Rikolto in Vietnam

Ever wondered about the difference between organic, safe, and conventional vegetables? In this series of 9 videos we aim to promote a better understanding of why consuming safe vegetables matters for consumers, farmers, and the planet.

Between 29 January and 4 February 2018, representatives from 6 Regional Offices and Rikolto’s International Office met to design Rikolto’s International Food Smart Cities programme for the next four years.

Since 2016, over 3,180 Vietnamese tea farmers have been trained by Rikolto (previously VECO) on sustainable land management practices as part of The Rainforest Alliance’s project “Mainstreaming Sustainable Management of Tea Production Landscapes”. Initial results show that farmers’ income has increased by an average of 30% due to a reduction in chemical use and higher prices for quality tea leaves.

In September 2017, VECO started the process of changing its name to Rikolto. Rikolto is the Esperanto word for ‘harvest’. (Esperanto is a language created to facilitate communication between people from across the world). We want farmers to have a brilliant harvest, and we want to especially harvest great new ideas and solutions to improve our food systems.  

Between 5 and 14 October 2017, 29 entrepreneurs from the Flanders Region of Belgium will explore northern Vietnam by mountain bike. After months of fundraising for VECO, they will learn about VECO’s projects in Vietnam and discover the country’s unique food, sceneries and culture.

VECO Vietnam is recruiting! We are currently seeking a qualified professional for the position of Senior Programme Officer for our Inclusive and Sustainable Rice Value Chain Programme 2017-2021. The Programme Officer will be based in the Regional Office in Hanoi with frequent travel to the Programme’s target locations.

How to scale up initiatives that build trust between actors in the food chain, while at the same time ensure the full participation of smallholder farmers? This blog post shares some key reflections from the workshop “Scaling up the trust networks for food safety with small farmers” where VECO Vietnam and its partners shared their experience on Participatory Guarantee Systems.