Report "The urgency of building a production database for agricultural and forestry products to support the management and traceability: A bottom-up approach"

Product and goods traceability - including agricultural and forestry products - has become an essential requirement in Vietnam and in import markets. Implementing traceability requires accurate and up-to-date input data on cultivation areas, including data for each farmer's plot of land. This report assesses the current status of cultivation area data sources, highlighting some of their limitations for implementing product traceability activities and for developing effective mechanisms and policies. The report recommends the necessity and urgency of building an accurate, updated, and comprehensive cultivation area dataset to serve management and traceability efforts, by utilizing the existing human resources of local authorities.