JICA SUPPORTS TO ENSURE AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERIES FOOD SAFETY

Hanoi, July 20, 2023 – The Inauguration Ceremony of a food quality inspection facility was jointly held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Vietnam Office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hanoi on July 20.

This is a part of the Grant Aid (GA) Project for “Enhancing Laboratory Capacities of the
Reference Testing and Agrifood Quality Consultancy （RETAQ） Center for Ensuring Safety of Agricultural and Fisheries Foods”. The total grant amount for the Project is around 1.2 billion Japanese yen (roughly 10.9 million USD at the time of the Grant Agreement signing).

During the period of 2019-2023, through the GA Project, Japan has provided advanced equipment needed to establish an inspection system for RETAQ Center and advised facility management for effective use of these equipment, while RETAQ Center constructed the facility itself.

Following the GA project, a new Technical Cooperation (TC) Project for “Enhancing the Capacity of Food Safety Testing, Reference Testing and Consultancy to Contribute to Sustainable Agricultural Development” is going to be implemented to strengthen the organization and the function of RETAQ Center, and to improve the capacity of inspection agencies for agricultural and fishery food products of Vietnam. At the Inauguration Ceremony, Mr. Tran Thanh Nam – Vice Minister of MARD and Mr. Sugano Yuichi – Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office signed the Record of Discussions (R/D) for implementing the TC Project for 3 years from November 2023.

As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2007, Vietnam is responsible for implementing WTO agreements, including the sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) Agreement to protect human and animal health in the country as well as handle technical barriers applied to agro-forestry and fishery products for export.

The RETAQ Center is believed to enhance the capacity of reference testing and consultancy on food quality and safety according to international standard, contributing to improving the quality and safety of Vietnam’s agricultural and fishery food products, meeting the domestic consumption demands and promoting export.
JICA will actively work with the Government and the people of Japan to continue the cooperation and support Vietnam for sustainable agriculture development.

[NEWS]