- Vietnam is strengthening the sustainability of its coffee sector through international partnerships
- A project with Dutch companies aims to increase transparency of its coffee sector
- Vietnam and Uganda also came together to sustainable coffee development action plan
As coffee supply chains face growing pressure to demonstrate sustainability credentials, producers are increasingly required to provide detailed information on product origins, environmental impacts and farming practices.
As an important exporter of coffee, Vietnam under pressure to prepare for increasingly stringent market requirements around sustainability, emissions reduction and environmental transparency, particularly in Europe.
Most recently, a Dutch-Vietnamese partnership launched a precision irrigation and fertilisation pilot in Vietnam’s coffee sector as the country moves to keep pace with European demand.
Priva Horticulture B.V., Golden Gate BCE GLOBAL Group and the Natural Sciences Company (HUSCO) under Vietnam National University Hanoi signed a cooperation agreement on August 19 to implement the project on about onr hectare of coffee in Son La, one of Vietnam’s key Arabica-growing regions.
The technology is expected to optimise water and fertiliser use while improving bean quality, helping producers shift from volume-focused production towards higher-value, quality-oriented models.
The project will also measure carbon emissions and water footprints, metrics that are receiving increased scrutiny from European regulators and buyers seeking greater transparency across agricultural supply chains.
Associate Professor Dr Tran Ngoc Anh, director of HUSCO, said the initiative would help the partners anticipate evolving European requirements around environmental transparency, emissions reduction and efficient resource use.
Under the agreement, Netherlands-based Priva will provide precision irrigation and fertigation technologies, sensors, monitoring equipment and technical support.
Golden Gate BCE GLOBAL will manage and coordinate the project, while HUSCO will oversee implementation, research activities, data collection and assessment of the model’s scalability.
If successful, the pilot could provide a blueprint for introducing advanced precision agriculture technologies into Vietnam’s coffee industry while supporting resource efficiency, climate resilience and sustainability goals.
South-South cooperation
At the same time, Vietnam has joined Uganda and IDH in a broader South-South cooperation programme focused on climate resilience, traceability and market access.
The partnership aims to strengthen low-emission coffee production and improve traceability systems, enabling producers to respond to changing buyer expectations around sustainable sourcing and supply chain accountability.
Daan Wesing, CEO of IDH, said this partnership would serve as a concrete model of South-South cooperation.
The programme will facilitate knowledge exchange between the two major coffee-producing nations while promoting climate-smart farming practices that can help growers adapt to rising temperatures and changing weather patterns.
Improved traceability is expected to play a central role, as coffee exporters face increasing pressure to demonstrate product origins, production practices and environmental performance.
Officials from both countries said this could open the doors for Vietnam and Uganda to expand their cooperation into other agricultural sectors in the future.
