HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam and Japanhave achieved many positive outcomes in agriculture cooperation, and the twosides will continue working together to build sustainable food value chains inthe near future, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA).

Speaking at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City onJanuary 16, deputy chief representative of JICA office in Vietnam MurookaNaomichi said many Japanese businesses have selected Vietnam as an investmentdestination to purchase material and process farm produce to export to Japan.

Apart from favourable natural conditions foragricultural development, Vietnam has recorded good economic growth in recentyears, he said, adding that the demand for clean and safe agricultural productsand food in the Southeast Asian country has been increasing.

Particularly, Vietnam is integrating extensivelyand intensively into the global economy and it is a free trade partner of key countriesand regions in the world. Therefore, the potential for exporting farm produceand processed products to the global market remains huge, he added.

However, the agriculture sector still encountersa number of challenges such as the impact of climate change, small-scaleproduction, lack of connectivity, and limited processing technology.

In its strategy to build food supply chains,Japan is stepping up support and cooperation projects with Vietnamesebusinesses and farmers as well as boosting private investment in agriculture,and improving production infrastructure and distribution system of agriculturalproducts.

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of the InternationalCooperation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,said Japan is currently the biggest foreign direct investor of Vietnam in thefield with a lot of high-quality agricultural projects such as growingvegetables and flowers in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, andanimal husbandry in the southern province of Dong Nai.

In 2015-2019, Japan implemented a project tosupport the development of food value chains from production, processing,distribution to sale and the increase of the added value for agriculturalproducts and foodstuffs in Nghe An, Lam Dong, Ben Tre, Can Tho and some surroundingareas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Tuan said Vietnam calls on foreign businessesand investors, especially those Japan, to promote investment in improving thequality of agricultural products./.