Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s largest producers of fruits, vegetables and teas.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will grant Vietnam a US$95 million loan for a project to improve the safety and quality of cooking crops and provide biogas for household use, the bank said Tuesday.

“Incidences of food poisoning from microbiological contamination and excessive pesticide residues in vegetables, fruits, and tea account for about 30 percent of the total cases of… poisonings,” the release quoted Ayumi Konishi, ADB country director for Vietnam, as saying.

Improving quality and safety will enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam’s agricultural products in the global market, Konishi said.

The project will also help build biogas plants which both reduce health hazards from livestock waste and provide an alternative energy source for an estimated 40,000 households.

The project is expected to directly benefit around 3.6 million farmers in 16 provinces and generate about 1.4 million jobs in post-production work, the release said.

Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia’s largest producers of fruits, vegetables and teas. However, “poor regulatory management, unsafe production environments, excessive use of fertilizers and the dumping of livestock waste often prevent the country’s agricultural sector from meeting the required standards,” the release said.

Source: Thanh Nien