Hanoi - Africa and Asia can learn from each other to use innovation and national product branding to transform agrifood systems, improving food, nutrition and livelihood security, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) told an Africa-Asia ministerial meeting here today.
In the first such inter-continental dialogue, ministers and top-level agriculture policymakers from 14 countries in Africa, and three in Asia, met in the Vietnamese capital to discuss challenges and opportunities to making farming productive, resilient, sustainable and profitable for smallholders, the main agrifood producers.
Agriculture ministers and senior officials from Bhutan, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tunisia, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe attended the 15-16 July 2025 High-Level Inter-regional Knowledge Exchange on One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) Models.
"I am confident that this knowledge-sharing will highlight how innovation and national product branding can boost productivity, improve profitability, open new markets, and promote a better life for rural communities, as well as show how Asia's successes can inspire and support Africa's efforts, and vice versa," FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said in a video message to the event.
Co-organized by FAO and the Government of Viet Nam, the event aimed to familiarize countries in Africa with Viet Nam's successful transformative national target program on new rural development through its "One Commune One Product".
Viet Nam's Program "has proven to be an effective tool for empowering rural communities and promoting ownership, accountability, and local cultural values for economic development and quality of life," said Minister of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), Viet Nam Do Duc Duy in his opening remarks.
Launched in 2018, the Vietnamese initiative leverages each locality's potential and advantages, fostering self-reliance and creativity in every citizen and community, to increase value and create distinctive, characteristic products unique to each locality, region, and area. Over 16,800 products rated 3 stars or higher, have been developed by the Vietnamese initiative, with millions of jobs created, and more than 60 percent participating households seeing an average annual revenue increase of 18 percent.
"We also see a clear alignment between Vietnam's One Commune One Product Program and FAO's One Country One Priority Product initiative - both aim to identify and promote strategic products of each locality and nation based on cultural respect, sustainability, and global market access," the Minister added.
Launched in 2021, the FAO One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) flagship initiative aims to catalyse agrifood systems transformation by promoting sustainable value chains of nutritious, but underutilized, special agricultural products with unique geographical and cultural traits.
Agriculture ministers from Africa joined their Asian counterparts to share national experiences in OCOP implementation.
Producing more food with less inputs, making agriculture climate-resilient, sustainable and profitable for all, is critical for Africa and Asia and the Pacific, the regions with the world's highest levels of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
The OCOP initiative helped Malawi save its banana industry, a key economic pillar, from a virus infestation. This was "not merely a production issue, it was a threat to livelihoods, nutrition, foreign exchange, and our agricultural identity. OCOP gave us more than a solution, it gave us a roadmap to recovery and inclusive development," Samuel Dalitso Kawale, Minister of Agriculture Malawi told the event. "We seek deeper collaboration and knowledge exchange with Viet Nam and other OCOP countries."
Egypt selected date palm as its priority OCOP product reflecting "our deep belief in its strategic importance-not just as a traditional agricultural pillar, but as a promising source of economic development, job creation, and value-added agricultural exports," Ezzeldin Gadallahm Head of Central Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt told the event.
The OCOP Four Betters Models
The delegates from Africa were also briefed on how FAO is leveraging science and innovation to accelerate agrifood systems transformation through OCOP implementation in the Asia-Pacific region, in support of the FAO Four Betters vision - better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life, leaving no one behind.
Strategic partnerships with leading science and innovation centres in the region are enhancing value chains of special agricultural products (SAPs). This includes the application of an innovative geographical and environmental traceability tool to enhance SAP value chains, increase access to high-end markets and incentivize sustainable production.
Nutrition science and technology is helping develop SAP-based food products suited to diverse age groups and tastes while a market intelligence series is helping Asia-Pacific countries integrate SAPs into mainstream international markets.
