World Food Policy Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2015 | Page 64

The Role of Proximity and Standards in Guaranteeing Vegetable Safety in Vietnam

a. SV certification by PPD

nitrates, pathogenic microorganism (E.
coli, Salmonella, Coliform), chemical
residues (five types decided by experts);
a minimum of three vegetable samples,
the timing of which is decided without
any prior notice to farmers. Unexpected
inspections are planned by the PPD. The
certificate is effective for one year. After
one year, cooperatives have to renew the
certificate by applying a new request. If
the cooperatives are found to violate the
regulations about SV production at the
time of inspections, they are planned to
be treated as follo ws: warning (if first
and not serious violation); withdrawing
certificate (if serious and repeated
violation). This is in the text, but whether
it is applied or not is unsure. From our
discussions with cooperative leaders, it
seems that certificates are renewed in
many cases without new samples being
collected.

In May 2009, in Hanoi province,
40 units (33 farmers cooperatives,
representing 6,849 farmers, and seven
individual firms), held the certificate.
It had increased by 25% relative to
three years before. The total certified
area amounted to 243 hectares (out of
a total of 12,000 hectares of vegetable
production). In 2013, 179 units held the
certificate, including 161 cooperatives
(information given by Hanoi Plant
Protection Department). A survey of 121
consumers of conventional vegetables
shows that they do not buy vegetables sold
as “safe,” because they have little trust in
their safety as the inspections by the PPD
are suspected (quite rightly) of being
quite lax. As regards the 104 consumers
of SVs interviewed in the same study,
75% have moderate trust in the safety
of these vegetables (using a scale from

In 1995, public interest in the
safety of vegetable produce led the
Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development (MARD) to
implement an ambitious program
called “safe vegetables,” which entailed
training sessions about Integrated
Pest Management (IPM), support to
vegetable marketing by cooperative
leaders in shops and market stalls, as
well as subsidized public certification
of SVs based on analyses of soil, water,
and produce. NGOs (predominantly
Agricultural Development Denmark
Asia—ADDA) also trained farmers as
regards IPM and later organic vegetable
production.

The certification of the SV groups
by PPD is based on the Ministry of health
and MARD regulations—the possibility
to term these regulations as “standards” is
subject to debate. The regulations indicate
the authorized and prohibited pesticides,
maximum residue limits of pesticides
and fertilizers, content of heavy metal,
and infection of bacterial pathogens.
The list of permitted, restricted, and
banned chemicals in Vietnam is updated
every year by PPD. The control is based
on various documents to be issued
by cooperatives, including a letter of
commitment to implement rigorously the
technical procedures and the good use of
chemicals according to the law, training
certificates on IPM, list of chemicals used
in the local area, map of production area,
and indicating in particular the location
relative to the sources of water. Besides,
some samples are collected for chemical
and heavy metal residue analysis
along the following modes: control of
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