Customers buy products under the ‘Livelihood for K'Bang Community’ project being sold at Big C Quy Nhơn. — Photo courtesy of the company

 HCM CITY — Central Retail Vietnam in collaboration with the People's Committee of K'Bang District in Gia Lai Province has officially launched a project called ‘Livelihood for K'Bang Community’ at Big C Quy Nhơn.

The project has attracted the participation of 48 farmer households in the district’s Đông Commune, of which more than 30 per cent are Ba Na ethnic minorities.

After a period of implementation, fresh vegetables from Gia Lai mountainous area for the first time are being sold at GO! and Big C supermarkets in the Central region (Quy Nhơn, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Ngãi and Huế).

Lê Thanh Sơn, vice chairman of People's Committee of K'Bang District, said: “The support from Central Retail Group has enabled vegetables produced by K'Bang farmers under the Livelihood for Community project to enter modern supermarkets. This is a major turning point, bringing a stable income source and improving the livelihoods of the people here.

“K’Bang District will continue to coordinate closely with Central Retail Group to be able to replicate and implement the project in a sustainable manner."

Despite being directly affected by heavy storms in October, the project has helped farmers sell more than five tonnes of fresh vegetables worth more than VNĐ100 million (US$4,309) in the first month of project. The products include tomatoes, cucumbers, bitter melons, string beans, and forest bamboo shoots.

Nguyễn Thị Bích Vân, communications director of Central Retail Vietnam, said: “This is the first Livelihood for Community project to be implemented in the Central Highlands with the desire to improve the lives of people in mountainous areas from the agricultural products they plant.”

Under the project, the retailer instructs farmers in harvesting and packaging of their products in accordance with the supermarket's regulations and buys all the products to sell at its stores, helping to add more value to the products.

In the coming time, the products will also be sold at the retailer’s stores in the south, she said.  

In addition to this project, Central Retail Group has implemented seven other Livelihood for Community projects in Sơn Hà, Vân Hồ, Bình Định, A Lưới, Sa Pa, Mường Khương và Bắc Kạn.

Launched in 2017, the Livelihood for Community project aims to support the livelihoods of farmers, fishermen and poor households with incomes under VNĐ5 million ($215.4) per month in coastal, and rural and remote areas.

Over the past year, the project has helped to consume nearly 800 tonnes of agricultural products through GO! and Big C supermarket chains, improving the lives of more than 500 farmer households participating in the projects. — VNS