Nguyen Thi Huyen, head of Ba Chu Vegetable Cooperative, led us to the organic vegetable fields owned by members of the cooperative. Each field has a board with name of the owner, time of planting and a phrase “Hygiene from the field with access to the owner”.
According to Huyen, each cooperative owner has a “field diary”, which specifies the date of planting, the duration of vegetable isolation and the date of harvesting. This method has been used since the cooperative applied the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), which was initiated by the Hanoi Plant Protection Department. PGS is locally focused on a quality assurance system. They certify producers based on the active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange. Accordingly, the cooperative will keep a sample of vegetables after harvesting and will be responsible for every incident relating to product safety.
Huyen said the new style cooperative helps to increase the value of organic products while specifying the responsibilities of cooperative members and enhancing the cooperative operation.
According to Tu Thi Tuyet Nhung, PGS’s coordinator in Vietnam, the method is being applied widely in Europe and in some Asian countries. In Vietnam, PGS is also being applied to monitor and manage organic vegetables produced by smaller famers nationwide.
According to Huyen, each cooperative owner has a “field diary”, which specifies the date of planting, the duration of vegetable isolation and the date of harvesting. This method has been used since the cooperative applied the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), which was initiated by the Hanoi Plant Protection Department. PGS is locally focused on a quality assurance system. They certify producers based on the active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange. Accordingly, the cooperative will keep a sample of vegetables after harvesting and will be responsible for every incident relating to product safety.
 Vegetable planting areas of Ba Chu co-operative (Van Noi commune, Hanoi’s Dong Anh district). The co-operative is one of the most prominent new co-operative models in Hanoi.  Ba Chu co-operative supplies organic vegetable to many wholesalers in Hanoi.  Geminating vegetable seeds.  With the application of PGS, fertilization follows standard process and noted in the “field diary”.  Tomatoes are being planted in accordance with PGS standards.  Organic Chinese cabbage are being classified by Ba Chu cooperative to meet different demands of customers.  Of the total 32 hectares planting areas, 17 hectares have the PGS standard certification. The remaining areas are being screened in order to get the certification.  The Cooperative Union of Agricultural Consumption (UCA) November last year opened three safe farm produce supermarkets in Hanoi..   UCA’s products are glued with QR code which will help buyers to scan to check the origin. |
Huyen said the new style cooperative helps to increase the value of organic products while specifying the responsibilities of cooperative members and enhancing the cooperative operation.
According to Tu Thi Tuyet Nhung, PGS’s coordinator in Vietnam, the method is being applied widely in Europe and in some Asian countries. In Vietnam, PGS is also being applied to monitor and manage organic vegetables produced by smaller famers nationwide.
Story: Thao Vy - Photos: Tat Son
