Previously, the company also implemented linkages with farmers in the form of signing contracts with each household, but this approach proved not to be effective because the households’ tea growing areas were small and fragmented, making it difficult for the management work. Now, the company has established safe tea production teams in groups of households with tea growing areas close to each other, while signing off-take agreements for the entire fresh tea bud products produced by the safe production teams. In addition, the company offers instructions for farmers concerning the tea cultivating and picking process, and arranges its staff to do agricultural extension work in the safe tea production teams.

Director of My Lam Tea Joint Stock Company Le Quang Chuyen and members of the Quyet Thang safe tea production team inspect the spring tea crop.

Participation in linkage teams has helped to promote the community and created solidarity between the team members. This method has also worked to increase labour productivity and expand the output by 6-8% per year, with stable consumption markets and prices.

The ‘safe tea production team’ model has brought benefits to both farmers and the enterprise. The tea products ensure food safety under EU standards, thus increasing the selling price of finished tea, reducing production costs, and ensuring and expanding the consumption markets. In addition, the businesses’ investment costs are low as they do not have to rent land, buy land or invest in planting new tea, while increasing transparency and building a collective supervision mechanism.