This activity is part of a series of ongoing activities in Dong Thap Province to promote the implementation of the "National Action Plan for Transparent, Accountable, and Sustainable Food Systems Transformation in Vietnam by 2030" (NAP on Food Systems Transformation) under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 300/QD-TTg dated March 28, 2023. Dong Thap is one of the pioneering localities selected to implement the NAP on Food Systems Transformation at the provincial level.

Participating in the training program were Mr. Nguyen Van Vu Minh - Director of Dong Thap DARD, Mr. Dao The Anh - Deputy Director of VAAS, Ms. Truong Tuyet Mai - Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, Ms. Vu Thanh Ha - Senior Specialist at the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms. Huynh Thi Thanh Tuyen - Leader of the Asia Food Environment and Consumer Behavior Research Group - Bioversity & CIAT Alliance, along with more than 50 representatives from various departments (Agriculture, Industry, Health, Education, Information-Communications, Natural Resources-Environment), local industries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, and colleges in Dong Thap Province and the Mekong Delta region.
In his opening speech at the training program, Mr. Nguyen Van Vu Minh emphasized, "Enhancing knowledge on food systems transformation and agroecology linked to healthy diets is a direction aligned with the development goals of Dong Thap's agricultural sector." He also shared that the province has implemented many safe and organic agricultural models to improve the quality of agricultural products. However, there are still many challenges in bringing these products to consumers. Mr. Minh affirmed that to improve the quality of agricultural products, ensure food safety, and bring stable income to farmers, it is necessary to change the mindset in the production, business, and consumption chains of agricultural products, and this requires the cooperation of all sectors. He also proposed support from the National Institute of Nutrition in assessing the nutritional composition of food products in the OCOP program in the province.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vu Minh, Director of Dong Thap DARD, speaking at the training session

The first part of the training program focused on introducing the National Action Plan for Transparent, Accountable, and Sustainable Food Systems Transformation in Vietnam by 2030. Next, the trainees were equipped with knowledge on food systems transformation through healthy and sustainable diets, and agroecological approaches to address current challenges. In addition, the trainees also practiced analyzing components of the food system, causes and results within the food system, trade-offs, and synergies between the results of the food system based on the challenges of the food system in Dong Thap Province.

Group discussion

The next part of the training program was designed through a field visit to My Phu Market to help trainees better understand the food system in reality. The trainees continued to be provided with theories and tools for analyzing stakeholders and multi-stakeholder cooperation to create positive changes in addressing food system-related issues while promoting the participation of new partners in partnerships. The program concluded with group presentations on priority activities, relevant partners, and cooperation methods to promote the transformation of the food system towards healthy and sustainable development and agroecological transformation in Dong Thap Province.

After the training program, members of the Dong Thap Province multi-sectoral technical working group on food systems transformation will continue to cooperate with the inter-sectoral mission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the next activities in 2024 to support Dong Thap Province in developing priority activities and identifying available and potential resources for implementing Plan 241/KH-UBND 2023 to implement Decision 300/QD-TTg in Dong Thap Province. The inter-sectoral mission will also support Dong Thap Province in selecting and applying a monitoring and evaluation indicator set for the provincial-level NAP on Food Systems Transformation implementation under Decision 300/QD-TTg in line with the priority activities chosen in Dong Thap, expected to be implemented in 2025.