The kick-off workshop of “Small-Scaled Agribusiness Support Project 5 (SSAS5)”, sponsored by Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC (NSRP), was organized successfully at the Meeting Hall of Nghi Son District , Thanh Hoa Province on the afternoon of August 20^th, 2021. With representatives of local authorities, relevant functional organizations as well as project participants and beneficiaries, the workshop aimed to introduce project information, discussed and agreed on how and when to implement activities within the project framework.

Overview of the workshop

The workshop witnessed the participation of representatives of NSRP Social & Community Section: Mr. Trinh Xuan Duc – Deputy Section Manager (S&C DSM) and project officers. The workshop was also attended by the project implementation partners: Mr. Le Ba Tuan – Director of Center for Research and Application Science Technology (RASTC) – Hong Duc University, representatives of local authorities : Mr. Vu Trong Nam – Deputy Head of Economic Department – Nghi Son District People’s Committee, Mr. Le Van Hoc – Deputy Director of Nghi Son District Agricultural Service Center, and representatives of related organizations participating in the project, authorities of Hai Yen, Tinh Hai, Mai Lam, Nguyen Binh communes/wards.

Mr. Trinh Xuan Duc, speaking at the opening of the Workshop, said that the agribusiness support projects had been successfully implemented in recent years. They had been highly appreciated by the community and local authorities as creating many positive contributions in improving knowledge and skills of agricultural production, connecting markets, contributing to improving livelihoods for local people. In order to maintain these positive results, NSRP will continue to fund the implementation of the “Small-Scaled Agribusiness Support Projects 5” in the neighboring areas with the goal of supporting to improve agricultural production efficiency to increase local people’s income and improve their ability to supply products to the local market. He also reaffirmed that RASTC was a reputable, capable and suitable for the agricultural development activities and had implemented many different projects across Thanh Hoa province.

Representative of NSRP – Mr. Trinh Xuan Duc delivered his opening speech at the workshop

Mr. Le Ba Tuan – Representative of the project implementation partners delivered an overview of the project’s content, objectives, and tasks at the workshop. He also shared the Center’s experience with future project implementation. Furthermore, the delegates actively and excitedly discussed the contents of developing typical agricultural models fit for each locality, existing forms of agricultural activities, and the strategy to organize human resources to support the project implementation.

Mr. Vu Trong Nam – Deputy Head of Economic Department, People’s Committee of Nghi Son Town, shared his thought about the project.

“I highly appreciate the projects/programs that NSRP has implemented in recent years, particularly the agribusiness support projects that helped to improve the livelihood of people in the neighboring area. This is a very practical activity, bringing economic benefits to local people. I hope that in the coming time NSRP will continue to inherit the results of the previous stages to successfully implement the SSAS5 and I call for all related organizations to work closely to achieve the best results” – Mr. Vu Trong Nam – Deputy Head of Economic Department – Nghi Son District People’s Committee said.

At the end of the workshop, representatives of the project participants completely agreed with the presented and discussed contents and affirmed to work closely with NSRP and other stakeholders in the project’s implementation. Especially, RASTC, as the project implementation partner committed to properly implement the project’s activities with the best quality within agreed the time frame and budget.