A delegation from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam has visited farmers and businesses who are benefiting from Australian-funded projects in some northwestern provinces.

Mr Mark Tattersal, Deputy Ambassador, Australian Embassy in Vietnam visits Mr. Lech’s strawberry nursery at his house in Mon village, Mai Son district, Son La province.

The delegation, led by Australia’s Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam, Mark Tattersall, visited the projects which are being carried out by local people following Australian long-term partnership with Vietnam through the Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) program, the Aus4innovation program, and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Since 1993, ACIAR has invested around A$32million through 20 international collaborative research projects in northwest Vietnam to develop sustainable farming systems on sloping lands, diversify agricultural products, protect natural resources, and improve farmers’ income.

The GREAT program is Australia’s single largest development investment in Vietnam, totaling over A$32 million.The program works with business, NGO and government partners to build more inclusive business and market systems within the agriculture and tourism sectors in Son La and Lao Cai provinces, to ensure that local women and ethnic minorities actively participate in and benefit from related economic activities and growth.

The Deputy Ambassador also joined with local farmers and businesses in a field visit, hosted by the Aus4Innovation program, to demonstrate CoolBot - an innovative and affordable cooling technology that helps maintain the quality of vegetable post-harvest. This investment builds on work done by both ACIAR and the GREAT program and is adding innovative technology to support farmers to access markets and increase their incomes. So far, eight walk-in coolers and two refrigerated trucks have been developed and transferred to local cooperatives. Initial results indicate that with cool storage and transport, vegetable losses could be reduced from 50% to 25%; shelf life will be extended four-fold from 5 to 21 days for tomatoes and cabbages; and economic benefits to users can potentially improve by 10% to 30%.

In a meeting with the Son La Peoples’ Committee, the Deputy Ambassador noted the close partnership between Australia and Son La, discussed Australian investment in the province and canvassed opportunities to further strengthen ties. 

“The partnership between Australia and the north-western provinces of Vietnam is deep and enduring. It comprises long-term development programming, strong people to people links, as well as substantial Australian investment in mineral resources that are critical to the clean energy transition”, said Mr Tattersall.