On 05/5/2022, the Provincial People's Committee issued the Official Letter No.1125/UBND-KT2 on strengthening the management of planting area codes and packing facilities of agricultural products for export in the province.

Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee requests relevant departments, branches, and the People's Committees of districts, town and city to focus on well performing the following tasks:

- The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development:

+ To advise the Provincial People's Committee to promulgate the norms on planting area codes to integrate with the development of projects and plans, together with mechanisms and policies to encourage and support the development of growing areas and packing establishments according to the production scale of goods to meet appropriate export requirements.

+ To actively coordinate with relevant specialized agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to establish and ensure necessary technical conditions for growing areas and local packing establishments to serve the market opening, resolve technical barriers and handle notifications of non-compliance with phytosanitary, food safety or Covid-19 prevention regulations.

+ To direct relevant professional agencies to implement: Take charge and cooperate with localities in propagating, training and guiding the regulations on granting codes of growing areas and packing facilities at TCCS 744:2020/BVTV - Procedure for setting up and monitoring planting areas and TCCS 745:2020/BVTV - Process of setting up and monitoring packing facilities; strengthen inspection of the management and use of growing area codes, packing facilities to ensure that they maintain compliance with phytosanitary and food safety regulations, establish and manage growing areas, packing facilities; monitor pesticide residues, maintain the quality of the growing areas and packing establishments that have been granted codes, and strictly handle violations in accordance with law; increase the application of information technology to manage databases on growing areas and packing facilities on the basis of national and provincial digital government databases set up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (the Department of Plant Protection) to ensure efficient data use and rapid, transparent traceability; direct specialized agencies to coordinate with the Agricultural Division (Economic Division) in advising the People's Committees of districts, town and city in establishing, managing and maintaining the codes of planting areas, packing establishments; research and advise on the inclusion of norms on codes of growing areas and packing establishments into the One Product One Commune Program (OCOP); arrange a focal point staff and make a transfer plan when there is a change of working position to ensure stable maintenance of the management of planting area codes and packing facilities.

+ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant departments and agencies and the People's Committees of districts, town and city in formulating a plan to well perform the above tasks, periodically report the results to the Provincial People's Committee.

- Relevant departments and branches: Based on their functions and tasks to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in setting up and managing the codes of planting areas and packing establishments of agricultural products for export of the province.

- The People's Committees of the districts, town and city shall direct the Agricultural Divisions (Economic Divisions) and the People's Committees of communes, wards and townships to:

+ Review and summarize the need for issuance of codes of growing areas and local packing facilities, and register with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (through the Plant Protection Department) for instructions on completing the application to submit to the competent authority for approval.

+ To strengthen the coordination with specialized agencies of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to train, transfer technical advances, guide farmers to apply farming processes, measures to manage crop health, collect, record and complete relevant records during the production process for traceability at the request of the importing country, monitor pesticide residues, maintain the quality of the growing area, and packing facilities with issued codes.

+ To direct functional agencies to perform well the inspection, strictly manage the market of materials and agricultural products, coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to supervise the growing areas and packing establishments with issued codes in the area under their management, strictly handle violations according to the provisions of law.