Building production databases: Piloting a training method combined with data collection in Dien Bien

Forest Trends, together with VNFOREST, began working with Dien Bien Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct training on cultivating area data collection for 135 trainees, including leaders and technical staff from communes, departments, and related units under the Department, starting in March 2026. From May 19 to May 24, 2026, Forest Trends continued to coordinate with Dien Bien Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to pilot the cultivation area data collection training method in two communes, Chieng Sinh and Pu Nhi, in Dien Bien province. The program is designed to proactively prepare local capacities for new international requirements, specifically the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR).

###### Photo 1: Field practice for trainees of the provincial-level training course in Dien Bien

The core objectives of the training program include:

- Introduction to key information about the EUDR: Clarifying the mandatory regulation on collecting cultivation area data down to each land parcel. This is a prerequisite for local farmers' coffee to continue being exported to the European market;

• ***Guidance on using the Open Foris Ground tool ***on mobile phones to locate and collect information about coffee cultivation parcels.
• ***Guidance for communal technical staff on how to create survey forms and manage cultivation area data ***collected on the Open Foris Ground web platform.

The "Tailor-made" Philosophy Based on Local Capacity

Following the motto of development based on local capacity and workforce, integrating communities and farming households into the process of building a green, clean, standardized, and socialized database, Forest Trends has closely coordinated with the Sub-Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and specialized departments of the two pilot communes, both during and after the training.

The trainees participating in the commune-level training course were selected flexibly and based on practical needs, including commune officials, village chiefs, deputy village chiefs, and village secretaries forming the core force, followed by supporting forces such as village teachers, youth union members, and village militia, depending on the specific characteristics of the area and task assignments in each commune. Due to the specific characteristics of the locality, smooth coordination and collaboration between the Department level and the commune level to “tailor" each training course was the golden key to the successful outcomes in the two pilot communes in Dien Bien. This also serves as a significant lesson for other localities as they prepare to embark on the journey of building cultivation area databases.

Effective Combined Model: ToT (Training of Trainers) and ToF (Training of Farmers)

The two training courses in Chieng Sinh and Pu Nhi communes trained 80 participants, including 42 village chiefs, 9 youth union members, secretaries, and farmer household representatives. From this core village-level team, the locality can self-operate, sequentially implement the data collection process, and provide cross-village support even under limited resource conditions. This also provides readily available human resources for the commune to establish mobile teams - with a certain level of financial support - ready to “reinforce” personnel for areas facing technical and human resource difficulties. In the context of limited time and resources, the combined approach of ToT and ToF has proven highly effective due to thorough preparation before the training.

Photo 2: Trainees from the Chieng Sinh commune training course introducing the process of cultivation area data collection parcel-by-parcel to households in Dong Thap village, Chieng Sinh commune, Dien Bien province

A typical example in Dong Thap Village (Chieng Sinh commune): Commune officials had worked in advance with the village chief to inform all households about the time and purpose of data collection before going to the field. A list of household heads registered for new coffee planting in 2026 was prepared in advance and divided among the teams. As a result, a class of 47 trainees successfully completed the digitization of new coffee cultivation areas for the entire village in just one morning.

The proactive and continuous participation of technical staff at both the Department and commune levels, from planning and course design to target group selection, was a key factor in achieving this result. This also presented an opportunity to enhance coordination and management capacity for collecting and updating cultivation area data at the commune and village levels – a task with increasing pressure.

Impressive Figures After the Training Course

After 6 days of training in the two communes, cultivation area data collection was completed for 347 planned and newly planted coffee and macadamia parcels, totaling 132.62 hectares, serving to build a raw material area database that meets EUDR traceability requirements. Since the training, trainees from the two communes have continued to implement field data collection for cultivation areas, with a total of 952 newly registered parcels having updated cultivation area information, covering a total area of 943.3 hectares (of which Chieng Sinh commune updated 846 parcels with a total area of 209 hectares, and Pu Nhi 106 parcels with an area of 97.3 hectares). Notably, Chieng Sinh commune has planned to deploy mobile teams comprising excellent trainees from the training course to continue covering data for the entire existing coffee area in the commune, timely anticipating the approaching 2025-2026 coffee harvest season.

Photo 3: Trainees from the training course in Pu Nhi commune, Dien Bien province

This demonstrates that Dien Bien province in particular, and other provinces in general, are fully capable of self-sufficiently building cultivation area databases, not only for coffee but also for many other commodities, far exceeding the goal of adapting to EUDR requirements. Currently, Forest Trends is finalizing a detailed guidance document on how to approach and implement training from the commune to the village level for cultivation area data collection for provinces wishing to build such a database. This document will also include important notes and lessons learned from the piloting and implementation process in Dien Bien and Son La – two pioneering provinces in building coffee cultivation area databases that Forest Trends is accompanying and supporting.