The National IPM Programme in Vietnam was established in 1990 with support from FAO to address concerns regarding heavy reliance on chemical inputs in crop production and protection, negatively affecting smallholder farmers, their livelihoods, consumer health and the environment. The implementation of the FAO Intercountry Programme for IPM on rice was carried out from 1992-2002. The Plant Protection Department (PPD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) became the responsible implementation agency of the programme in Vietnam. A network of farmer field school (FFS) facilitators was established nationwide that trained over half a million farmers in rice IPM. Following the success with the rice programme, other crops like maize, sweet potato and estate crops (such as tea) became targeted for IPM implementation on smaller scale in specific areas. The FAO Intercountry Programmes on rice, vegetables and cotton, and the DANIDA ASPS Programme on rice and vegetables provided support to the National IPM Programme/PPD for implementation of IPM farmers training during the last decade, bringing the total number of trained farmers to more than one million. Additional initiatives were supported by various NGOs [e.g. CIDSE on tea, maize and soybean IPM and the plant genetic resource conservation and development project (BUCAP) implemented by the INGO SEARICE and funded by the Norwegian Development Fund]. Initiatives have also been supported by national and international research institutes. For example, research and development for extension of IPM in citrus implemented by the National Institute for Plant Protection (NIPP) under an ACIAR-funded project and development of IPM for potato and sweetpotato with support from the International Potato Center (CIP).
