Global organic growth is rapid, Vietnam completes legal framework for development

DNVN - Global organic agriculture is growing rapidly, consumer demand is increasing but still faces barriers in terms of climate change, costs and policies. In that context, Vietnam has been perfecting the legal framework and building a long-term strategy to gradually integrate deeply into the world organic flow.

Speaking at the Asian Organic Conference on September 17 in Ninh Binh, Mr. Marco Schluter – Vice President of IFOAM – Organics International said that the global organic movement is at an important turning point. Severe climate change, biodiversity loss and food security challenges pose both opportunities and challenges for organic agriculture .

The organic sector has achieved impressive results, with global sales exceeding 120 billion euros per year and forecast to reach 600 billion USD within the next ten years. Growth is spreading from traditional markets to many emerging countries, especially in urban Asia, where concerns about health and food safety are growing. However, the level of development is uneven, with many regions still not approaching organic as a solution to transforming agricultural systems.

Mr. Marco Schluter – Vice President of IFOAM - Organics International.

Schluter points to major challenges such as the transformation of the food system under the impact of digitalization and artificial intelligence, economic pressures on farmers, the proliferation of unverified sustainability claims and the direct impact of climate change on productivity. In this context, organic certification plays a fundamental role, the most reliable tool to ensure verifiable regenerative agricultural practices rather than just marketing slogans.

“Strategic collaboration between organic and other ecological movements will create collective power to fight against regressive production models,” Mr. Schluter emphasized.

In terms of policy, most countries still favour traditional farming models that rely on chemicals. However, the European Union’s Farm to Fork strategy and emerging organic policies in Asia- Pacific show that organic is increasingly being recognised as a solution to climate change, rural development and public health.

“The organic movement needs to be both steadfast in its core principles and innovative in its practices to take center stage in global policy frameworks,” Mr. Schluter asserted.

From the perspective of domestic organic agriculture, Dr. Ha Phuc Mich - Chairman of the Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA) said that the journey of developing organic agriculture in Vietnam is closely linked to the process of perfecting the legal framework. VOAA was established in 2011 in the context of no legal documents for this field. From the beginning, the association has recommended the Government and ministries to develop policies, paving the way for the recognition and development of organic agriculture in Vietnam.

Dr. Ha Phuc Mich - President of Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association (VOAA).