Proposal

Social Challenge:

• Problem:

  The demand of high-quality fruits and vegetables in Vietnam is huge, with the fact that a lot of Vietnamese people are willing to buy certified imported fruits, while in Vietnam generally and in Son La specifically, there are a diverse range of delicious fresh fruits, specialties with good quality but an unreasonable price.

• Problem’s placement:

  In Son La, a largely mountainous province nestled in the North Western part of Vietnam, where the economic lives of farmers, especially ethnic minorities such as Sinh Mun, Thai, Mong are still very difficult.

• People affected by the problem:

  Farmers, People in Ethnic Minority Groups and Consumers of Local Produce.

• Severity of the Problem:

  Local produce cultivated are sold for traders with incredibly cheap prices with an age-old theory: If the season is good, the price will be lost, and vice versa. In the other hand, the area for some indigenous plants with unique flavors such as mac cop, dua meo, dao meo,… are gradually downsized to substitute new and more commonly consumed plants.

• Urgency/ The problem calls for action: 

  It is vitally important to change the farming procedure and behavior from dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to organic agriculture, health protection and sustainable, eco-friendly gardening practices.

Social Idea:

Our project focuses around improving the value of local produce in Son La and create job opportunities for ethnic minorities in local community. We build a value chain: Farmers – Noong Pieu Co-op – Consumers and manage the agricultural area from production, farming to high-quality, safe and healthy final products, ensuring right value for farmers and apply technological applications such as social media in cultivation and business management.