The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Mar. 23 approved a 95 million USD loan for Vietnam to help further improve the safety, quality and quantity of its commercial food crops and develop biogas as an alternative energy supply to households.
According to an ADB’s March 23 press release, the loan will be used for the Quality and Safety Enhancement of Agricultural Products and Biogas Development Project, which is estimated to cost 110.4 million USD.
The project is designed to better food regulations and quality control systems to meet both domestic and export standards alongside assisting the development of new infrastructure and facilities to support safe food products and the building of biogas plants to reduce hazards from livestock waste.
The project will provide financial support, including a credit line, to around 40,000 households to develop biogas digesters, which both reduce pollution and provide alternative energy source.
ADB said it expects the project will directly benefit around 6.5 million farmers in 16 provinces and generate about 1.4 million jobs in post-harvest work, thus contributing to reducing poverty incidence in the target localities from 19 percent to 10 percent over the period of 2016 to 2020.
Mahfuzuddin Ahmed, Senior Agricultural Economist ADB’s Southeast Asia Department said it is critical for Vietnam to make improvements in product quality and food safety if the country aims to maintain and increase its international market in the field.