Dung and Ngoc Anh begin harvesting the very first ripe cherries, expecting a bountiful and fruitful season ahead.

Occupational safety and health

Growing together on the path to sustainable coffee farming in Viet Nam

In the heart of Viet Nam’s coffee-growing region, smallholder farmers work tirelessly to cultivate one of the world’s most beloved crops. But it’s not just the coffee plants that need nurturing—farmers are learning, through programmes led by the ILO and Nestlé, how protecting their own health and safety is key to ensuring a sustainable future.

10 February 2025

Buon Ma Thuot, VIET NAM (ILO News) - The soft mist of dawn blankets the highlands of Buon Ma Thuot as Van Thi My Dung and her husband, Do Ngoc Anh, begin their daily ritual. Their farm hums with the scent of ripe coffee cherries, the rustle of leaves, and the steady beat of hard work—a life they’ve devoted themselves to for decades.

"Our day normally starts at dawn," Dung shares, her voice filled with the warmth of early morning. "During planting season, we prepare the soil and plant new coffee seedlings. The rich, volcanic soil of Buon Ma Thuot highland is perfect for nurturing plants. In the growing season, we spend our days watering the plants, applying fertilizers, and managing pests. Harvest season is the busiest, with long hours spent picking and processing coffee cherries. It's exhausting but it is our main source of income."

This routine has been a part of the couple’s lives since the 1990s, when they first started their coffee farm. Their farm, nestled in the lush highlands of Buon Ma Thuot, spans over 10 hectares. The landscape is a patchwork of vibrant green coffee and pepper plants as intercropping, which adds diversity to their farm and helps optimise the use of their land.

Reminiscing the start to their farm, the couple shares how there early years were marked by blistered hands, aching shoulders and a lack of modern equipment or knowledge. "Every task was labour-intensive and time-consuming," he shares. "We faced numerous challenges, including threats to our health and safety. The terrain here is very steep, making it impossible to use machinery for harvesting or transport. In the past, we had to carry heavy bags of coffee on our shoulders after picking. It was exhausting and dangerous."

Nestlé's training sessions have been invaluable to Dung and Ngoc Anh, boosting their productivity and coffee quality.

Starting out with only knowledge passed down from predecessors, the couple was initially unsure of how to improve their farming methods to meet high standards and ensure safety. Everything changed in 2014 when they joined the Nescafé Plan Program. This programme equipped them with sustainable cultivation such as balance fertilizer applied, pest and disease management, savings water, soil conservation, leading to better yields and higher quality.

As their coffee-growing journey progressed, they also became aware of the importance of ensuring their own safety and health while working on the coffee farm. This focus on safety has attracted attention from European coffee importers. Like Dung and Ngoc Anh, many farm owners in Nestlé's network received training on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). These trainings, part of the ILO Vision Zero Fund and Nestlé partnership, help farmers identify risks and implement cost-effective safety measures, guided by the WIND[1] training manual.

"After joining the training program by the ILO and Nestlé, I've become much more aware of the occupational risks in my daily coffee-growing work. I've learned that by taking simple precautions, we farmers can avoid many dangerous accidents. For example, installing guards around hazardous machinery can help protect the operators better.", shares Ngoc Anh.

Dung and Ngoc Anh’s tractor with reflective stickers applied to alert people at night or on cloudy days.

Not content with just improving their own farm, Dung and Ngoc Anh went a step further by sharing the WIND training with other farmers in the Nestlé system. Using leaflets and booklets from the ILO and Nestlé, they organized mini training sessions to show people the advantages of ensuring health and safety at work. Looking at her husband proudly introduce simple yet effective improvements that he had made, Dung smiled and shared, "He loves going to training courses and then sharing what he learns with others. After coming back from the OSH training in June for Nestlé’s lead farmers, he made many improvements and encouraged others to do the same. Like, he put reflective tape on our tractor to prevent accidents and even helped our neighbours do it too. Everyone really appreciates his enthusiasm."

In addition to enhancing Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), the partnership programme between the ILO and Nestlé is dedicated to equipping farmers with the knowledge and practices necessary for productive and sustainable coffee production in Viet Nam. By strongly emphasizing the creation of decent working conditions in line with the ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW), the programme supports farmers to be able to work in safe, fair, and dignified environments. With the ILO's technical expertise and Nestlé's commitment, coffee farmers can develop safer, more efficient farms. This collaboration exemplifies how strategic partnerships can lead to significant improvements in agricultural practices, fostering a brighter, more sustainable future for Viet Nam's coffee industry.

[1] Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development (WIND) training manual is a product of the ILO, it was designed to help small-scale farmers, and their families improve safety and health in their work and their daily lives.