Intercropping fruit trees on sloping land, changing people's farming habits that overuse chemical fertilizers and pesticides to go further than to develop sustainable fruit tree material areas to adapt to climate change (CC) is one of the many goals that the project "Mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the agriculture and forestry sector of the Northwestern highlands" is aiming for. Besides that, the connection of long-term and sustainable links between raw material areas also needs to be done synchronously starting from the departments, companies, cooperatives and community groups to ensure uniformity in the process of growing, tending, harvesting, preliminary processing/processing, preservation and distribution of quality products to domestic and foreign consumers.

 In order to continue to implement the above long-term goals in project activities, SRD has worked together with the National Agricultural Extension Center and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Son La province to organize the forum "Solutions for sustainable connection development in fruit growing areas in the northern mountainous provinces” on the 2^nd and 3^rd of August 2022 in Son La city, Son La province. Attending the forum were 220 delegates from 7 central agencies including the National Agricultural Extension Center, Department of Crop Production, Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development, Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development, Fruit & Vegetable Research Institute, and Plant Protection Research Institute. In addition, there were delegates from 5 provinces: Son La, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, and Bac Giang, together with 5 enterprises and cooperatives such as Dong Giao Company, Ara Tay Coffee Cooperative, Phuong Nam Agricultural Cooperative, Bao Sam Agricultural Service Cooperative. To write articles, record and report news on the forum, 9 media from the central to local levels were present, such as VTV, National Assembly Television, Vietnam News Agency, and other newspapers and television stations of Son La province and Thuan Chau district. The delegations attending the forum of SRD’s project consisted of 30 people, including representatives of Thuan Chau District People's Committee, 4 project communes and representatives of people in participating villages.

 The main purpose of the forum is to share and discuss among regulators, specialized agencies, companies, cooperatives and people in the northern mountainous provinces about the implementation of models, fruit products made on sloping land, in conditions of adaptation to the adverse conditions caused by climate change, both achieving the goals of economic development and ensuring the preservation and restoration of soil, water and air in cultivated areas.

 Before the forum took place, the delegates had visited 02 models of fruit trees, namely late ripening logan and blackcurrant in Mai Son district, Son La province. The visit has helped the delegates to have a better view of the chain of links in cultivation, care, harvesting, preliminary processing/processing and consumption of products between members of the cooperatives with other companies and enterprises in Son La province as well as in big cities like Hanoi.

 While participating in the forum, SRD  has shared about the model "Farming techniques of coffee intercropping with plums to improve the economic efficiency of plums and coffee, and improve the environment to adapt to climate change in Thuan Chau district, Son La province”. Besides the presentation of SRD, there were several other topics such as Building and developing raw material areas for fruit trees; Mechanisms and policies to support agricultural development in the fruit tree material areas of the northern mountainous provinces; The issue of linking production and consumption between enterprises and farmers; The issue of expanding markets, promoting trade and supporting the development of agricultural logistics.

 In the discussion after the sharing sessions, the delegates had more than 40 questions to the forum's advisory board, mainly focusing on policies, mechanisms and solutions for the sustainable development of raw materials areas for fruit trees, especially in high-slope farming areas. The questions also revolved around trade promotion, the preservation, processing, and consumption of agricultural products for people and cooperatives; policies to support cooperative groups and cooperatives when participating in the production chain; building planting areas, and area codes for growing fruit trees for long-term export.

 SRD's participation in similar forums will contribute to bringing the results and voices from specific models of SRD's projects to support people, regulators, as well as companies and businesses to gradually link and establish production and consumption chains.