Growing area codes must become national legislation

LANG SON Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri requested institutionalization and inclusion of growing area codes into the legal system, creating a foundation for transparency of origin.

Moving from traditional forestry to digitalizing growing areas

On November 7, working with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Quoc Tri and the Ministry's working delegation, Dong Bac Forestry One Member Co., Ltd. (Huu Lung commune, Lang Son province) brought with it a rare story in the forestry industry. From a loss for many consecutive years, the enterprise has now escaped losses, stood firm and entered the stage of standardizing production according to forest planting area codes, and managed on a digital technology platform.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri requested to include the content of "forest planting area code" in legal documents. Photo: Hoang Nghia.

This company is a member of Vietnam Forestry Corporation. Its main tasks are to produce forestry seedlings, plant raw forests, exploit and trade mine pole timber. The company currently rents 5,515.2 hectares of forestry land in two provinces, of which Lang Son accounts for nearly 4,000 hectares.

Notably, the 2,700 - 3,000 hectares of forest owned by the enterprise are all planted forests, directly contracted to local households. Both sides invest capital and share the investment proportion, creating livelihoods and jobs for the people.

During the period 2017 - 2022, due to fungal diseases on eucalyptus and the impact of many major storms that broke down crops, the Company's production and business activities fell into losses. The turning point came in 2020 when the Company built a comprehensive restructuring plan, from personnel arrangement, forest management to production management.

“This is a series of results that proves that restructuring in the right direction has real value. The most important thing is that the apparatus changes the management mindset,” the business leader emphasized.

Implementing Decision 2260 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (old), from mid-2024, the Company participated in the pilot issuance of forest planting area codes. In coordination with the Forest Protection Department and the Forestry Economics Research Center, the enterprise reviewed and identified each forest plot that met the standards. To date, 2,565.1 hectares have been granted codes, of which 2,093.8 hectares are in Lang Son. Both acacia, eucalyptus and native trees have been identified, digitized on the iTwood system and have their own operating keys.

Company representative requested the Ministry to remove obstacles in the unit's production and business process. Photo: Hoang Nghia.

This is important because businesses no longer sell wood as “company wood”, but each region and each lot has an identifier. Traceability is no longer a slogan but digital data.

However, iTwood is still in the trial phase and does not have a complete reporting tool yet. The company must use MapInfor to link data. The company recommends that the Ministry soon complete and issue an official circular to standardize nationwide.

Transparency of origin to create a fair playing field

According to the Company's representative, the current forestry reality shows that planted forests are the main force, but many households that self-nurture small-scale seedlings do not meet the minimum area but still sell them; exploited planted forest wood also circulates relatively "openly", causing disadvantages for units that strictly comply.

Enterprises have proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment advise the Government on a stricter mechanism so that all forestry products must have transparent origins. When the supply chain is standardized, the playing field will be fair for all entities.

The company also raised the issue of disaster assistance. Typhoon Yagi 2024 showed that households with land for self-cultivation received support, but households contracted to plant forests with enterprises did not. This is a policy inequality that needs to be resolved.

In addition, accessing capital for reforestation is still problematic in accounting: if receiving money from the Forest Protection and Development Fund for reforestation, is this amount counted as an increase in charter capital or accounted for separately? Enterprises request the Ministry to provide clear guidance so that enterprises have a basis to access resources.

Bringing growing area codes into the legal system

Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Tri highly appreciated the initiative of Dong Bac Forestry One Member Co., Ltd. in making recommendations and pointing out practical difficulties in implementation. The proposals of the enterprise are right on the "bottlenecks" that exist in forestry management such as the issue of seed quality, the mechanism of using capital for replacement forestation and the mechanism of data management and granting of planting area codes.

Representatives of leaders of units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment discussed and answered questions of the Company. Photo: Hoang Nghia

Regarding forest area codes, the Deputy Minister emphasized that the goal of code issuance is simplicity, legality, and added value. Each forest lot must have an identifier and must be digitized. The issuance process must be simple, the forest owner declares information about the forest lot, the management agency confirms and issues a code. Data used for state management is the responsibility of state agencies, not shifting the technical burden to people or businesses.

The Deputy Minister requested relevant units of the Ministry to research and build a unified national forestry database. Existing software must be fully utilized, not wasting invested resources.

The Deputy Minister also requested to include the content of “forest growing area code” in legal documents, from decree, circular to law level, to create a clear legal status. At the same time, requested to include the content of forest growing area code in the “legal wood” dossier, considering it as a legal basis in confirming origin.

The Deputy Minister requested relevant units of the Ministry to urgently institutionalize the research on varieties, develop a simple code issuance process, and review and integrate forest planting area codes into the forestry management data system.

“We must act now, not let it drag on. When the forest plantation area code becomes national legal data, the entire forestry system will operate according to transparent standards, with clear traceability and create real value for businesses, localities and the forestry sector,” said the Deputy Minister.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/ma-so-vung-trong-phai-tro-thanh-phap-ly-quoc-gia-d782939.html