approved, these guidelines
adopt the framework by Fanzo et al. (2020) (Figure 1), adapted from the 2017 HLPE
report. Food systems are hereby defined as encompassing all elements and activities
involved in the production, processing, distribution, preparation, and consumption of
food, and the output of these activities, including nutrition, health, socio-economic and
environmental outcomes (HLPE, 2017).

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