The La Lanh brand of clean vegetables is available for the first time in the central province of Binh Dinh. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Linh

The La Lanh brand of vegetables grown to Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices standards in the central province of Binh Dinh has hit the market.

It is being sold by Big C Quy Nhon supermarket since July 6.

The development of the La Lanh brand is one of the key components of the five-year New Zealand Aid Programme-funded Binh Dinh Safe Vegetables Project which begun in 2016.

The collaborative project between the governments of Viet Nam and New Zealand is implemented by the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited.

Its goal is to improve the safety and economic and environmental sustainability of vegetable farming and the safety of consumers.

It is being put into practice in eight target districts and towns in the province.

Phan Trong Ho, director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, “The launch of La Lanh branded produce is significant for Binh Dinh safe vegetable farms.

“The area under La Lanh safe vegetables will be expanded and [the produce] will be sold through commercial channels throughout the country.”

The cultivation systems used by farmers growing produce under the La Lanh brand are suited to local conditions and have been designed carefully for safe production and post-harvest handling and to meet high food quality and safety standards, Dr Michael Lay-Yee, programme director for the project, said.

The New Zealand ambassador to Viet Nam, Wendy Matthews, said more than 500 households have benefited so far from the project. — VNS