Illustrative image (Source: VNA)The two-day conference served as a venue for experts and forest and farmproducer organisations (FFPO) to share experiences and discuss measures to copewith climate change while improving the livelihood of local residents.
Building climate resilience is an essential part of sustainable development,according to Mai Bac My, Director of External Affairs and the International CooperationDepartment of the Vietnam Farmers' Union.
Research shows that the impact of climate change will spread across nationalborders and global supply chains have been more vulnerable to this impacttogether with disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and regional wars.
In this context, the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) programme was designed tosupport FFP in coping with climate change and improving livelihoods.
Participants at the conference shared models of climate-resilient businesses inorder to encourage the expansion of good businesses across the FFPO network,and discussed challenges and experiences in developing these business models.
Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers' Union Luong Quoc Doan said the union haspromoted its role in implementing State and Party policies and regulations in agriculturaldevelopment towards the millennium goal of shifting from a "brown"economy to a green economy.
With support from international organisations, the agricultural sector of Vietnamposted growth from 2.8% to 3%, helping to ensure national food security.Exports of agro-forestry and fisheries reached over 48 billion USD in 2021.
The total area of forest is estimated at 14.2 million hectares, equivalent to43% of the total area of Vietnam. In 2021, exports of wood products reached 15.9billion USD. In the first eight months of 2022, the figure was over 11.8billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%.
The farmers' union has recently guided farmers to move towards greenagricultural production and launched movements to encourage them to reduceenergy consumption, solid waste and gas emissions in agricultural production, Doansaid.
Farmers' organisations have also built models of green agriculture and expandedeffective agricultural production models along with actively contributingopinions to build and mobilise farmers to implement programmes and plans toeffectively use natural resources, he said.
Since 2015, the farmers' union was the main partner in implementing the firstphase of the FFF programme in Vietnam. It has continued to implement the secondphase of the programme from 2019 to date.
The aim of the programme is to help FFPO, including woman, youth and ethnicminority people to become the key factors of change in climate changeadaptation and improving the livelihoods of people.
The FFF programme is being implemented in five localities, namely Yen Bai, BacKan, Hoa Binh, Son La and Thai Nguyen, with the goal of improving farming andforest production and business capacity for local residents as well as increasingaccess to markets and finance for cooperatives in applying measures to reducethe negative impact of climate change.
The programme has also provided training to strengthen the capacity of farmers'unions at all levels to help them operate more effectively.
Cooperatives and forest-based communities in areas benefitting from the FFFproject have been trained in knowledge and skills to produce and tradeagricultural and wood products, risk management, livelihood improvement anddevelopment of models of growing forests and biodiversity. They were alsoguided to implement measures to develop organic and environmentally friendlyagriculture and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It has also improved the capacity for forest and farm production cooperativesin developing management methods, sustainable forest production and trade, andin encouraging women, youths and ethnic minority people in production and tradeof agro-forestry products./.
VNA
