The five provinces of Vietnam’s Central Highlands’ region including Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Lam Dong have come together to launch a Regional Innovation Cluster which aims to use innovation to create a resilient and competitive agriculture and food industry for the region.
The signing of a partnership protocol for the Central Highlands’ Regional Innovation Cluster on June 10.
The Central Highlands’ Regional Innovation Cluster is an initiative catalysed by the Australian Government’s Aus4Innovation program. Through its local partner, the Community Development Centre, Aus4Innovation is establishing a forum for local researchers, businesses, government, farmers and associations to convene and co-develop solutions to industry challenges and opportunities for the region’s industrial agricultural products.
Representatives from the provinces and Aus4Innovation program signed a partnership protocol on June 10 witnessed by Deputy Head of Mission Mark Tattersall from the Australian Embassy and Vice Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung. The protocol gives the Innovation Cluster legitimacy to operate across the region. Aus4Innovation has also committed to provide seed funding for the Cluster in its first year.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Head of Mission Mr Mark Tattersall said “Australia is working in partnership with the Central Highlands on various activities, from transport and public governance to agriculture and food. We believe that with the region’s significant advantages in agriculture and food production, a collaboration that brings together farmers and businesses across five provinces is the perfect model with which to explore opportunities and advance shared goals.”
As the host of the event, the Vice Chairman of Dak Lak’s Provincial People’s Committee, Mr Nguyen Tuan Ha shared, “The Central Highlands region is a major agricultural hub, known for many crops with high market and export value such as pepper, coffee and fruits. But the agri-food sector is yet to reach its full potential. With about two million hectares of agricultural land, there is a lot more we can do to improve income and livelihoods for the people and sustain economic benefits for businesses.”
Talking about the priorities of the cluster, Vice Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee Mr Kpa Thuyen noted, “We want to focus on the application of innovation and technology, especially climate smart technologies, to optimise quality, productivity and the value of agricultural production and processing. We will also try to improve connections to market and build the region’s brand for our agri-food products.”
“The Innovation Cluster invites interested stakeholders to participate, including enterprises, cooperatives, support services, farmers, researchers, investors and other agri-food organisations”, Mr Nguyen Huu Thap, Vice Chairman of Kon Tum Provincial People’s Committee mentioned. “The Cluster will act as a convenor and broker for its members and stakeholders to exchange ideas, identify common challenges and opportunities for innovation solutions, and to access new ideas, skills and technologies from within and outside Vietnam.”
To kickstart the activities of the Cluster, common and individual priorities for the five provinces have now been collected and will be used to guide joint activities, networking and training. The Aus4Innovation program is now identifying experts and creating training opportunities for provincial stakeholders to bring in knowledge and experiences from Australia. Information about the Central Highlands Regional Innovation Cluster can be found on the Aus4Innovation website.
