Circular No. 10/2022/TT-BYT guides the implementation of investment and support for the development of precious medicinal plant cultivation areas under the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the period 2021-2030, Phase I: from 2021 to 2025.

CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE CONTENT OF INVESTMENT AND SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPING AREAS OF PRECIOUS MEDICINAL PLANTS UNDER THE NATIONAL TARGET PROGRAM ON ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN ETHNIC MINORITY AND MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS FOR THE 2021-2030 PERIOD, STAGE I: FROM 2021 TO 2025

Pursuant to Decree No. 75/2017/NĐ-CP dated June 20, 2017 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2022/NĐ-CP dated April 26, 2022 of the Government on preferential credit policies for implementing the National Target Program on economic and social development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions for the period from 2021 to 2030, Stage I: from 2021 to 2025;

Pursuant to Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP dated April 19, 2022 of the Government stipulating management mechanisms and organization of implementation of national target programs;

Implementing Decision No. 1719/QĐ-TTg dated October 14, 2021 of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program on economic and social development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions for the 2021-2030 period, Stage I: from 2021 to 2025;This Circular guides the development plan for medicinal plants, project approval, and the list of eligible beneficiaries for policy support, total investment amount for projects, investment level of production and business establishments participating in projects, loan plans for each project and production and business establishments participating in projects under Item 2 of Sub-project 2 of Project 3 on Investment and Support for Developing Areas of Precious Medicinal Plants under the National Target Program on economic and social development in ethnic minority and mountainous regions for the 2021-2030 period, Stage I: from 2021 to 2025 approved by Decision No. 1719/QĐ-TTg dated October 14, 2021.

1. Individuals, households of ethnic minorities, poor households, near-poor households residing in areas with natural conditions suitable for developing precious medicinal plants may participate in the project.2. Communes, villages, districts, provinces where the project is implemented. 3. Enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions, households, and production and business establishments (hereinafter referred to as production and business establishments) implementing or participating in precious medicinal plant projects operating in particularly difficult areas in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, employing at least 50% of the total workforce as ethnic minorities (priority given to projects employing more than 50% female workers), and committing to purchasing, producing, and selling medicinal plants from these projects.4. State agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the management and implementation of precious medicinal plant projects.

Article 1. This Circular stipulates the principles for building, selection criteria, management, and issuance of the List of precious, rare and endemic medicinal plants that must be controlled (hereinafter referred to as the List). Article 2. This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the export of medicinal plants listed in this Circular.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. The main project agency for precious medicinal plants is the Ministry of Health.

Article 2. Applicability

2. The program management agency for precious medicinal plants is the People's Committee of the province where the precious medicinal plant project is implemented.

3. The project management agency for precious medicinal plants is the agency assigned by the People's Committee of the province to manage funds for supporting the precious medicinal plant project.

5. The medicinal plant value chain linkage is a collaboration based on written agreements between the lead entity of the linkage and the linkage members in organizing the implementation of one, several, or all stages from supplying inputs, services, germplasm conservation, seed selection, cultivation, harvesting, initial processing, processing, production, storage, and sales of medicinal plants.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

6. The lead entity of the medicinal plant project linkage is an enterprise, cooperative, or cooperative union proposing the project and cooperation plan to collaborate with individuals, community groups, and cooperatives to implement the precious medicinal plant project in particularly difficult areas in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, employing at least 50% of the total workforce as ethnic minorities.

7. The members of the medicinal plant project linkage are other enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions, households, and production and business establishments operating in particularly difficult areas in ethnic minority and mountainous regions, employing at least 50% of the workforce as ethnic minorities participating in the project.

3. The project management agency for precious medicinal materials is the entity entrusted with capital by the People's Committee of the province to carry out activities supporting the precious medicinal material project.

4. The investment and support development project for precious medicinal material cultivation areas (hereinafter referred to as the precious medicinal material project) is a value chain linkage project for medicinal materials including the Precious Medicinal Material Cultivation Area Project and the Seedling Breeding, Conservation, and Development Center Project applying high technology (hereinafter referred to as the Seedling Breeding Center Project).

5. Value chain linkage for medicinal materials is a linkage carried out on the basis of written cooperation between the main coordinating unit and the linkage members in organizing the implementation of one, several, or all stages from supplying inputs, services, genetic resource conservation, seed selection, cultivation, harvesting, initial processing, processing, production, storage linked with the consumption of medicinal materials.

6. The main coordinating unit for the precious medicinal material project linkage is a business enterprise, cooperative, or cooperative federation proposing the project and cooperation plan to collaborate with individuals, community groups, and cooperatives to implement the precious medicinal material project operating in particularly difficult areas inhabited by ethnic minorities and mountainous regions, employing at least 50% of the total workforce as ethnic minority people.

7. The linkage members of the precious medicinal material project are other businesses, cooperatives, cooperative federations, households, and production and business establishments operating in particularly difficult areas inhabited by ethnic minorities and mountainous regions, employing a minimum of 50% of the workforce as ethnic minority people participating in the project.

Article 4. Principles in managing and organizing the implementation of precious medicinal plant projects

1. Ensuring compliance with the principles for managing and organizing the implementation of national target programs as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 27/2022/ND-CP dated April 19, 2022 of the Government on mechanisms for managing and organizing the implementation of national target programs (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 27/2022/ND-CP) and relevant laws concerning the cultivation, management, and exploitation of medicinal plants.

2. Developing precious medicinal plant projects must be linked to the conservation of medicinal plant genetic resources, ensuring management processes and quality standards.

3. Precious medicinal plant projects implemented on forest land must ensure the combination of forest protection and sustainable development in accordance with the provisions of the law.

4. Priority shall be given to selecting projects that employ more than 50% female labor, high-tech application projects, and projects receiving capital contributions through land use rights from households and individuals residing in the project implementation area to form raw material zones.

Article 5. Publicizing information and retaining results of the implementation of precious medicinal plant projects

1. Information about the implementation of precious medicinal plant projects shall be publicized in accordance with the provisions of Article 29 of Decree No. 27/2022/ND-CP and other relevant laws.

2. The publicizing of information about precious medicinal plant projects includes the following information:

a) Information about the precious medicinal plant project including: Name, objectives, content, products, list of eligible beneficiaries, lead coordinating unit, participating members, implementation period, total investment amount, investment level of production and business units participating in the project, summary of project implementation results, which shall be publicly announced on the electronic information website of the Precious Medicinal Plant Project Management Agency, the main program management agency, and the component project management agency, or on other mass media in accordance with current regulations.

b) The dissemination of project implementation results shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Press and Clause 2 of Article 4 of Circular No. 15/2022/TT-BTC dated March 4, 2022 of the Minister of Finance on the management and use of state budget funds for the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the period 2021-2030, Phase I: from 2021 to 2025 (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 15/2022/TT-BTC).

c) Localities implementing the project, the lead coordinating unit of the precious medicinal plant project, and organizations supporting technology applications shall be responsible for disseminating, popularizing, and expanding the results of the project's implementation.

3. Retaining the results of the implementation of precious medicinal plant projects shall be carried out in accordance with the law on archives.

Chapter II

GUIDELINES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRECIOUS MEDICINAL PLANTS

Article 6. Locations for Implementing Precious Medicinal Plant Projects

The locations for implementing precious medicinal plant projects must meet the following criteria:

4. For projects proposing to implement the planting and development of Vietnamese Ginseng, the altitude must be 1,000 meters or higher above sea level.

1. The total area for implementing the project to cultivate precious medicinal herbs must be at least 210 hectares, including areas for cultivating precious medicinal herbs, factory zones, preservation facilities, infrastructure for waste treatment, transportation, electricity, and water within the project's perimeter. Priority will be given to projects developing cultivation areas with 30 hectares applying high technology.

2. The total area for implementing the High-Tech Seedling Breeding Center project must be at least 50 hectares, including areas for conservation, gene storage, mother plants, original seeds, research and selection, testing, production of original seeds, commercial seed production, infrastructure, transportation, electricity, and water within the project's perimeter.

The selection of medicinal herbs for implementation of the precious medicinal herbs project must meet the following requirements:

1. They must be listed in the catalog of medicinal herbs with high medical and economic value as stipulated in Decision No. 3657/QĐ-BYT dated August 20, 2019 issued by the Minister of Health on the issuance of the list of 100 medicinal herbs with high medical and economic value for focused development during the period from 2020 to 2030.

2. They must be suitable for growth conditions in the locality, yielding high productivity and quality.

3. Priority should be given to the conservation and development of local precious medicinal herbs species listed under the category of rare, unique medicinal herbs according to regulations of the Ministry of Health.

Article 9. Technical Standards

1. Medicinal herbs cultivated must comply with good agricultural practices for cultivation, harvesting, and natural resource extraction as specified in Circular No. 19/2019/TT-BYT dated July 30, 2019 issued by the Minister of Health on Good Agricultural Practices for Cultivation, Harvesting of Medicinal Herbs and Principles and Standards for Natural Resource Extraction.

2. Processing and manufacturing facilities for medicinal herbs must comply with good manufacturing practices for drugs and drug ingredients as stipulated in Circular No. 35/2018/TT-BYT dated November 22, 2018 issued by the Minister of Health on Good Manufacturing Practices for Drugs and Drug Ingredients.

3. Preservation facilities for medicinal herbs must comply with good storage practices for medicinal herbs and traditional medicines as specified in Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BYT dated November 22, 2018 issued by the Minister of Health on Good Storage Practices for Drugs and Drug Ingredients.

4. A high-tech precious medicinal herbs project is a project that meets the criteria set forth in Decision No. 34/2019/QĐ-TTg dated December 18, 2019 of

Chapter III

GUIDELINES FOR APPROVAL OF PROJECTS, TOTAL INVESTMENT AMOUNT, AND LOAN SCHEMES OF ENTERPRISES PARTICIPATING IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRECIOUS MEDICINAL HERBS PROJECTS

Article 10. Sample Application Forms, Selection Process, and Content of Approval Decisions for Precious Medicinal Herbs Projects

1. This Circular annexes sample application forms for selecting projects. The managing agency of the program may refer to these forms provided in the appendices of this Circular to submit to the Provincial People's Council for decision-making on issuing sample application forms and procedures for selecting precious medicinal herbs projects in accordance with regulations.

2. The process of selecting precious medicinal herbs projects shall be carried out in accordance with points a, b, and c of Clause 3, Article 21 of Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP.

3. The content of approval decisions for precious medicinal herbs projects must include the contents stipulated in point d of Clause 3, Article 21 of Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP, supplemented with a list of eligible beneficiaries for investment and support policies for developing precious medicinal herb cultivation areas as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 38 of Decree No. 28/2022/NĐ-CP dated April 26, 2022 of the Government on preferential credit policies for implementing the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas from 2021 to 2030, Phase I: 2021-2025 (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 28/2022/NĐ-CP), serving as the basis for the Social Policy Bank to provide loans within its authority.

Article 11. Total investment amount for the project and investment level of production and business establishments participating in the precious medicinal herbs project

1. The total investment amount for the precious medicinal herbs project is the sum of all sources of capital mobilized to implement the contents of the project, including: state budget capital, capital of production and business establishments (capital of the leading entity in the linkage, capital of other members in the linkage), preferential credit capital, and other lawful sources of capital.

2. The investment level of production and business establishments participating in the precious medicinal herbs project is the source of capital of such establishments mobilized to implement the contents they have committed to jointly carry out within the project.

Article 12. Principles, conditions, contents, levels of support, and methods of support from state budget capital for the precious medicinal herbs project

1. The management principles for supporting activities of the precious medicinal herbs project shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP.

2. The precious medicinal herbs project supported by state budget capital must meet the support conditions stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 21 of Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP.

3. Production and business establishments implementing the project shall base their requests for support on the guidance provided by each locality, as follows:

a) Support for infrastructure construction in raw material areas, prioritizing support for projects receiving contributions in the form of land use rights from households and individuals residing in the project implementation area to establish raw material areas.

b) Support for investment in high-tech cultivation zones and regions for medicinal herbs to build infrastructure, equipment, and environmental treatment systems.

c) Support for infrastructure construction, road connections meeting mountainous region Class V standards, power supply systems, and water supply and drainage systems to serve the development of raw material areas.

đ) Support for investment costs to construct preservation facilities for precious medicinal herbs including drying, irradiation, sterilization, freezing, biological preservation, infrastructure for transportation, electricity, water supply, waste treatment, workshops, and equipment.

e) Support enterprises directly training workers locally.

g) Support advertising costs, building brand names for national and provincial key products.

h) Support costs for implementing research topics, purchasing technology copyrights, purchasing technology or purchasing research results and technological development outcomes to create new products, improve technology, reduce environmental pollution, save raw materials, fuel, and energy.

i) Support costs for transferring and applying new science and technology, adopting synchronized technical processes and quality management throughout the chain.

k) Support for seeds, materials, packaging, and product labels up to a maximum of three crop cycles or three production cycles.

l) The State supports production costs for original seeds and commercial seed production costs for projects of High-Tech Seed Multiplication Centers.

4. Levels of support and methods of support for implementing the precious medicinal herbs project from state budget capital shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 5 of Article 21 of Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP.

Article 13. Preferential Credit Policy

1. The preferential credit policy for precious medicinal plant projects shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions from Article 26 to Article 31 of Decree No. 28/2022/NĐ-CP.

2. The loan schemes, loan application documents, and procedures for preferential credit loans for each project and production and business entities participating in the projects shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Social Policy Bank and other credit regulations.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVE PROVISIONS

1. The Ministry of Health (Traditional Medicine Management Department) shall be responsible for:

a) Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant units to organize the dissemination, promotion, and implementation of this Circular.

b) Fulfilling the responsibilities of the main project agency for precious medicinal plants as stipulated in Article 37 of Decree No. 27/2022/NĐ-CP.

c) Supervising and evaluating the implementation of precious medicinal plant projects under the investment support development program for precious medicinal plants as prescribed in Circular No. 01/2022/TT-UBDT dated May 26, 2022 issued by the Minister and Head of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities on the procedures for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the period 2021-2030; Phase I: from 2021 to 2025.

d) Implementing and supporting precious medicinal plant projects to apply information technology in building a traceable value chain for precious medicinal materials and traditional medical products, promoting trade for socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas.

đ) Organizing training and enhancing professional skills related to the implementation of precious medicinal plant content and disseminating information about precious medicinal plants as prescribed.

2. The Institute of Medicinal Materials shall be responsible for guiding and supporting localities in researching, surveying, evaluating, developing, and perfecting plans for planting precious medicinal plants and implementing the Seedling Breeding, Conservation, and Development Center for Medicinal Plants using advanced technology.

3. The leading unit shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing the full implementation of all contractual commitments; ensuring infrastructure, human resources, and funding (from allocated budget and non-budget funds) to implement the project.

b) Managing the project's funding and settling accounts according to regulations; being responsible for managing and using the project's funding, materials, assets, and products in accordance with current regulations.

c) Organizing the procurement of materials and equipment in accordance with the Public Procurement Law and other related documents.

d) Reporting progress every six months as required or at any time upon request of relevant agencies, organizing the acceptance of the project model.

đ) Urging, inspecting, and evaluating the implementation of the project, reporting progress every six months as required, and organizing the acceptance of the project model.

e) Reporting in writing to the People's Committees of districts and provinces about issues arising that affect the implementation of the project and proposing solutions.

g) Reporting in writing to the main management agency of the precious medicinal plant program through the project management agency (hard copy and electronic PDF without security settings).

h) Developing plans and expanding the results of the project.

4. The linked members shall be responsible for:

a) Cooperating with the leading unit to propose the implementation of the project.

b) Fully implementing all contractual commitments, ensuring infrastructure, human resources, and funding (from allocated budget and non-budget funds) to implement the project.

c) Reporting progress every six months as required or at any time upon request of relevant agencies, organizing the acceptance of the project model.

d) Reporting in writing to the leading unit about issues arising that affect the implementation of the project and proposing solutions.

đ) Reporting in writing to the leading unit about the progress of implementing the main management agency of the precious medicinal plant program, summarizing the implementation of the project through the project management agency (hard copy and electronic PDF without security settings).

e) Managing the financial, assets, and products of the project in accordance with current regulations.

Article 15. Reference Provisions

In case the referenced documents in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the provisions of the new documents.

Article 16. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to report to the Ministry of Health (Traditional Medicine Management Department) for research and appropriate amendments and supplements.