With a total investment of 200bn VND ($8.8m), the Vinamilk Dalat Organic Dairy Farm initially has 500 organic cows, and is still expanding.
This is the second dairy farm invested in by Vinamilk in Lam Dong province (the first was set up in 2012).
Vinamilk received the endorsement as the first EU certified organic dairy farm in Vietnam from Control Union (Netherlands).
Promoting organic products
Mai Kieu Lien, Vinamilk’s CEO, said the organic dairy farm inauguration will not only stabilize domestic milk supply, but also “gain trust and affirm Vietnamese brands’ global competitiveness."
Richard De Boer, from Control Union said three years ago he certified Vinamilk’s farm in Nghe An as a GLOBALG.A.P. (good agricultural practice) site, the first in the country.
He added the First Organic Dairy Farm in Vietnam certification strengthens the role of Vinamilk in improving quality of life through its nutrition products, and in promoting organic products in Vietnam.
Investment in dairy
Vinamilk said that since 2006, it has been investing in dairy farming through the construction of its dairy farms network with a total initial capital of more than VND 500bn ($22m), which has now increased to VND 1,670bn ($73.5m).
To date, Vinamilk has a network of 10 farms across Vietnam, all large scale with all breeds imported from the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Nguyen Van Yen, vice chairman of Lam Dong People Committee, said the people of Lam Dong, and Vinamilk consumers, will have access to organic milk products with comparable quality to international products.
“This is also the direction of future agriculture, developing through building a sustainable value chain towards environmental protection and the application of high technologies and techniques to deliver real natural products, the safest for consumers," he said.
About the farm
Vinamilk’s organic dairy farm does not use chemicals, synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or food additives.
The farms also do not use any GMOs, the company said. The organic milk from the farm is free from antibiotic residues and no growth hormones are used, and the cows are also fed with 100% organic food.
The farm also uses renewable energy, biogas and solar power.