On 11th November, 2010, Prof. Peter Timmer and Mr. Dang Le Nguyen Vu, Chairman of Trung Nguyen Group, has discussed and agreed on the concept as well as a role model of sustainable community development. These provide the Vietnamese agriculture-based economy with a sustainable development strategy while the world economy has been facing turbulence since the 2007-2009 global financial crises, in which the crisis of food security affected human society and psychology heavily.
The Vietnamese humanitarian flag: ensuring global food security
In recent years, the world has the primary concern to food security because this matter directly influences human safety net especially vulnerable groups. Meanwhile, Vietnam is strengthening its position of a major food producer and exporter in the international markets. Therefore, this is the time to not only show the Vietnamese responsibility to the international community, but also take the opportunity to wave the humanitarian flag: a significant contributor to the global food security.
The food security solution of Vietnam does not mean higher production or exportation values. It is the establishment and successful development a green agricultural production model which is defined by high productivity, clean quality, and high value added. Initially, the model is based on one high commercial competence agricultural commodity such as coffee but can be applied to seafood, rice and so on. Vietnam also develops its capacity to transfer this model to other developing countries. Thus, global food production is improved. The Vietnamese model will adapt advanced technology and scientific achievements from advanced agriculture, for example Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the United States, to continue enriching product values. The outputs of this R&D process will be exported to lagging economies in Asia and Africa.
The most important characteristic of the green agricultural development model in Vietnam is sustainability. If production is increased purely by having more crops per year, then land is exploited more. And if people do not pay enough attention to provide the lands with more and better nutrition, then the fields become impoverished. This is an unsustainable growth. Then, perhaps, more serious problems are coming.
Professor Peter Timmer: “My expertise is historical structural transformation and pathways out of poverty. This new coffee model (shared by Chairman Vu) satisfies criteria of production which are sustainable for both environment and socio-culture while producing high-quality products.”
The green agricultural model of Vietnam emphasizes economic foundation. Commercial gains provide R&D with more resources as well as supply local communities with better living educations, health care services, higher incomes, and the likes. Thus, socio-economic performance keeps improving. This process becomes a never-ending loop and maintains stable growth.
Agriculture sector: a development engine and a pillar of the Vietnamese economy
Vietnam has been participated in the global economy, and posseses great potentials to become a key figure of ensuring food security for the world. In the future, Vietnam’s agricultural strategy is not only to increase production and export, but also, more important, to strengthen agriculture as a key economic sector. Then, agriculture becomes a “soft power” of Vietnam, an economic, diplomatic, and environmental flag of Vietnam in the world agenda.
In a comprehensive economic development strategy, agriculture development is just a starting point. The achievements of agriculture sector activate non-agricultural areas such as technology, finance, research, education, human resource development, etc. Efforts should not limit to agricultural dimension but need to spread many national economy areas.
With the competitive advantages of traditional successes in agricultural innovation, the skill and creativity of famers which is accounted for 75% of the population, Vietnam possesses all necessary conditions to explore its own way of development. At the beginning stage, the Central Highland of Vietnam will be developed into a green-economy role model based on historical lessons of the world development, scientific research results, and academical and theoretical economic development models. The core value of such model is its aplicability to other developing and emerging economies.
Although this view of development is not officially the Vietnamese development strategy, Prof. Timmer believes this is the time to facilitate the Vietnamese economic transformation process toward an agriculture-based economy.
Vietnam possesses much potential and advantages to build a successful model for green economic development which then convinces the world by specific achievements as well as attracts the world’s resources.
Agricultural economy is based on technological achievements and energy of creativity.
Vietnam can refer this experience from Israel. In 2011, Trung Nguyen will organize Viet Nam’s delegations to visit the centre of technology and ideas development in Israel. However, the sustainability of the model is only guaranteed when that model is designed and operated by the Vietnamese. It will be a long process requiring Vietnam has a good strategy, a determination and perseverance to execute.
New concept of coffee and coffee economics.
There are more than 2 billion people around the world, who like and use coffee every day. Such huge populance large is lack of common values, ideologies and philosophies. Speaking in the religion language, there needs a “doctrine” coffee about belief, gender, caste and nationality … and homogeneous in two core values: (i) Coffee is a new energy in the creative knowledge; and (ii) creative activity of humanity which is activated by coffee‘s energy.
Coffee will become a symbol of balance and harmony, and the process of sustainable development. At present, coffee has only been seen as a beverage, an agricultural commodity. New coffee product will present the coffee to the world under cultural perspective, the arts, humanity ideas and lofty philosophy.
Trung Nguyen is a pioneer in the effort to prepare a specific location to welcome the global coffee “believers”. It is Buon Ma Thuot, the coffee capital – coffee mecca of the world. For many years, the Central Highland actively prepares for this big project: the volcanic rock mined and gathered into a mountain to build a “coffee” Angkor Wat – a spirit symbol of coffee. World’s largest coffee museum in Germany has been bought and moved to Vietnam, contributing to the core of the coffee museum which is five times larger. Buon Ma Thuot – a coffee space also is a major supplier of luxury resort services, health care and rehabilitation with traditional herbal secrets. This place is full of creative energy for scientists, researchers and people made art.
Buon Me Thuot- Capital coffee set in the heart of the community will attract the global travelers to Vietnam to watch the process of coffee growing, from planting, cultivating to harvesting, processing, and feeling the humanity value, spirit which have hidden in the unique flavors of coffee.
We can confirm that the new concept of coffee and coffee economics can really create a revolution in the process of agricultural economic transformation. (After hearing the presentation of Chairman Dang Le Nguyen Vu on this concept, the professors of Harvard University, suggested to develop “coffee” as a formal subject in the economic and business program). Starting from the unique quality coffee; the creative process will be activated. The results of this innovative development will back to coffee production. This loop will continue again and again to be a positive development. Those achievements improve living conditions and bring prosperity to the local community, who produces coffee.
Ecological model of coffee in Vietnam
Trung Nguyen Coffee Company has proposed a project to build 5,000 hectares of the first ecological coffee zone in the Central Highland of Vietnam. Since successful operation, this model will be expanded in Vietnam and other developing economies, the application for not only coffee but also many agricultural commodities. Nuclear ensure the success and sustainability of this model, as well as attractive point, lies in the strength of the coffee trade. In the 1950s, India invested a lot of resources for community development model, but lacked the support of scientific research results, not based on economic, then they failed.
The Vietnamese ecological sustainable coffee development model needs to have the support of experts, researchers, to write “the story of coffee in Vietnam.” Successful formula includes three elements: (i) the best material, (ii) the best technology and (iii) create own secret differently. Besides it, Prof. Timmer completes two factors that bring value and difference caste for a new coffee model, convinced the whole world. That is (iv) cultural values and traditions of indigenous communities in the product, and (v) model has capable to take indigenous communities for participation in global value chains.
Link and collect global resources.
Building the coffee mecca will require not only determination and perseverance, but also a huge resource. However, gathering resources is not too difficult. If every coffee lover contributes USD 1 to the project, then a budget of USD 2 billion is available. In addition, when contributing and sharing resources for a common goal together, conflict problems in economics, politics, religion, ethnicity… is automatically dissolved.
Prof. Peter Timmer reviews coffee is the most appropriate agricultural commodities for Vietnam to starting the process of the green agriculture economic development and sustainability. Ideal of ecological coffee development model originated from Viet Nam (not Brazil, Mexico or Costarica), it creates economic potential and attracts collection of international resources for sustainable green economy development model in Vietnam. By Trung Nguyen’s work and publications to introduce innovative ideas about the sustainable community development mode which originated from Viet Nam’s commercial products, he believed the world will join with Vietnam to building this model
After the meeting, Professor Timmer backed to the U.S., he had a meeting with members of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop research-oriented strategy for food security in transition countries, and solutions to solve bad situation in South Asia and Africa, including the project proposal: “The new coffee model ” – the basis for sustainable community development of the idea, global coffee capital model of Trung Nguyen. The outline of this project was sent to Mr. Dang Le Nguyen Vu.
