To this end, food regulations and quality control systems will be improved, new infrastructure to support safe food products will be established, and biogas plants will be built to reduce health hazards from livestock waste.

Financial support, including a credit line, will be made available to 40,000 households to build biogas digesters.

The US$110.4 million project is expected to benefit some 6.5 million farmers in 16 provinces and generate about 1.4 million jobs in post-production work, according to an ADB press release.

The central government will contribute $6.22 million toward the project while the 16 provinces will give $6.5 million.

Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s largest producers of fruits, vegetables and teas, but current agricultural practices, such as the high use of fertilizers and the dumping of livestock waste, have impacted the environment and public health, and hurt the sector’s export prospects.

Reported by Bao Anh