NZ supports Binh Dinh to introduce safe vegetable brand

La Lanh brand provides high-quality vegetables that consumers can trust.

Photo: The New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi

South-central Binh Dinh province’s high-quality, VietGAP-certified vegetable brand, La Lanh, was officially launched at the Big C supermarket in the provincial capital of Quy Nhon on July 6. La Lanh vegetables are sustainably produced by local farmers under the Binh Dinh Safe Vegetables Project (BDSV), funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme.

The La Lanh brand represents healthy, fresh vegetables that are produced in ways that improve safety for farmers and consumers and also protect the environment. Its branded produce is available for purchase for the first time at Big C Quy Nhon, with a network of other outlets expected to stock the brand in the near future, making quality, safe, and fresh produce available to more consumers.

The development of the La Lanh brand is one of the key components of the five-year New Zealand Aid Programme-funded BDSV project, which started in 2016 with NZ$5.6 million ($3.71 million).

The project has been a multi-year collaboration between the governments of Vietnam and New Zealand, whereby the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee and the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam are authorized to sign off on project documents. The Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited are joint implementers.

The project is being put into practice in targeted districts and towns in the province. It has involved the participation of many scientists and technical experts from New Zealand and Binh Dinh, working closely with cooperatives and farmers. The goal of the project is to improve the safety and economic and environmental sustainability of vegetable farmers and the safety of consumers in Binh Dinh and elsewhere.

The words “La Lanh” evoke a green environment, health, goodness, and the importance of protecting others. The accompanying logo includes a leaf image and a circle representing the completion of the production process in bringing to market quality products that are in harmony with nature.

La Lanh’s produce is VietGAP certified and been grown under sustainable “Good Agricultural Practices” (GAP), ensuring the production and supply of guaranteed quality, safe produce that consumers can trust.

Dr. Michael Lay-Yee, Program Director of BDSV, said the launch of La Lanh safe vegetables is a significant achievement that brings together best practice in quality vegetable production and compelling branding.

The cultivation systems being used by farmers growing produce under the La Lanh brand are suited to local conditions and have been designed carefully for safe production and post-harvest handling and to meet high food quality and safety standards, Dr. Lay-Yee added. “There is excellent potential for growth and we expect more farmers to grow and sell under the La Lanh brand in the future, ensuring we can reliably supply greater quantities and a wider range of product,” he said. “This will meet demand in local markets initially and ultimately also in other parts of the country.”

“The launch of La Lanh is a proud moment and significant for Binh Dinh’s safe vegetable farmers, and also reflects consumers’ trust in the use of a wide variety of produce meeting food safety requirements,” said Dr. Phan Trong Ho, Director of the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. “This is the first time La Lanh safe vegetables have been put on sale at the supermarkets of Big C, CoopMart, and others inside and outside of the province. I firmly believe that La Lanh safe vegetables will see production sites expanded by project farmers in the province and will be widely sold via commercial channels throughout the country.”

Dr. Ho also said support from the New Zealand Aid Programme and Plant & Food Research has been pivotal in developing La Lanh safe vegetables.

“I am very pleased with the achievements of this New Zealand-funded project,” said New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Wendy Matthews. “To date, more than 500 households and 50 department staff of the agriculture and rural development department and extension authorities have benefited from the project’s activities. I believe the project will make a meaningful contribution to Binh Dinh province realizing its vision of becoming nationally known as a trusted safe vegetable producer. This is a powerful initiative through which New Zealand is able to contribute its agricultural expertise to assist the development and growth of Vietnam’s fresh produce industry.”