Innovation never stops at Japfa Vietnam: General Director Clemens Tan

Innovation never stops at Japfa Vietnam: General Director Clemens Tan

Clemens Tan, General Director of Japfa Comfeed Vietnam (Japfa Việt Nam), shares about the role of innovation and sustainable development as Việt Nam’s livestock industry moves towards a more modern, integrated and responsible future.

Japfa, a leading pan-Asian industrial agri-food company, has marked 30 years of growth and development in Việt Nam. Clemens Tan, General Director of Japfa Comfeed Vietnam Limited Company (Japfa Vietnam), discusses the role of innovation and sustainable development as Việt Nam’s livestock industry moves towards a more modern, integrated and responsible future.

Clemens Tan, General Director of Japfa Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the company

Looking back on Japfa Vietnam’s 30-year journey, the company is now one of the pioneers in developing a fully integrated Feed-Farm-Food value chain in Việt Nam. What has been Japfa’s key strength in overcoming market volatility, disease outbreaks and major transformations in the livestock industry?

My answer has always been very clear: because we never stop innovating.

For Japfa, innovation is not a communication slogan. It is the way we operate every single day in our factories, on our farms and in every management decision we make.

We believe innovation and sustainable development will not only drive more effective production solutions and long-term growth for businesses, farmers and communities, but also help transform Việt Nam’s livestock industry into a more modern, precise and sustainable sector. Japfa’s development direction is also aligned with the Vietnamese Government’s strategy to promote a more modern, large-scale and sustainable livestock industry.

Japfa is strongly promoting large-scale farms and automation. Some people are concerned that this could push small farmers out of the value chain. What are your views on this?

I believe large-scale operations and automation are essential to improving productivity, enhancing product quality and strengthening disease control and food safety. This direction is also encouraged by the Vietnamese Government under the livestock development strategy for 2021–2030, with a vision to 2045, which promotes a more industrialised, modern, value-chain-based livestock sector that ensures biosecurity, disease safety and environmental sustainability.

For Japfa, farmers are strategic partners and a vital link in our integrated Feed-Farm-Food value chain. Today, we work with around 1,400 partner farms across Việt Nam, building a new livestock farming model that provides farmers with more stable income, lower risks and access to a more transparent and modern value chain.

I firmly believe that automation will help farmers do less manual work while achieving better results. By improving efficiency, automation can help farmers become more productive and prosperous, but not replace them.

Moreover, we are entering a new phase of growth by enhancing its operations and delivering the Japfa Total Solutions approach. Beyond providing high-quality breeding stock, we offer technical expertise, market insights, and comprehensive support to help farmers achieve better production outcomes.

Clemens Tan, General Director of Japfa Vietnam, speaks at the company’s 30th anniversary celebration. Photo courtesy of the company

As you mentioned, Japfa Total Solutions integrates technology and expertise across the company’s entire value chain. Is this the solution that will help Japfa stay ahead of market challenges and prepare for its next chapter of growth?

With today’s market situation becoming more competitive and more regulated, and with consumers demanding higher quality, I believe Japfa Total Solution is a strong ecosystem that integrates feed, farm and food.

Through this solution, we are better able to control quality across the entire value chain and provide safe food for our consumers. Food safety is one of the issues that Vietnamese consumers care deeply about today, and Japfa Total Solution allows us to respond to that concern in a more complete and responsible way.

We believe that when feed, farm and food are managed as one ecosystem, we can strengthen traceability, improve standards and ensure that quality is controlled from the first stage of production to the final product. This is how we believe Japfa can create long-term value for consumers, farmers and the livestock industry as a whole.

Chick quality is continuously enhanced through the integration of innovative technological solutions. Photo courtesy of the company

With disease outbreaks, fluctuating raw material prices and ESG pressure from international markets, the livestock industry is facing multiple risks simultaneously. What worries you most in the next three to five years, and how is Japfa preparing?

We have been expecting these changes for a long time and Japfa Vietnam is well prepared to embrace the challenges.

Today, we are moving toward larger-scale farming and implementing systems to ensure that every step of the farming process is properly managed. We understand what is happening on the farms and with the livestock, while also ensuring traceability throughout the value chain.

Việt Nam is entering a critical phase of transformation in agriculture and animal husbandry. The national livestock development strategy toward 2030 envisions large-scale farming models contributing the majority of production output. Export markets are also demanding greater traceability and transparency across the value chain. Japfa Vietnam is not standing outside of this transformation; we choose to move with it and help lead it.

In Việt Nam, we have completed life cycle assessments for our entire poultry and swine value chains, not simply for ESG reporting purposes, but to better understand where meaningful improvements must be made to reduce environmental impact. At Japfa Vietnam, we believe growth must always go hand in hand with responsibility and sustainable development.

But for us, sustainability is not only about the environment. It is also about sustaining livelihoods for farmers, rural communities, and the broader agricultural ecosystem. Growth only truly matters when it creates shared prosperity for farmers, for consumers and for Việt Nam.

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