Nine new CGIAR initiatives to drive innovation and investment in sustainable agriculture in Vietnam

A portfolio of nine new initiatives under CGIAR’s 2030 Agenda towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been unveiled in Vietnam.

They were launched at a high-profile event, on 15 June 2022 in Hanoi, which brought together 60 key stakeholders including ministry leaders and representatives of research institutes, academia, donors and the private sector.  

Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, director general, International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said the nine CGIAR initiatives would support the government’s Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy to 2030 and Vision to 2050 which is in development. ‘The inter-agency efforts, knowledge and innovation by the government agencies, scientific community, international partners, private sector, and CGIAR’s 50 years’ experience of research and innovation will help apply their world changing achievements to bring about sustainable development changes in Vietnam.’

Jean Balie, CGIAR regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, introduced CGIAR and its work to the participants including its 2030 research and innovation strategy. He said the nine initiatives by the global research partnership are designed to achieve a world with sustainable and resilient food, land, and water systems that deliver more diverse, healthy, safe, sufficient, and affordable diets, and ensure improved livelihoods and greater social equality.

Vietnam is one of the focus countries of CGIAR work in coming years, with the country hosting nine out of 32 initiatives covering resilient agri-food systems, mixed farming systems transformation, and genetic innovations. The nine initiatives were designed in close consultation with national partners in 2021. Under CGIAR portfolio investment, they will be implemented together with regional programs to deliver products at the both the national and regional level in the country. ‘The portfolio of initiatives we have today, will pave the way for changes in behaviour, investment, incentives that will transform farming systems and livelihoods in Vietnam and other countries in the region,’ said Balie.

At the event, initiative lead/co-leads and country focal persons introduced the work of each of the nine initiatives, their objectives, planned interventions, time frames and program sites. Key stakeholders at the meeting included representatives from MARD, the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOSTE) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

In the coming months, CGIAR will roll out the initiatives in Vietnam and other countries of operation and harness the partnerships and opportunities with partners in readiness for the initiatives’ implementation starting later this year.  

Portfolio of nine CGIAR initiatives in Vietnam

Theme 1: Resilient agri-food systems

Theme 2: Systems transformation

Theme 3: Genetic innovation

Read more about CGIAR initiatives