Decree No. 109/2018/ND-CP dated August 29, 2018 of the Government on organic agriculture

DECREE

On organic agriculture^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 26, 2014 Law on Investment;

Pursuant to the June 29, 2006 Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;

Pursuant to the November 21, 2007 Law on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the June 17, 2010 Law on Food Safety;

Pursuant to the June 14, 2015 Law on Pharmacy;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Government promulgates the Decree on organic agriculture.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

1. This Decree prescribes the production, certification, labeling, use of logos, origin tracing, trading, and state inspection of organic agricultural products in the fields of cultivation, husbandry, forestry and aquaculture, and provides policies to promote the development of organic agricultural production.

2. Production and trading of organic agricultural products are encouraged.

Article 2.Subjects of application

This Decree applies to enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups, farms, households or groups of households that produce and trade in organic agricultural products (below referred to as establishments); and organizations and individuals engaged in the production and trading of organic agricultural products in the Vietnamese territory.

Article 3.Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Organic agriculture means a production system that protects land resources, ecosystem and human health, relies on ecological processes and biodiversity in adaption to natural conditions, rather than the use of factors that harmfully affect the eco-environment; a combination of traditional techniques and scientific advances to benefit the common environment and create fair relations and a balanced life for all in the ecosystem.

2. Organic agriculture production (bellow referred to as organic production) means a system of processes of production, preliminary processing, processing, packaging, transportation and preservation up to organic agriculture standards.

3. Organic agricultural product (below referred to as organic product) means a food, drug (including herbal and traditional drug), cosmetics or another product or plant variety or livestock breed; livestock or aquatic feed produced, certified and labeled under this Decree.

4. Organic agriculture standard used for certification of standard conformity means a national standard on organic agriculture or an international, regional or foreign standard applied in the production of organic products.

5. Certification of organic products means an activity of assessment and certification of products to be produced in conformity with organic agriculture standards carried out by a certification organization (the third party).

Chapter II

ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

Article 4.Principles of organic agricultural production

1. Managing resources (including soil, water and air) on the principle of systemization and ecology with a long-term vision.

2. Refraining from using synthetic chemicals in all stages of the production chain, preventing the people’s and environment’s exposure to toxic chemicals and minimizing pollution at production places and in the surrounding environment.

3. Refraining from using genetically modified technologies, radioactive sources and other technologies harmful to organic production.

4. Treating animals and plants in a responsible manner and improving their natural health.

5. Organic products must be certified by the third party up to national standards on organic agriculture or international, regional or foreign standards applicable to the production of organic products.

Article 5.Organic agriculture standards

1. National standards on organic agriculture shall be formulated, announced and applied in accordance with the law on standards and technical regulations.

2. International, regional or foreign standards:

a/ In case of production for export, producers shall apply standards under the agreements or contracts with their importers;

b/ In case of production or import for domestic consumption, establishments may apply standards under conventions to which Vietnam is a contracting party or agreements on mutual recognition or foreign standards approved for application in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and related ministries and agencies in, assessing and announcing the list of international, regional or foreign standards on harmonization with national standards applied in Vietnam.

3. National, international, regional and foreign standards are encouraged to be used as manufacturer ones.

Article 6.Inputs of organic production

1. The use of inputs in organic production must comply with organic agriculture standards; the use of pesticides, fertilizers, preservatives, additives being synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms and growth hormones is prohibited.

2. In case of use of inputs:

a/ Organic plant varieties and livestock breeds; organic livestock and aquatic feeds must be certified to be conformable to organic agriculture standards and other relevant technical regulations;

b/ Fertilizers, soil improvers, pesticides and harmful organism controllers, processing aids, additives, cleansing agents and disinfectants used in husbandry and aquaculture must be produced from materials and by methods conformable to organic agriculture standards and meet other relevant technical regulations.

Chapter III

CERTIFICATION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

Article 7.Organizations certifying products up to national standards on organic agriculture

1. Organizations certifying products up to national standards on organic agriculture must meet the conditions for provision of product and management system certification services prescribed in Article 17 of the Government’s Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP of July 1, 2016, prescribing conditions for provision of conformity assessment services (below referred to as Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP).

2. Dossiers of application for a certificate of registration for certification of products up to national standards on organic agriculture (below referred to as operation registration certificate) must comply with Article 18 of Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP.

3. Forms and order of, and time limit for, grant, re-grant, modification or supplementation of operation registration certificates must comply with Articles 19 and 20 of Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP. An operation registration certificate shall be made according to Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall receive dossiers for grant, re-grant, modification or supplementation of operation registration certificates and manage the operation of licensed certification organizations.

Article 8.Certification of products up to national standards on organic agriculture

1. Methods of assessment of organic products:

Organic products’ conformity with national standards shall be assessed by the method of assessment and supervision of production process and testing of typical samples taken at production places or on the market if there is a doubt that the used inputs are outside the permitted list in national standards on organic agriculture or products are contaminated with heavy metals or harmful microorganisms in excess of technical regulations.

2. A certification organization shall grant a certificate of products up to national standards on organic agriculture, made according to Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix to this Decree. A certificate is valid for 2 years.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall guide the assessment and supervision after the grant of certificates of products up to national standards on organic agriculture.

Article 9.Certification of products up to international, national and foreign standards on organic agriculture

1. For products for export: They must be certified by certification organizations accredited in writing by organizations or countries promulgating international, regional or foreign standards.

2. For products for domestic consumption: They must be certified by accredited certification organizations mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, which possess operation registration certificates under Article 7 of this Decree.

3. Accredited foreign or Vietnamese certification organizations shall:

a/ Annually or upon request, send via the electronic network before sending the original or a certified copy thereof) a report on results of certification of international, regional or foreign standard conformity, made according to Form No. 7 provided together with Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP, to a specialized agency assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

b/ To submit to the inspection by a specialized agency assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and be sanctioned when showing signs of violation under law.

4. Accredited certification organizations that possess operation registration certificates shall perform the responsibilities prescribed in Decree No. 107/2016/ND-CP.

5. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall manage and guide the implementation of this Article.

Article 10.Inspection of certification organizations

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall inspect the operation of certification organizations possessing operation registration certificates and sanction their violations under current regulations.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall inspect the operation of accredited certification organizations certifying products up to international, regional or foreign standards when detecting signs of violation and sanction violations under current regulations.

Chapter IV

ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPLICABLE STANDARDS, LABELING, USE OF LOGOS, AND TRACING OF ORIGINS OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS

Article 11.Announcement of applicable standards on, and labeling of, organic products

1. Announcement of applicable standards:

a/ To announce names and code numbers of applicable organic agriculture standards and other requirements in accordance with law;

b/ For organic cosmetics, in addition to the provisions of Point a of this Clause, to announce standards applicable to them under regulations of the Ministry of Health.

2. To label products in accordance with Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP on goods labels, regulations on labeling of foods, drugs, cosmetics, and livestock and aquatic feeds, and the following regulations:

a/ The use of the phrase “100% organic”, “organic” or “made with organic ingredients” together with the percentage of ingredients on organic products’ labels must comply with organic agriculture standards;

b/ Made-in-Vietnam organic products  must bear code numbers of their certificates, dates of grant, their full names or abbreviated names, and code numbers of certification organizations;

c/ Imported organic products of which labels are incompliant with this Decree must have additional labels under regulations.

3. To encourage the use of code numbers, bar codes and the affixing of “Vietnam green label” or eco-green stickers on organic products’ labels in accordance with law.

Article 12.Logos of Vietnamese organic products

1. “100%-organic” and “organic” products containing at least 95% of organic ingredients which are certified to be in conformity with national organic agriculture standards may be affixed with Vietnamese organic product logos. An establishment’s logo shall be used together with Vietnamese organic product logo.

2. After having its products certified as organic, an establishment may print its logo specimen under regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to be affixed on product packages and shall take responsibility for the use of such logos in accordance with law.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall prescribe logo specimens and manage the use of logos under law.

Article 13.Origin tracing, recall and treatment of inferior-quality organic products

1. Establishments shall record, keep dossiers and set up product origin tracing systems at each stage of production and trading as guided in national standards on organic agriculture.

2. An establishment shall trace the origin of its products in the following cases:

a/ When it is so requested by a competent state agency;

b/ When it detects organic products that it produces or trades in are not up to organic agriculture standards or relevant technical regulations and standards; have improper labels or logos; or have expired or deteriorated (below collectively referred to as inferior-quality products).

2. An organic product shall be recalled in the following cases:

a/ It is labeled or affixed with a logo incompliant with regulations;

b/ It is sold in the market after having expired;

c/ It is unconformable with organic agriculture standards or relevant technical regulations and standards;

d/ It is damaged in the process of preservation, transportation or trading;

dd/ It contains banned substances or pollutants in excess of the prescribed limits;

e/ It is an imported product notified by a competent agency of the exporting country or another country or an international organization to contain a pollutant which may harm human health or life.

4. Disposal of recalled organic products:

a/ Correcting labeling or logo errors  (due to incorrect printing). In case the labeling or logo affixing is incompliant with regulations or there is another violation, the product lot shall be disposed of under Point b, c or d of this Clause;

b/ Changing the use purpose of the product lot which, despite having expired or being unconformable with the initial use purpose or organic agriculture standards, do not harm human health and the environment;

c/ Destroying the product lot that is damaged  or of unclear origin or contains banned substances or agents unsafe to human health and the environment in excess of the limits prescribed in technical regulations;

d/ Re-exporting imported product lots not up to organic standards or Vietnamese technical regulations and standards or having expired.

5. Responsibilities of establishments upon detecting inferior-quality organic products:

a/ To identify and notify inferior-quality product lots;

b/ To request its trading agents to stop distributing inferior-quality product lots and report on their actual inventory and circulation quantities;

c/ To report to the competent state agency on the plan on product recall and disposal of recalled products;

d/ To recall products and dispose of them within the time limit prescribed by the competent state agency.

6. Responsibilities of the competent state agency:

a/ To inspect and supervise the tracing of origins of products by establishments;

b/ To decide on product recall, disposal of recalled products and time limit for completion of these activities;

c/ To inspect product recall and disposal of recalled products;

d/ To handle violations of the law on food quality and safety under regulations.

7. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the recall and disposal of inferior-quality organic products under their respective management.

Chapter V

INSPECTION AND TESTING OF ORGANIC PRODUCT QUALITY

Article 14.Inspection of organic product quality

1. The order and procedures of inspection of, and sanctioning of violations related to, organic product quality must comply with the laws on product and goods quality and food safety.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify inspection agencies and the application of methods of inspection of organic product quality under their management.

Article 15.Testing of organic product samples

1. Requirements on sample takers and sampling process must comply with current regulations applicable to each product or field.

2. Identification of chemicals, additives or preservatives outside the list of those permitted for use prescribed in organic agriculture standards on “100%-organic” products:

a/ To use the quick testing method for specific substances under regulations;

b/ To use the method of analysis at laboratories that register testing activities and are accredited or designated in accordance with law; if sample analysis results are positive for substances outside the list, such substances shall be regarded as involved in violations.

3. To identify the limits of harmful microorganisms and heavy metals in organic products under regulations and national technical regulations for safe products.

4. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade shall guide in detail Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article for products under their respective management under regulations.

Chapter VI

POLICIES TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

Article 16.To prioritize the application of promulgated policies on the development of organic agriculture

1. To prioritize the allocation of funds for science and agricultural extension for implementation of research subjects and projects on agricultural extension, particularly those on pest-resistant plant varieties, organic fertilizers, biological pesticides and herbal veterinary drugs.

2. Establishments that produce or trade in organic products or input supplies to serve organic production are entitled to enjoy promulgated policies on promotion of investment in agriculture and rural areas, specifically as follows:

a/ Policies to support small- and medium-sized enterprises; policies to encourage enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas;

b/ Policies to support agricultural cooperatives; policies to connect production with product sale and building of large fields; policy on vocational training for rural laborers;

c/ Credit policies to serve agriculture and rural development; lending policy to promote the development of hi-tech agriculture and clean agriculture;

d/ Special polies on varieties, capital and technology for cultivation and exploitation of herbal plants for medicinal production;

dd/ Policies to support trade promotion and brand building;

e/ Policies to support the affixing of Vietnam green labels, and support environment-friendly establishments;

g/ Other related policies;

h/ At the same time and to achieve the same objective, an establishment may choose only the most appropriate policy provided at Point a, b, c, d, dd, e or g of this Clause.

3. For the support policies specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, support contents and levels, conditions for support provision; capital sources and mechanisms of provision of support from the state budget must comply with issued documents.

Article 17.A number ofspecial policies to support small-sized enterprises, cooperatives, farms, households and groups of households that produce organic products

1. Support contents and levels:

a/ To provide support equal to 100% of funds approved by competent authorities for identifying areas or regions eligible for organic production, including baseline survey, topographic survey, analysis of soil, water and air samples;

b/ To provide lump-sum support equal to 100% of funds for grant or re-grant of certificates of products up to national organic agriculture standards by certification organizations;

c/ To support training on organic production: support levels must comply with the Government’s regulations on agricultural extension;

d/ To support the formulation and multiplication of organic production models up to national standards: norms of support funds for pest-resistant crop varieties, organic fertilizers, biological pesticides for cultivation models; funds for crop varieties, organic feed and veterinary drugs permitted for use husbandry and aquaculture models, and funds for multiplication of models under the Government’s regulations on agricultural extension.

2. Funding sources for implementation include:

a/ The state budget support under current regulations;

b/ Funds incorporated in target programs, national target programs and other programs or projects;

c/ Financial aid of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals;

d/ Other lawfully raised sources in accordance with law.

3. Principles of support provision:

a/ The central budget shall support projects pertaining to the central spending task and approved by central competent agencies. Specific support levels must comply with this Decree and relevant current regulations on the basis of balancing financial resources and development policies in each period. The central budget shall partially support difficulty-hit localities unable to self-balance their budgets based on the central budget’s balancing capacity;

b/ Local budgets shall support projects pertaining to local spending tasks and approved by provincial-level People’s Committees or authorized specialized agencies, and small-sized enterprises, cooperatives, farms, households and groups of households producing organic products in localities as specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article. In case of necessity, based on practical conditions and balanced financial resources of their local budgets, provincial-level People’s Committees shall submit to provincial-level People’s Councils for consideration and decision on promulgation of support policies in addition to those provided in this Decree;

c/ For projects funded with non-refundable aid, support contents and levels shall be set out by donors in aid agreements or applied according to the support levels agreed upon by donor representatives, the Ministry of Finance and project management units. The support levels prescribed in this Decree may be applied in case donor representatives and the Ministry of Finance have not reached agreement on support levels.

4. Conditions, procedures and order of support provision:

a/ For the support contents specified at Points a, c and d, Clause 1 of this Article:

Support contents must be incorporated in projects approved by competent authorities;

There is a commitment to allocating counterpart funds for  the implementation of items in approved projects (in addition to the state budget’s support);

Eligible establishments may receive investment support according to the project progress.

Order and procedures for proposing, appraising and approving projects must comply with the Law on Public Investment, Law on the State Budget and guiding documents; relevant regulations on management and use of funds for agricultural extension,  non-business scientific and technological funds, funds incorporated in national target programs, target program or other programs and projects, and other funds.

b/ For the support contents specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article:

Small-sized enterprises, cooperatives, farms, households and groups of households producing organic products shall send written requests for support funds for grant of certificates of products up to national standards on organic agriculture to local authorized specialized agencies (provincial-level Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development or Departments of Health or Departments of Industry and Trade), enclosed with internal self-assessment results up to national standards on organic agriculture and copies of the granted certificates of products up to national standards on organic agriculture (in case of request for re-grant).

Local authorized specialized agencies shall base themselves on such written requests and internal self-assessment results of small-sized enterprises, cooperatives, farms, households and groups of households producing organic products to select certification organizations in accordance with the bidding law, and allocate funds for certification to winning certification organizations.

5. To encourage farmers, organizations and individuals to join the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) that is based on the participation of farmers, sellers, consumers and other subjects with the same concern. Organizations and individuals joining the PGS may enjoy the policies provided at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter VII

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 18.Responsibility for state management of organic agriculture

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall perform the state management on organic agriculture and shall:

a/ Manage the operation of organizations certifying products up to national standards on organic agriculture and accredited certifications organizations; update and notify approved international, regional or foreign standards;

b/ Perform the state management of production and trading of organic foods, organic livestock and aquatic feeds and other organic products under its management in accordance with law;

c/ Enter into international cooperation; carry out training, information and communication; examine, inspect, and handle violations within the ambit of its functions and tasks;

d/ Annually incorporate support funds for projects under its management and demands for support for difficulty-hit localities in its annual budget estimates to be sent to the Ministry of Finance for consideration, summarization and submission to a competent authority for approval under the Law on the State Budget.

2. The Ministry of Health shall perform the state management of production and trading of organic drugs, cosmetics and foods under its management in accordance with law.

3. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall perform the state management of production and trading of organic foods and other organic products under its management in accordance with law; perform the market management of organic products under regulations.

4. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade in, formulating, modifying and announcing national standards on organic agriculture under regulations.

5. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, assume the prime responsibility for, or coordinate with related ministries and sectors in, performing the state management of organic products under their respective management.

6. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

a/ Promulgate incentive policies; approve master plans, plans and projects on organic production in their localities;

b/ Allocate funds for implementation of policies on development of organic agriculture under this Decree in their localities;

c/ Organize the implementation; and examine, inspect, and handle violations in their localities in accordance with law.

7. Professional associations and organizations shall disseminate regulations on organic agriculture and raise the public awareness about it; join in training and supervise their members in producing and trading in organic products in accordance with law.

Article 19.Effect

This Decree takes effect on October 15, 2018.

Article 20.Organization of implementation

1.Within 6 months after the effective date of this Decree, an accredited certification organization operating in Vietnam shall send online an e-notification (before sending the original or a certified copy thereof) to a specialized agency assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Such a notification must state the organization’s name, address, fax, email, and website; name and code of international, regional or foreign standard accredited and certified in Vietnam; and results of its certification by the date of reporting.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On the behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC

* The Appendix to this Decree is not translated.