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Singapore, December 7, 2016
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the Loc Troi Group to help the group roll out sustainable agricultural standards and practices throughout its rice-production value chain. Improving rice production will help Vietnam’s agriculture sector expand its global market share, increase profitability sustainably, and improve farmer livelihoods.
IFC and the Loc Troi Group, a leading provider of agricultural services and products in Vietnam, kick-started the advisory project today in Singapore. IFC will work with the group over a two-year period to help it conform to agricultural standards and practices developed by the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP), a multi-stakeholder partnership, to promote resource efficiency and sustainability, both on-farm and throughout the rice value-chain. About 4,000 farmers will learn about new farming practices that will help them grow high-quality, high-yielding, and sustainable rice. The project will be implemented first as a pilot and subsequently scaled up.
“IFC brings significant global experience delivering knowledge and expertise in agriculture to help businesses provide better returns to shareholders and create brighter futures for farmers,” said Huynh Van Thon, Chairman, Loc Troi Group. “We will support the scaling up through quality control and strict inspection throughout the entire value chain. The project will especially provide effective training to ensure a consistent application of SRP standards to meet performance indicators in the material area, which will help us build a specific high-quality rice brand, able to compete in international markets.”
The Loc Troi Group pioneered the building up of the rice-production value-chain model in Vietnam and has around 25,000 farmer households in its fold. The group is looking to manage a sustainable rice supply-chain in the Mekong Delta,
which is known as the "rice bowl" of Vietnam
.
‘IFC’s advisory services in Vietnam’s agricultural sector are delivered in partnership with the Government of Canada,” said H.E. Ping Kitnikone, Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam. “Canada is supporting Vietnam’s sustainable and inclusive economic growth by improving agricultural competitiveness while applying climate-smart practices. With our support and private-sector participation, this initiative will benefit thousands of female and male farmers.”
The initiative is in line with Vietnam’s recent Agricultural Restructuring Plan, an ambitious move to enhance the sector’s competitiveness and better position it to respond to international market opportunities. Despite being a leading rice exporter, Vietnam faces competition in price and quality from market players such as Thailand, India, Pakistan, and emerging countries like Cambodia and Myanmar.
“This partnership allows IFC to contribute to the drive to reform Vietnam’s agriculture sector and unlock the door for farmers to access relevant knowledge, skills, and finance to improve their livelihoods in a sustainable manner,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR.
2016 marks 60 years of IFC’s financing and advisory activities to promote the private sector in developing countries. IFC has worked on the ground in Vietnam over the past two decades to develop the private sector and its contribution to sustainable economic growth. From its first direct investment in the country in 1994, IFC has to date catalyzed $5.6 billion of investment to support 120 projects in Vietnam that span infrastructure, manufacturing, agribusiness, renewable energy, and the financial sectors.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six decades of experience to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY16, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital, expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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About Loc Troi Group
Loc Troi Group, established in 1993 and formerly known as An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Company, is a leading provider of agricultural products and services in Vietnam. It has been a successful pioneer in building value chain models for sustainable rice production, focusing on developing and sharing value across the supply chain, especially among farmers. More than 1,300 engineers of its field force have established close links with 25,000 farmers to help reorganize production and provide seeds and agricultural inputs for about 60,000 hectares of large scaled rice fields. It has five processing plants equipped with advanced technology which provide various varieties of high quality, traceable rice products for domestic and international markets. For more information, visit
www.loctroi.vn
and
http://www.facebook.com/loctroiag
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