Directive No. 644-TTg on management of production, business operations, and quality of microbial fertilizers

 DIRECTIVE

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTION, BUSINESS AND QUALITY OF BIOFERTILIZERS

To move towards a "clean agriculture," maintaining fertile soil, it is necessary to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides reasonably. Based on abundant resources of clay and phosphates in our country, we should encourage the use of these materials as bases and additives to develop the production of biofertilizers and microbial products, gradually replacing chemical fertilizers in agriculture with the global trend. Currently, the production of biofertilizers is still at a small scale, scattered, and the production technology is not advanced, failing to meet the increasing demand of agricultural production. At the same time, the domestic and foreign trade of biofertilizers has not been strictly managed. Therefore, while some types of biofertilizers meet quality standards and production needs, there are still substandard biofertilizers and fake ones in different regions, causing losses for farmers and negatively impacting soil fertility and the ecological environment.

To regulate the production, business, including importation of biofertilizers and microbial products according to:

- The Ordinance on Product Quality dated December 27, 1990.

- The Ordinance on Transfer of Foreign Technology to Vietnam dated December 5, 1988.

- Decree No. 327-HĐBT dated October 19, 1991 on the implementation of the Ordinance on Product Quality.

- Decree No. 49-HĐBT dated March 4, 1991 detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Transfer of Foreign Technology to Vietnam.

The Prime Minister instructs relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to immediately implement the following tasks:

1- The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology, based on international standards and specific conditions in Vietnam, to establish standards for domestically produced and imported biofertilizers and microbial products. State management agencies shall use these standards as a basis for inspection, supervision, and issuance of permits for importing, producing, and trading biofertilizers and microbial products. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment must complete this standard-setting work by December 1994.

2- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (plant and animal quarantine agencies), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (National Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control Administration), the Ministry of Trade, and the General Department of Customs (customs offices) must cooperate closely to inspect and supervise the importation of biofertilizers and microbial products according to the national standards established by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.

Only those imported biofertilizers and microbial products that have been tested and concluded safe for humans and the environment by competent authorities shall be allowed to be used in Vietnam.

3- The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and related sectors shall regularly monitor the quality of biofertilizers and microbial products from production facilities to ensure that farmers receive biofertilizers and microbial products that comply with established standards. Strictly handle organizations and individuals who produce and trade biofertilizers and microbial products without adhering to state regulations on quality standards.

4- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, and the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology to guide production facilities to immediately conduct trials and evaluations of currently produced and traded biofertilizers in Vietnam in the following aspects:

- Composition of biofertilizers and microbial products.

- Effectiveness of these fertilizers on crop yields, quality, and soil fertility.

- Impact of these fertilizers on humans, water sources, and the ecological environment.

The trial costs will be partially covered by the state budget allocated annually to the relevant sectors, with the remaining portion to be borne by the production facilities according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

5- The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Heavy Industry, and the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology to establish guidelines for evaluating the technological level of biofertilizer and microbial product production to formulate appropriate investment policies, gradually introducing advanced technology into biofertilizer production to serve agricultural production. Based on these guidelines, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment will register production technologies and product trademarks of biofertilizer and microbial product production facilities, considering them as one of the bases for reviewing permits for production and trading, and registering product quality for these facilities.

6- The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to issue guidelines for the review and approval of technology transfer contracts for new products first produced in Vietnam. Based on these guidelines, local state management agencies shall closely monitor technology transfer contracts for biofertilizer production in their areas, ensuring that biofertilizers meet the prescribed quality standards and have low production costs./.