First National Food Systems Dialogue for Viet Nam

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), with support from FAO, other United Nations (UN) Agencies in Viet Nam, and international and national development partners, convenes the First National Food Systems Summit Dialogue in Hanoi. The Dialogue, co-chaired by MARD’s Vice Minister Le Quoc Doanh and FAO Representative ad interim Rana Flowers, is the very first attempt in a series of events leading to the national preparation of UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in September 2021.

The food systems of Viet Nam are diversified but facing considerable challenges. Projection and empirical data show that Viet Nam is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. The agricultural work force is under mounting pressure to improve the labor productivity and accumulated value. The cooperation among supply chain actors is limited, while the capacity to respond to risks and disasters remains modest. The operation of the food system has so far concentrated more on economic targets rather than environmental issues. 

“Viet Nam needs concrete actions to promote the cooperation and effective use of resources,” said Rana Flowers, FAO Representative ad interim, “not only to supply sufficient, safe and nutritious food for an approximately 100-million population but also to become a transparent, responsible and sustainable food supplier for the global market.”

The UNFSS 2021 aims to define orientations for sustainable, inclusive and resilient food systems, creating multi-dimensional impacts to deliver progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The Summit focuses on five action tracks:

(i) ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all;

(ii) shifting to sustainable consumption pattern;

(iii) boosting nature-positive production;

(iv) advance equitable livelihoods and value distribution;

(v) build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stresses.

In the run-up to the September summit, MARD on behalf of the Government is organizing two national and three sub-national dialogues from 5 June through 15 July 2021. The First National Food Systems Dialogue focuses on two main issues: (i) current state and problems in the food systems of Viet Nam; and (ii) opportunities, solutions and actions to transform food systems towards transparency, responsibility and sustainability by 2030. It engages 150 representatives from academia, governmental and non-governmental organizations, , private sector and farmers’ associations in Viet Nam