This is a translation of the original article Hỗ trợ Hà Nội triển khai dự án ‘An toàn thực phẩm vì sự phát triển’ written by Trung Quan.

Leaders of the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Management Department, Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the SAFEGRO project, signed a contract to launch the implementation of the coordination plan “Supporting Hanoi in Establishing and Developing some Sustainable Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Value Chains” Photo: Trung Quan.

The Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Control Department, Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will closely coordinate and successfully implement the project ‘Food safety for development’.

On the morning of August 11, in Hanoi, the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Management Department together with the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a signing ceremony and kicked off the implementation of the coordination plan “Support Hanoi in building and maintaining some sustainable agro-forestry-fishery value chains”.

Mr. Hoang Thai Ninh, Project Director of “Food Safety for Development-SAFEGRO” said: The goal of the coordinated plan is to assist Hanoi in building and developing a number of agricultural and forestry value chains and sustainable seafood. It has contributed to the effective implementation of the program of coordination to ensure food safety, improve the quality of agriculture, forestry and fishery, and trade between Hanoi and other provinces in the period 2022-2025.

Specific targets to be achieved include: Supporting the construction and development of a number of sustainable agricultural, forestry and fishery value chains (expected from 7-8 chains); supporting the building of brands, organizing communication, connecting and promoting some products of the chain; improve the capacity of food safety quality managers for Hanoi and the provinces and cities associated with the program implementation.

The main contents of the implementation plan include: Surveying and identifying products with high food safety risks, identifying chains and actors participating in the pilot model; developing documents, organizing training and fostering food safety quality management staff for Hanoi and the associated provinces and cities participating in the implementation of the program. Develop a process to guide the implementation of the value chain of agricultural, forestry and fishery products according to international standards; support building pilot models of a number of sustainable agro-forestry-fishery value chains, build and complete self-inspection and food safety monitoring systems, certify food safety systems according to international standards. Transfer applications applying science and technology, digital transformation to improve the quality and added value of products at each stage and in the entire chain; traceability of agro-forestry-fishery products in the chain; supporting brand building, branding, organizing communication and promotion, connecting and promoting trade, developing e-commerce for a number of value chain products.

The elements of gender equality, the young generation, and poor farmers will be concerned and integrated in the implementation contents. This will be a driving factor to create changes in the construction and development of sustainable agriculture, forestry and fishery value chains.

Mr. Brian Allemekinders, Development Counselor/Head of Development Cooperation Department of the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam says, “The project not only solves food safety issues but also helps to improve and enhance people’s livelihoods and health, contributing to contributing increase the commercial value of Vietnamese agricultural products.” Photo: Trung Quan.

The implementation period is divided into 3 phases: Phase 1 (2022), survey, development and implementation of plans to support upgrading a number of agricultural, forestry and fishery value chains. Phase 2 (2023), continue to support and verify the model. Phase 3 (2024-2025), review, evaluate and replicate the model.

Close coordination is the key to the success of the project. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Brian Allemekinders, Development Counselor/Head of Development Cooperation Department of the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam expressed his pleasure and appreciated the efforts of relevant units in drafting the agreement, creating, preparing, and finalizing the plan and organizing the signing ceremony of the coordination plan.

According to Brian Allemekinders, the Food Safety for Development project is a project funded by the Government of Canada and the results will be used by the Government of Vietnam. In the past, due to a number of reasons, the project implementation progress has been behind schedule. Therefore, all participating units need to make more efforts to promote the project to regain momentum and catch up with the expected schedule.

Mr. Brian Allemekinders expressed his belief: Both the Government of Canada and the Government of Vietnam are committed to promoting gender equality by considering it a cross-cutting issue in all political, economic and cultural fields.

alinea’s whistleblower policy

1.1 Purpose

The following Whistleblower Policy has been established to provide guidance to Alinea International employees and sub-contractors on how to deal with known or suspected improper conduct within the organization. The objectives of this Policy are to:

Create awareness of the Policy and available whistleblower protections
Act as a reference guide to potential whistleblowers wishing to make a disclosure
Define the structure of the whistleblower system, including reporting and investigation procedures, whistleblower protections, and confidentiality, among others
Improve the communication and transparency in the processes associated with whistleblowing and assure protection against derogatory consequences, namely reprisals and detrimental action
Complement the current communication channels between employees, sub-contractors and immediate managers, and hierarchical channels flowing to the President and Senior Management team
Provide guidance to all parties involved in either whistleblowing or whistleblower protection.

1.2 Scope

Alinea requires all employees and sub-contractors to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. All employees and sub-contractors of Alinea are required to comply with applicable laws and regulations of Canada and the countries where we operate. Any allegations of known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources will be dealt with in accordance with this Policy, and reasonable steps will be taken to protect those who come forward with allegations. Alinea’s Whistleblower Policy covers both internal and external whistleblowing, and establishes the controls and procedures for dealing with allegations of malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is intended to encourage employees and sub-contractors to report known or suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources and to enable Alinea’s Senior Management team to address and correct inappropriate action. It is the responsibility of all Board of Directors’ members, the Senior Management team, employees and sub-contractors to report concerns about known or suspected malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. This Policy is applicable to all employees and sub-contractors of Alinea International.

1.3 Reporting Procedures

Alinea recognizes the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices and supports the making of disclosures that reveal improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. Our internal controls and operating procedures are intended to detect and prevent malpractice, fraud and violations of our code of ethics and/or laws or regulations that govern our operations. As detailed in Alinea’s Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals, employees and sub-contractors are encouraged to share complaints and/or concerns regarding ethical or legal violations with their immediate managers. If the employee or sub-contractor is not comfortable speaking with their immediate manager or is not satisfied with the response, they are encouraged to speak with the Gatineau or Calgary Office Managers, the Vice Presidents or, as required, the Chief Financial Officer. All members of the Senior Management team are required to report complaints and/or concerns about suspected ethical or legal violations in writing to Alinea’s Ethics Committee who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints and/or concerns. In the event that the complaint and/or concern is about the President, it should be raised by the employee or sub-contractor to their immediate manager or the Ethics Committee who will determine how the investigation will proceed. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective measures will be taken if warranted by the investigation. Alinea’s Ethics Committee is responsible for acknowledging receipt of the suspected violation and notifying the whistleblower of the outcome of the investigation. Anyone filing a written complaint concerning suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Personal grievances or complaints related to employment are not covered under Alinea’s Whistleblowing Policy. For cases such as this, employees and sub-contractors are advised to first refer to Alineas Employee Policy and Onboarding manuals when considering a disclosure under the Whistleblowing Policy. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

1.4 Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality is crucial to ensure reprisals are not made against the whistleblower. Alinea is committed to safeguarding the identity of the whistleblower and to protecting the whistleblower against detrimental action taken in reprisal for allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources. The Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring whistleblowers are protected from direct and indirect detrimental action, and that the culture of the workplace is supportive of suspected allegations being made. Any employee who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

1.5 Review

Alinea is committed to implementing ‘best practice’ policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of suspected improper conduct or mismanagement of organizational resources (as defined by this Policy) and the management and protection of whistleblowers making allegation(s). This Policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure it meets the objectives of relevant legislation and remains effective for Alinea, and may be changed at the discretion of the Board of Directors at any time. For allegations of fraud, securities law, or human rights concerns, or when you are not satisfied or uncomfortable with following the Company’s open door policy, individuals should contact the Company’s Ethics Committee directly.

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Supporting Hanoi to implement the project ‘Food safety for development’