Supporting food systems transformation in the Mekong River Delta through the development of a Food Systems Profile

As part of the CGIAR Initiative on Asian Mega-Deltas (AMD), the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), in collaboration with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), is developing a comprehensive Food Systems Profile for the Mekong River Delta (MRD) region in Vietnam.

This initiative aims to provide a robust framework for understanding and addressing critical challenges facing the MRD, including malnutrition, climate change impacts, and socioeconomic disparities.

Since 2023, the collaboration has undertaken foundational activities, including: a literature review on nutrition-sensitive agri-food systems; an analysis of nutritional status and food consumption data from the General Nutrition Survey (GNS); and an exploratory study on developing a food systems balance sheet for Vietnam.

In 2024, NIN and the Alliance continued their collaboration to co-develop the MRD Food Systems Profile. This profile will serve as a key tool to guide policy and programmatic decisions, supporting the implementation of Vietnam's National Action Plan on Food Systems Transformation towards Transparency, Responsibility, and Sustainability by 2030.

To actively engaged stakeholders, two crucial technical consultation meetings were held:

Meeting 1 (September 17, 2024): Held at the General Statistics Office (GSO) in Hanoi, this meeting focused on refining the proposed list of food system indicators. GSO experts provided valuable input on data availability, representativeness, and accuracy.

Meeting 2 (November 27, 2024): Held at the Alliance office in Hanoi, this meeting brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from agriculture, health, environment, and economics sectors. Participants discussed and refined the indicator list, ensuring data relevance and reliability across all food systems components.

Both meetings successfully leveraged a participatory and transdisciplinary approach, fostering valuable dialogue and cross-sectoral cooperation.

Feedback and revisions from these consultations will guide the completion of the MRD Food Systems Profile, aligning it with the priorities of the AMD initiative and Vietnam's NAP-FST.

Stay tuned for further updates as the Food Systems Profile takes shape and continues to support a more sustainable and inclusive food future for the Mekong River Delta.