The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) has adjusted a 2022 plan regarding farming households on e-commerce platforms and the agricultural and rural digital economy. It aims to have ten million active accounts on the state-owned e-commerce sites Postmart and Vo So. According to a report, the government considers an account as active if it conducts one of the following activities: displays products, looks for products, exchanges information or carries out transactions.
The plan also aims to put all 3-star one-commune-one-product (OCOP) items online. Launched in 2018, the OCOP initiative seeks to boost the economic contribution of the agricultural sector by supporting products and service-based products in each locality to create a value chain of private and public players. All products are ranked on a 5-star evaluation system and are graded out of one hundred points in terms of product development, marketing and product quality, and the ability to expand to other markets, among other categories. 3-star products score between 50-69 points and are provincial-level products.
Furthermore, the plan strives to digitally train and upskill all farming households as well as increase the number and value of transactions on Postmart and Vo So. It will help farming households promote, advertise, and introduce new products, and expand to domestic and international markets. Through the online market sites, farming households can access information about farm produce markets, predictions about demand, production capacity, and weather forecasts, and reports about varieties and fertilisers.
The report informed that under the plan, MIC will create six groups to:
- Digitise data about farming households.
- Organise transactions on marketplaces.
- Strengthen the habit of operating on e-commerce sites.
- Organise training courses on digital and business skills regarding business on e-commerce sites.
- Run media campaigns about the activities of the plan.
- Provide farming households with information that serves production and business.
Specific goals have been set for each group in charge of the above tasks. For example, when digitising data about agricultural production households on e-commerce, the government will collect information and generate a list of agricultural production households in centrally-run cities. It will also digitise data about farming households to serve transactions and business on the e-commerce platforms. Additionally, the government’s media campaigns are expected to encourage more farming households to enter digital spaces. The tasks will be assessed based on two major and two subordinate criteria. The major two include the volume of information collected and digitised on e-commerce platforms by farming households and the proportion of farming households that switched to suppliers or buyers on e-commerce platforms. The minor two include the number of agricultural production households trained in sales skills and the amount of farm produce advertised and sold via e-commerce.
As reported by OpenGov Asia last month, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development aims for Vietnam’s agriculture sector to grow by 2.5-3% annually until 2030, with agricultural productivity at 5.5%. Measures have been taken to explore potential markets for Vietnamese products, which could increase in value at 5-6% a year. The objective is to transform Vietnam’s rural areas into modern, developed agricultural production centres that employ advanced and environmental-friendly technology by 2050. The ministry’s top priority is the adoption of green technologies with a focus on preserving and protecting natural resources.
