A kick-off meeting between HACEN staff and FAO for a new consultancy assignment

On 20 Jan 2021, HACEN staff had a virtual meeting with FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) in Rome (Italy) and Hanoi (Vietnam) to discuss a new consultancy assignment on a baseline study for the project namely “Smart Farming for the Future Generation in Vietnam and Uzbekistan”. The project aims to provide support to creating an enabling environment through the development of supportive policies, capacity, organizational skills and knowledge. It covers farmers along the value chain, including the post-harvest handling and markets. The expected impact of the project is improved livelihood through higher incomes, increased employment and increased nutrition with consumers benefiting from access to affordable and safe food all year round (FAO, 2020).

The scoping study is expected to provide key baseline indicators and recommendations for the locally appropriate interventions of FAO in Son La province for the next 4 years.

The study will focus on the following key content:

• Current situation of the agriculture sector and vegetable production in protected cultivation systems in Son La province and the selected districts.
• Access and availability of high quality agri-inputs, materials and equipment.
• Current situation of the vegetable farmers in the selected location.
• Key challenges and needs in greenhouse vegetable production in Son La province.

The study is expected to provide the following recommendations for the project:

• Potential areas for establishing demo-plots of improved and hi-tech greenhouses;
• Level of technologies needed to be installed, tested, and validated.
• The most suitable and affordable inputs, materials and equipment to adapt and optimize existing protected cultivation systems.
• The most suitable vegetable varieties for the selected locations.
• Overall operation management and M&E of the demo-plots and project activities.