Vietnam: An app for the traceability of sustainable supply chains

Vietnam stands a fair chance of exporting a part of its agricultural products. However, retailers and consumers expect international quality and environmental standards to be met. Therefore, by agreeing to the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) last year, the country committed itself to implementing these standards in agricultural production. This being said, it is not easy, especially for smallholder farmers, to comply with these standards and to account for them.

To this end, the Cologne-based software development company Knowledge Intelligence Applications GmbH (KIAG) has now developed a web-based traceability system for the entire production and supply chain. DEG co-finances the transaction with funds from the develoPPP.de programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The app will help farmers to account for the sustainability of their products

A farmers’ cooperative in the pilot region of Dalat will first set up demonstration farms to work out methods in order to grow vegetables in line with the GAP by avoiding chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides, reducing water consumption and reacting to climate change. The smallholders will also learn how to use these methods on their own land.

With this German app agricultural products can be traced back along the value chain. To do so, compliance officers will collect data on the production and cultivation of fruits and vegetables via a mobile phone or tablet. Entering data in a structured manner can be done intuitively: the system asks for the GAP requirements, e.g. used input, plant care and plant cultivation, pest management, harvesting process, processing, stocking and transportation of products. All appliances to collect data can also run offline and will be sent automatically to a server as soon as a stable network reception has been restored.

The project will help the smallholder farmers to learn on how to reach a higher product quality and obtain access to new sales markets. Food control officers, retailers and eventually consumers will be able to trace back agricultural products, from the field to the store shelf.

The special programme develoPPP.de, implemented by DEG on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ), targets companies that invest in developing and emerging-market countries and seek ways to shape their entrepreneurial commitment in a sustainable manner. The BMZ provides up to EUR 200.000 and a maximum 50% of the project costs out of public funds. The company has to bear at least 50% of the costs and is responsible for the realisation of the project in terms of finance, content and manpower. These so-called development partnerships with the private sector may last up to three years and cover a wide variety of areas and topics.

More information

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