"Farmers, especially the poor ones, have no access to high-quality chains like supermarkets or shops," said Pham Cong Nghiep from the Centre for Agrarian Systems Research and Development (CIRAD).

The seminar is part of a new programme being implemented over the next two years in Viet Nam and Laos to find ways of developing long-lasting partnerships between farmers and large grocery chains to benefit both growers and consumers.

Experts in the field will be hired to broker fair deals with large super chains for farmers while teaching them about food safety standards.

"The most important thing is to support farmers to decide on different marketing options to reach new demand for vegetable safety, in particular various forms of farmers’ organisation and contractual arrangements in selected areas," said Paule Moustier, CIRAD’s Food Market Researcher and project head.

According to research from the Markets and Agriculture Linkages for Cities of Asia Group, grocery stores supply under 5 per cent of all food for residents in Ha Noi and HCM City despite their large annual growth of 14 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

This means many are short on supplies and charge much more for products they import.

The project is being funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and co-ordinated by CIRAD along with the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development and Nabong University in Laos.

The project is in the final planning stages and is ready to research ideas on Vietnamese products that should be made available to the public in supermarkets, which include Hoa Vang sticky rice from Hai Duong Province, beef from Cao Bang Province and high-quality vegetables from Ha Tay Province.