Canada grants US$17 million for safe pork in Vietnam

The agricultural quality control arm of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has agreed to help Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) devise and monitor hygiene standards for pork.

The Food and Agriculture Products Quality Development and Control Project (FAPQDC) and the municipal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development signed an agreement on March 23 for the purpose.

MARD deputy director Nguyen Phuoc Trung said the project would cost around US$17 million to be provided by CIDA.

The project is set to provide plot of good practices for processing (GPPs) of pork. Accordingly, the pig husbandry farms in Vietnam will be built under the international standards which are not harmful to environment.

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, southern provinces of Dong Nai, Tien Giang and Long An and central highlands Lam Dong province will apply GPPs in producing pork.

CIDA will provide technical assistance to pig households and farms and offer training courses to local farmers on how to expand the production after the project ends.

The project will go on until December 2013.