Improving OSH and social conditions for women and men in coffee farmer communities in Vietnam – a Vision Zero Fund project

Background

Vietnam’s coffee sector, dominated by smallholder farms in the Central Highlands, provides livelihoods for over 1.4 million workers with 44% of them women. Despite its economic importance, the sector faces persistent challenges: unsafe working conditions, informal employment, gender inequality, and increasing climate-related risks.

Many workers lack awareness of their rights under national labour and OSH laws, and women’s occupational safety needs are often overlooked. Rising temperatures and water scarcity are further straining productivity and health. The sector’s sustainability is also shaped by growing expectations to comply with national legal frameworks and emerging due diligence laws. Addressing these gaps is essential to ensure safer, more equitable, and resilient coffee supply chains.

This initiative builds on the successful ILO–Nestlé partnership implemented in Viet Nam from 2021 to 2023, which generated valuable insights and good practices. It responds to the ongoing need to improve working conditions and foster inclusive development in the country’s coffee-growing communities.

Project objectives

As part of a regional initiative in Indonesia and Viet Nam to promote safer and fairer working conditions in coffee supply chains, the project in Viet Nam focuses on strengthening occupational safety and health (OSH), raising awareness of labour law, expanding access to social protection, and advancing gender equality for workers in the informal economy. Through these efforts, the project supports national priorities to foster a preventative OSH culture and enhance compliance in agriculture, as set out in Viet Nam’s Decent Work Country Programme (2022–2026).

Project focus and key results

Targeting trainers and advisers from the Nestlé agri-services team, lead farmers, including members of the Farmers’ Union, Women’s Union, and agricultural extension workers, and coffee workers in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, particularly women and informal economy workers, the project seeks to address persistent gaps in creating safe, inclusive, and sustainable working environments across the coffee supply chain. In Viet Nam, key expected results include:

• Capacity of local trainers, lead farmers, and advisers to deliver OSH and labour law training to coffee farmers strengthened.
• Knowledge and awareness of safe working practices, labour rights, and social protection among coffee farmers and workers increased.
• Gender-responsive approaches to OSH and workplace improvements integrated into training and community-level initiatives.
• Concrete improvements in working conditions on farms and collection points implemented and documented.
• Data and insights from the coffee sector used to inform national policy development, including the revision of Vietnam’s OSH law.
• Sustainable training systems established through the development of master trainers and integration into existing farmer support programmes.