This morning, July 15, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and CJ Group, with support from the Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee, announced continued support for the project to expand the chili material area in Ninh Thuan, aiming to improve the lives of people in the area.

The project has a total value of 4.2 billion VND, fully funded by KOICA and CJ, with implementation period from July 2024 to June 2026.

The project will focus on implementing a material support program to expand farmer participation and increase agricultural production with three main activities.

First, implement a material and human resource support program to expand farmer participation and increase output.

Second, strengthen the operating system of cooperatives and processors through optimizing business models from planting, processing to consumption.

Third, KOICa and CJ will send Korean experts to the locality to support farmers' chili planting activities and factory production.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Trinh Minh Hoang - Vice Chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee said: "Representatives of Ninh Thuan province are very pleased to receive timely support from CJ Group and KOICA in supporting Tam Ngan Cooperative and the project. Hopefully, with this support, the lives of people in the area will be improved in the long term."

Ms. Heekyung Jo Min - Deputy Director of CJ Group, Director of Social Contribution Programs of CJ Group also expressed her commitment to continue accompanying the people of Ninh Thuan in developing chili material areas, to ensure that farmers here have a more sustainable livelihood.

It is known that the project was initially implemented from 2014 to 2017 and achieved many important achievements such as improving the living environment in Tam Ngan village (Ninh Son district, Ninh Thuan province) and increasing agricultural income through chili planting contracts. In particular, the project has strengthened the agricultural value chain in Ninh Thuan and connected with CJ's food sector to maximize the project's efficiency through CJ's inauguration of Tam Ngan agricultural processing factory, ensuring output for chili plants grown here.

After the project ended in 2018, CJ continued to support the cooperative and expand the chili powder market. However, since 2020, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a reduction in the participation of farmers in chili cultivation and the suspension of the factory, causing difficulties for the cooperative's operations and the income of local farmers. However, since 2022, CJ Group has continued to support the project with emergency funding (over 400 million VND) to repair the factory and encourage farmers to return to chili cultivation.

Since mid-late 2023, CJ has supported Tam Ngan Cooperative in replanting chili plants and overcoming food safety requirements. As a result, Ninh Thuan chili powder products have started to be sold again on the market since 2024. However, the problem remains that the limited participation of some farmers leads to low output and a lack of human resources in cooperatives and processors.