Building a brand with VietGAP certification

Trai Cai tea area (Dong Hy commune) - the first locality in the province to have a crop area achieving VietGAP certification.

VietGAP is a set of regulations on good agricultural practices applicable to agricultural and aquatic products. The set of regulations includes principles, sequences, procedures and specific instructions for organizations and individuals in production, harvesting and preliminary processing to ensure product safety; improve quality; ensure social welfare as well as traceability requirements.

The application of VietGAP becomes the basis for affirming the quality of Vietnamese agricultural products and promoting changes in farmers' thinking and production behavior towards a safer and more scientific direction. When production is standardized, society reduces costs for medical care, quality of life is improved, creating a foundation for sustainable development.

At the same time, VietGAP certification strengthens the trust of consumers, distributors and management agencies; helps producers build brands, expand consumer markets and ensure a stable source of raw materials for processing, increasing the added value of products.

Mr. Nguyen Ta, Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said: Since 2009, Thai Nguyen has had the first 10 hectares of tea certified in Trai Cai area, Minh Lap commune (now Dong Hy commune). Since then, the area of crops meeting VietGAP standards has increased year by year. The whole province currently has more than 8,100 hectares of certified crops, including over 6,440 hectares of tea, nearly 340 hectares of vegetables, nearly 1,100 hectares of fruit trees and more than 267 hectares of rice.

From the early days of confusion, up to now, many production facilities and farming households in Thai Nguyen have mastered the production process according to VietGAP standards. They have become accustomed to recording production diaries and keeping records, tasks that were once considered complicated.

The application of information technology through computers and smartphones makes recording and storing data more convenient. People are also more cautious in using pesticides, prioritizing the use of biological products and proper pest control techniques to ensure product safety.

La Hien commune is a locality with dozens of hectares of custard apples certified to meet VietGAP standards.

Along with the change from the producer side, consumers are also increasingly paying more attention to VietGAP certified agricultural products. Ms. Vu Thuy Dung, group 90, Phan Dinh Phung ward, said: For nearly 5 years now, my family has prioritized using standard agricultural products, especially vegetables, tubers, and fruits from certified cooperatives in the province. When using agricultural products with clear origin and traceability, my family feels very secure about the quality.

However, the reality also shows that the province's VietGAP certified production is still not commensurate with its potential. Thai Nguyen has more than 150,000 hectares of agricultural land, including nearly 24,000 hectares of tea, more than 54,000 hectares of rice and tens of thousands of hectares of fruit trees.

However, the area certified by VietGAP is still quite modest. Some industries with large consumption such as green vegetables have maintained the same certified area in the past two years. For rice, the area certified by VietGAP is more than 260 hectares in 2024 and 2025, with no significant growth. It is worth mentioning that many areas have been recognized as meeting VietGAP standards, but when the certificate expires, many organizations and individuals are "afraid" to complete the procedures to be re-issued the certificate...

In the context of an increasingly strict market with traceability requirements, VietGAP certification is considered a "passport" to help Thai Nguyen agricultural products go further, towards export. In order for the standard cultivation area to continue to increase in the coming time, in addition to propaganda and awareness raising, the province needs to continue to improve mechanisms and policies to support people.

In addition to the policy of supporting certification for key products such as tea, the province should consider providing higher funding for groups of vegetables, tubers, fruits and rice, in order to expand the area of safe production and motivate people to maintain certification through assessment periods...

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/tin-moi/202511/xay-dung-thuong-hieu-bang-chung-nhan-vietgap-67f1e8a/