Page 5 - GUIDELINES FOR FOOD SYSTEMS ISSUES PRIORITIZATION, ACTOR AND ACTION MAPPING 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), approved through
Decision No. 300/QĐ-TTg dated March 28, 2023, provides a roadmap for reshaping
food systems. Achieving its goals depends on strong engagement at the sub-national
level, where provinces must develop context-specific implementation plans aligned with
national priorities.

To support this, local stakeholders need practical tools to prioritize key issues, map
relevant actors, and coordinate actions. These steps are essential for translating national
objectives into effective, locally grounded strategies.

These guidelines are intended to assist provincial and local actors - including government
officials, sectoral agencies, and other stakeholders including the private sector and
community organizations - in conducting structured food systems issue prioritization and
actor–action mapping. These tools enable stakeholders to identify urgent food system
challenges, clarify roles and responsibilities, and coordinate targeted actions. Together,
these steps strengthen planning processes, improve alignment across sectors, and
contribute to the effective implementation of the NAP-FST at the local level.

The guidelines are built on lessons from the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for
Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and Intervention Package 8 on food systems transformation
under the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food Regional Program. The tool is designed
to be flexible and customizable, allowing provinces to tailor their approaches based on
specific contexts and stakeholder dynamics.

As food systems transformation is still an emerging field in Vietnam, especially at the
sub-national level, this first edition of the guideline is offered as a living resource. We
welcome continued feedback to refine and enhance the guidelines throughout the NAP-
FST implementation toward 2030.