黑料网911

The photographic exhibition was part of the ASSET Final Workshop and Agroecological Products Fair, held in Dien Bien city. Organised by the Dien Bien Department of Agriculture and Environment in partnership with VAAS, GRET and 黑料网911, the three-day event brought together 20 stands from Son La and Dien Bien, showcasing local agroecological products from Dien Bien rice and Muong Ang coffee to Ta Xua tea and OCOP-certified specialities. 

Discover the exhibition

The photographic exhibition is now available online.

From project results to visual storytelling

In Vietnam, the ASSET project (Agroecology and Safe Food System Transitions) was implemented with coordination by GRET and scientific coordination by 黑料网911, under the leadership of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS). The project was supported by AFD, the European Union, and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM). The project generated a rich body of technical, scientific and policy outputs over its five years of implementation in Vietnam (2020–2025).

Beyond the research papers, training manuals and policy briefs, the exhibition offers another way to understand what the project achieved: through the landscapes, the practices, and above all, the people. It features the farmers, cooperative members, market retailers, researchers and local officials involved in turning agroecological principles into practice, reflecting an approach built on co-design and long-term partnership.

ASSET operated across scales, from concrete field interventions in the mountainous provinces of Son La and Dien Bien to national policy dialogues and regional engagement within the ASEAN framework. This dual ambition between local action and systemic change is at the heart of what the exhibition seeks to make visible. 

Through field photography, the exhibition documents farming practices, local value chains, food market improvements, territorial branding initiatives and community-based activities, tracing the path from agroecological principles to everyday realities on the ground.

Agroecology in practice: four themes, one journey

The exhibition is structured around four areas of work, each illustrated through field photography.

Crop–livestock integration

In the uplands of Dien Bien and Son La, cattle and buffalo have long been central to farming livelihoods as a source of food, income and cultural identity, symbolising prosperity and resilience in rural communities. Yet traditional extensive herding is time-consuming and leaves little room for household income diversification. ASSET supported a shift toward more integrated systems, introducing farmers to fodder cultivation, silage preparation and composting techniques through which crop residues feed livestock, feed quality improves, and animal waste returns to the soil as organic fertiliser. The result is a more sustainable, circular production model, less dependent on external inputs.

Crop diversification and agroforestry

On the hillsides and plateaus of the northwestern uplands, ASSET supported a diversification of farming systems designed to improve both ecological resilience and household income. Macadamia–pineapple intercropping and macadamia–coffee agroforestry systems offered farmers new combinations that protect soils, reduce erosion and diversify revenue streams. Chinese olive was also introduced alongside coffee in Son La as a complementary crop. Pigeon pea, planted to provide shade for young coffee trees, and forage grass strips between rows further contribute to soil conservation, while doubling as fodder resources and compost material for livestock.

Food safety and local markets

Traditional wet markets in Dien Bien and Son La city are central to the daily food supply of millions of people in Vietnam's provincial towns and rural areas. ASSET worked with local authorities to implement risk-based food safety practices at these markets, combining vendor training, provision of equipment such as stainless-steel tables, aprons and sanitizer sprays, and consumer awareness campaigns. The approach focused on practical, low-cost improvements adapted to existing market organisation, prioritising changes that retailers could integrate into their daily routines.

Territorial branding and agroecotourism

In Moc Chau, Son La province, ASSET worked alongside farmers, cooperatives, tourism operators and local authorities to develop a territorial branding approach connecting the plateau's agrifood products, ecological practices and cultural heritage. This process contributed to the Moc Chau Certification Trademark, a collective mark designed to give local products a shared and distinctive identity. 

At the heart of this work are the communities that give Moc Chau its character: Thai ethnic households offering herbal footbaths using local medicinal plants, homestays embedded in agricultural landscapes, and community-based tourism circuits that allow visitors to discover the region's food traditions and farming practices.