Báo cáo Nghiên cứu khoa học applying gap in production and marketing of some safe and high quality vegetables in nghe an and northern central VietNam

Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Program 236 APPLYING GAP IN PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF SOME SAFE AND HIGH QUALITY VEGETABLES IN NGHE AN AND NORTHERN CENTRAL VIETNAM Project title: Reducing pesticide residues, improving yield, quality and marketing of vegetable crops in Northern Central Vietnam through improved varieties, GAP principles and farmer focused training Project code: CARD 021/06VIE Authors: Pham Hung Cuong1, Pham Van Chuong1, Gordon Rogers2 et al. Project implementing organizations: 1 Agricultural Science Institute for Northern Central Vietnam 2 Applied Horticultural Research Pty. Ltd. (AHR), Australia 1. Introduction The total area in Vietnam used for vegetable production is currently 643,970 ha (Statistical Head Department, 2006) and is a 5% increase over the area of land used for vegetable production in 2001. Of this total vegetable production area, only 22,000 ha or 5% are grown using safe vegetable production practices. Vegetable growing in Vietnam is an important source of income for the country and accounts for 9% of the total cropping income including rice. The major vegetables produced in Vietnam are KangKong, brassica’s (cabbage, pak choi & kohlrabi) and various cucurbits including melons and cucumbers (Anh, Ali et al. 2004). According to the Statistical Bureau of Nghe An, vegetable growing areas of the province is 24,374 ha in 2008 which increased 31.4% compared with 2005, however, safe vegetable growing area is only 8.6%. (Statistical Bureau of Nghe An in 2008; Science and Technology Department of Nghe An, 2009). One of critical reasons to restrict the development of vegetable growing in Vietnam is due to residues of plant protection chemical, nitrate and other toxic residues in vegetable products. A recent study has shown that up to 22% of the vegetables consumed in Vietnam may be unsafe to eat because of pesticide residues, heavy metal contamination and high nitrosamine levels. The test of vegetable samples also detected list of residues of banned pesticides (Anh, Ali et al. 2004). Pesticide residues test of the 40 vegetables samples in Nghe An showed that up to 14 tested samples have pesticide residues in exceeding limit (accounting for 35%) with active ingredients are mainly Permethrin and Fipronil (PPD Nghe An. 2007). Despite the considerable amount of pesticide has been used for plant protection, significant proportions of crop yields are lost by pests and diseases e.g. 25% of leafy vegetables, 23% of cucurbits and 32% of brassicas (Anh, Ali et al. 2004). One factor which further complicates the pesticide residue issue, is that constant high humidity (>75%) in many growing areas encourages foliage diseases and fungicide spraying to control these diseases (Anh, Ali et al. 2004). The widespread use of broad-spectrum insecticides also kills beneficial predatory insects and this further encourages the use of pesticides to control insects which were previously controlled by the beneficial, the phenomenon of familiar pesticides of some pests have caused the epidemic in many vegetables areas, variety is not resistant to pest and diseases, ... In addition nitrate content in vegetable products is higher than the allowed limit because the farmers use excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. The second factor is the harvest stage such as temperature management, the exhaust of ethylene, the packed techniques and shipment to the consumer are not considerate, there can be a significant loss of quality of vegetable products in the supply chain, especially in retail. There are significant opportunities to CARD 021/06 VIE – GAP for safe vegetable production and marketing 237 improve the quality of produce reaching consumers and for reducing losses in the supply chain by improving product handling and temperature management. Through the survey in the wholesale markets, vegetables are mainly handled in cane baskets and not cartons or any form of purpose built container designed to support the weight of stacked produce. There is little use of well-established post harvest technologies such as forced-air cooling, refrigerated transport, and cool rooms on farms or at market facilities. There is little attempt to control ethylene emissions around harvested products, which are well known to reduce the quality and storage life of fruits and vegetables. The current handling and marketing system works well if fruit and vegetables are consumed within about 24h of harvest, but it severely limits any development of export markets and retail marketing through stores or supermarkets where a longer shelf life is required and consumers expect to purchase high quality products. The post harvest technology required to improve produce is available. Cultural practices of farmers are inadequate capacity which is limited vegetable productivity, contamination, harmful toxins and consumers are not confident about the safe vegetable in market, and led to reduced income of growers. The GAP manual for fresh produce in the ASEAN region which will be a useful template for the development of a GAP manual for brassica’s and cucurbit crops in Vietnam. Marketing is emerging as a key driver of profitability for small holder vegetable farmers in Vietnam. Low market prices and unstableness was identified as a serious socio- economic constraint to vegetable production. At the same time, there is a trend away from the traditional marketing system of crops being purchased by collectors and sold in traditional wet markets to high quality produce being sold through supermarkets. A range of supermarkets now sell produce including Metro Cash and Carry, BigC, Citimart, CoopMart, Hanoi Minimart, Western Canned Food và Star Bowl, v.v. The future will be for these supermarkets to introduce quality standards and then buy high quality, clean produce direct from farmers who meet the Quality Assurance (QA requirements). From 2007 to 2009 years under the sponsorship of the CARD program and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Agricultural Science Institute of Northern Central Vietnam has conducted research applying good agricultural practices to produce cabbage and watermelon in Nghe An and North Central. The main objective of this study is to apply good agricultural practices to reduce pesticide residues; to help farmers access new markets to sell safe and high quality vegetables; and to increase farmers income through the production of higher yield and better quality of vegetable products. 2. Research contents and methods Synthetic methods including participatory skills are applied in the cultivation of new vegetable varieties which are resistant to pests and diseases; besides monitoring of pest and disease levels regularly in the field will reduce pesticide quantity. Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and the manual practices used in training to support for advanced methods of pest and disease control. The supply chain includes post-harvest technology, sales system, and infrastructure for transportation and storage products. Training course in using common techniques of post-harvest packaging, compiling a handbook of good agricultural practices for cabbage and watermelon relying on ASEAN-GAP and VietGAP will be good models. Growers will be adaptable for the high value retail system through their participation in supplying vegetables to famous supermarkets in Vietnam. Experiments on variety selection, density determination, sowing date and fertilizer were designed by standard method and located at Agricultural Science Institute of Northern Central Vietnam, Vinh, Nghe An. The demonstration of varieties and cultivation techniques in farmer communities is designed by the method of on-farm research. Introducing and evaluating new varieties with good pest and disease resistance, and agronomic characteristics in field trials. Some varieties with good resistant to pest and Pham Hung Cuong, Pham Van Chuong & Gordon Rogers 238 diseases traits were selected from famous seed companies in Asia and Vietnam. The Green Helmet cabbage variety is resistant to rot and black spots and other cabbage varieties. CS202 and CN46 watermelon varieties have many advantages and other watermelon varieties were put to the comparing experiments in Northern central. Semi-production were conducted in farmers' fields thanks to application of good agricultural practice (GAP) and integrated pest management (IPM) to create safe vegetable products and distribute through supermarkets. PRA survey methods and basic survey, the FFS and TOT training courses were implemented based on field experiments. The post-harvest research and sale sectors are applied to consumer products. 3. Research results and discussions 3.1 Selection of suitable varieties for the production and modelling In company with the commercial plantings there were also trials planted at ASINCV (Vinh City) these aim to develop an integrated cultural practices. 3.1.1 Experiments for evaluation of new varieties New cabbage varieties with improved disease resistance and agronomic type are being evaluated at ASINCV, Quynh Luong Commune and the Hung Dong Co-operative. There are 9 varieties in the experiment in winter crop condition of 2007 year. Results are presented in Table 1. The variety SVR11750311 showed the highest yield at 40.1 t/ha, fast growing and good appearance. In the pilot studies, despite the variety Green Helmet variety has lower yields than the control variety but in the large scale of production it was shown to be adaptable to local climate condition and met supermarket’s specifications. It also had are good resistant to some pests and diseases, tolerance to black rot disease especially and attractive medium size heads weighing 1.2 - 1.4 kg. Fig 1. Trial on new cabbage varieties Table 1. Yield and head characteristics of cabbage varieties No Variety name Leaf number Average headweight (kg) Saleablepart (%) Head size (cm) Yield (t/ ha) Outer Inner Whole Trimmed Height Diameter Potential ActualYield 1 BC76 10.3 40.8 1.90 1.30 0.68 15.2 17.7 47.3 34.4 2 SG129 15.4 37.7 1.20 0.76 0.58 11.5 14.4 26.2 19.2 3 SG130 19.5 36.2 1.56 0.94 0.62 13.5 16.2 34.9 24.6 4 Kilaherb 16.4 41.0 1.87 1.00 0.53 13.0 13.7 35.2 26.8 5 Gloria 16.2 41.7 2.00 1.27 0.63 14.9 15.8 42.8 33.6 6 KKcross(control) 13.8 31.3 1.91 1.30 0.68 11.6 18.6 46.8 37.7 7 SVR11750311 16.4 42.7 2.00 1.50 0.75 12.9 20.2 48.6 40.1 8 PS11190 16.0 41.5 1.75 1.20 0.72 12.5 14.5 43.5 32.4 9 Green Helmet(Sakata) 16.4 41.0 1.57 1.00 0.64 13.9 16.7 40.8 35.3 LSDα=0.05 2.84 (Source: Comparison experiment of cabbage varieties in the winter season 2007 in Nghe An province) Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Program 239 One standard experiment of 13 watermelon promising varieties was trailed to compare agronomic traits. The replicated experiments were set up on two sites, Quynh Luong and Hung Dong (Vinh city). Participatory methods have been applied. Farmers and scientists assessed varieties independently, most farmers preferred high yield, good resistance to pests and diseases, but they did not really consider the supermarket specifications and customer preferences. E.g. some farmers selected VN27 and VN38 with large fruit size and high yield. Few farmers selected CS202 and CN46, because their yields were lower than VN27 and VN38, however CS202 and CN46 fruit were of good quality with high Brix (11.6) and fruit characteristics which more closely matched the customers’ preference (See Table 2). After discussion the farmers decided to use CS202 and CN46 varieties for the planned expansion next season. Fig 2. Experiment of new water melon varieties Table 2. Yield and head characteristics of watermelon varieties TT Trait name Variety name / Location Fruit weight (kg) Density (plant ha-1) Potential yield (ton ha-1) Actual yield (ton ha-1) I. Hung Dong 1 HAPPYCN-46 2.6 7400 38.5 29.5 2 SWEET 16 4.2 7400 62.2 35.6 3 WD2503 3.7 7400 54.8 29.2 4 SWEETS ENORITA 2.9 7400 42.9 31.3 5 CS - 202 2.4 7400 40.5 35.1 LSDα=0,05 3.77 II. Quynh Luong 6 VN26 3.47 7400 77.0 66.0 7 VN30 3.12 7400 69.3 66.3 8 VN27 4.09 7400 90.8 90.1 9 VN40 3.22 7400 74.5 71.0 10 VN31 2.85 7400 63.3 58.5 11 VN35 4.34 7400 96.3 73.9 12 VN38 4.77 7400 105.9 95.5 13 VN9 4.68 7400 103. 9 82.1 LSDα=0.05 4.42 Source: Comparison experiment of watermelon varieties in the spring season 2008 in Nghe An province Pham Hung Cuong, Pham Van Chuong & Gordon Rogers 240 3.1.2 Research on farming techniques Trials on planting time, density and nutrition have been set up in experiment field of ASINCV using plants from the second seeding of Green Helmet. The result has shown mid November yearly is optimum planting time with highest yield. But in order to spread harvest time to meet market demand cabbage can be grown from 30 October to 20 December in Nghe An. Cabbage nutrition and planting density trials have also been conducted at ASINCV and the results show that the best planting in the Central coastal region, beds should be 1.2 m wide, on 2 rows per bed (50cm apart) and 40 cm between seedlings produced the highest yield of 1.2 kg cabbage heads. Optimum fertilizer rate was 150kg N+100kg P2O5+50kg K2O ha-1. IPM resulted in adequate control of insects. For watermelon materials are CN46 and CS202 varieties and agronomic experiments had been conducted the same technical package as cabbage. Trials on planting time, density and nutrition have been set up in experiment field of ASINCV. The result showed that fertilizer NPK13:13:13 such as Binh Dien fertilizer was recommended using; density is 0.4mx2.5m is optimum because of high yield and good income for grower. 3.1.3 GAP production pilots At the same time of conducting technical package experiments, production demonstrations were carried out on semi- commercial pilot plantings at Quynh Luong and Hung Dong. Based on orders from supermarkets, farmers' groups have discussed and divided into small groups to carry out production with four seasons, farmers developed a planting schedule with Metro Cash and Carry and agreed to plant 4 times from September to the ending December of the year. The Green Helmet variety was selected for production because it has good disease resistance meets Metro’s specifications and has a good appearance. Cabbage heads being delivered to Metro via the platform in Hanoi, and then to all other stores in Vietnam. The plants and harvested heads were in excellent condition as the farmers were using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for pest and disease control. The watermelon production pilots were conducted similar to cabbage in Dien Phong, Quynh Luong Nghe An, and Thach Mon, Ha Tinh. The project team helps farmers in negotiating with supermarket before sowing season to achieve an output of about 100 tons of watermelons. The timetable of sowing date and frequent quantity based on supermarket consumption. According to the schedule are 7- 10 tons per week within 10 - 12 weeks starting in late May. Two watermelon varieties are CN46 and CS202 are being produced under GAP condition in Nghe An, sowing date from end of February to May, this sowing season is suitable for climate condition in central region of Vietnam. The GAP and IPM were conducted in conjunction with the farmers’ field day schools in the field. The result is hundreds tons of safe cabbage and watermelon sold in supermarkets Fig 3. GAP production pilots on cabbage (left) and watermelon (right) Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Program 241 3.2 Development of Good Agricultural Practice manual The project uses a participatory approach to encourage the uptake of good agricultural practices (GAP) by the collaborating Vietnamese Institutes and the stakeholders (farmers, extension staff and commercial partners). The training was implemented at the same time with demonstrations on varieties and good agricultural practice, this is the foundation of the practice sessions for farmers in the entire of supply chain such as temperature control, harvesting, packing, storage, transportation and consumption, this activities combined with intensive training for local extension staff on the vegetable industry. Farmers also began recording their practice activities in notebook, this is an important initial step in preparation for the transfer of an assurance system quality later. The manual developed collaboratively between Vietnamese and Australian teams for two major annual crop groups: cucurbits and brassicas and a practical guide included information on variety selection and evaluation; water management; crop nutrition; crop scheduling; effective pest and disease management including insect scouting; and, correct post harvest handling (i.e. harvest maturity, temperature management, grading, transport and packaging). By the end of 2009 the practice manual under VietGAP for watermelon and cabbage has been finalized and published in two languages: Vietnamese and English. Fig 4. GAP Manual for cabbage Fig 5. GAP Manual for watermelon Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Program 242 3.3 Uniting smallholder farmers into a group for safe vegetables production In order to have an overview of the current status of production areas and site selection process, general survey in three sites of Nghe An provinces has been conducted. Number of households was surveyed 90 in Hung Dong - TP. Vinh, Quynh Luu and Hung Nguyen, Nghe An province. The suitable sites based on a number of important criteria such as soil conditions, climate suitable to grow vegetables, farmers have traditionally grown vegetables, vegetable products are being sold to market, the commercial vegetable quality has problem and needs to be improved,... Based on the survey results and expert’s evaluation two locations were selected to conduct the project which are Quynh Luong and Hung Dong communes. Quynh Luong commune located near the coast, 80 km from north to Vinh city where 140 ha of vegetables are grown by 1000 farmer householders with plentiful fresh water from wells. Good soil and climate conditions for vegetables. Local farmers are planting vegetables such as onion, leafy cabbage, tomato, carrot, cucurbits. Hung Dong commune located closed with Vinh city, with 30 ha of vegetables production are provided directly to the city of Vinh including sprouts vegetables, leafy cabbage, cucurbits. Local authorities are intending to expand more vegetables areas production up to 100 ha in future. Farmers at both 2 sites have previously grown cabbage and watermelon, but they are low income than others short duration vegetables, therefore area of these vegetables are reduced recently. Produce has been sold to local markets or collectors with low return and unknown quality. Next, commune executive committee and preference farmer group were established. They held meeting to discuss activities that were needed achieve successful production of clean, high quality target vegetables crops. The farmers group called "voluntarily with the same interests" selected to do a pilot. Through available data on crop, crop rotation during the year, the project team comes from ASINCV and Australia has developed computer tools to assist farmers on production and estimation to ensure sufficient quantities for supermarket weekly or monthly. A simple tool, just type the input data such as sowing date, the number of seeds, and the program will calculate and give full results as the request about the area, yield, production, harvest time, and some inputs can be quantified for farmers. Through several meetings, farmer groups set their own rules, the activities plan and they determine the advantages and disadvantages in terms of local production condition and find out solutions to solve. Project team participate guidance and raise issues for discussion at the farmer meetings. Because this group shares benefit from their product so that they have to show their best effort in producing safe and high quality vegetables under GAP process. The farmers have been trained and practiced to improve their skills for cultivating cabbage and watermelons on their field. 3.4 Linking with supermarkets for product outputs The link between Metro Cash and Carry supermarket was developed with support from Australian marketing experts and Vietnamese scientists, Metro buyer and farmers. In order to get more confidence the Metro fresh produce buyer from Hanoi has visited project sites at Quynh Luong commune and Vinh city and was very impressed by the operations. These meetings were very valuable in opening communication between Metro and the farmers. This project is to date, the only example of direct farmer-Metro communication in Vietnam. Fig 6. Sticker for cabbage produced in project commune and marketed at Metro CARD 021/06 VIE – GAP for safe vegetable production and marketing 243 Fig 7. Sticker for watermelon produced in project commune and marketed at Metro Farmer representatives have also visited Metro’s Hanoi operations to better understand how the cabbage and watermelon needs to be prepared for market. The farmer group and Metro buyer negotiated a supply contract, according to Metro specifications. The team also developed and agreed planting schedule. The marketing strategy developed for the cabbages involved the promotion in the Metro Cash and Carry magazine as well as in in-store posters and promotions. In addition, each cabbage had a sticker attached which indicated it was produced under the guidelines of safe vegetable production. There was also information provided to Metro staff on how to handle the product in the store, and how the crops were produced. On completion of the first season of cabbage an articles was prepare for local newspapers to promote the potential success of this type of supply chain and production system. The successful marketing strategy and production strategy has resulted in thousands tones of cabbage and watermelons delivered to Metro supermarket. 3.5 Training for farmers and local agro- extensionist. Many training courses for farmers on the field called "no school classes" were held in Hung Dong and Quynh Luong communes, Nghe An province. The agro-extensionist and nodal farmers were trained directly by experts from Australia and Vietnam, then these trainees transfer learned techniques to other farmers in the village through agro-extension club. Basic practice conducted on the cabbage and watermelon fields. Cabbage varieties experiments were conducted as a demonstration at the local farmers. This is to be evaluated and concluded by farmers themselves. The workshop on integrated pest management and post-harvest techniques have been held. Farmers applied IPM, principles of good agricultural practice with cabbage, watermelon and the result is plant growth in favorable condition. Farmers also have notebook to keep records of planting, care, harvesting and selling their products. This is the first step for developing a quality assurance system on the field. Hình 8. Farmer Field School - Theory and field practice (Quynh Luong commune) 4. Conclusions and recommendations The on-farm trials at the Quynh Luong commune and Hung Dong co-operative have helped facilitate the uptake of new farming practices. This has continued with subsequent seasons and more growers have participated in the commercial plantings from the beginning to the end of the project. Production processes of high quality cabbage and watermelons in Quynh Luong and Vinh City, Nghe An under GAP principles has formed a very tight linkage to sales through Metro Cash and Carry in Hanoi. This is a very positive step for developing an alternative supply chain for these farmers which could be more reliable and profitable than the existing ones they use. The use of IPM and the agronomic record books has also been an important first steps for the adoption of a QA system for the growers. At present, the Vietnamese vegetable industry often fails to meet the requirements of many Pham Hung Cuong, Pham Van Chuong & Gordon Rogers 244 QA systems such as ASEAN-GAP or EURO- GAP. The practices introduced for the cabbages and watermelon in Nghe An province are the first step for farmers in learning what is required to meet ASEAN GAP or VietGAP standards. These QA systems will only be adopted if there is a financial benefit for the increased effort. the linkage with supermarket will provide the financial incentive for the farmers to produce clean vegetables to meet ASEAN or VietGAP standards. One other important success is sustainability, existing linkages of production and consumption of vegetables among the farmers and supermarkets continue to be strengthened and expanded when no support, farmers are running safe vegetable production very well in addition other vegetables, some other well- known supermarkets have also signed the safe vegetable production contracts. The project result has been transferred and extended to Thua Thien Hue and Ha Tinh provinces effectively. The initial successful achievements of project this CARD project (021/06VIE) should be publicized widely to vegetable producers, not only cucurbits and brassicas but also other vegetables crops in central coastal part Vietnam. References 1. Anh, M. T., M. Ali, et al. (2004). Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Hanoi: Opportunities and constraints for safe and sustainable food production. Technical Bulletin No 32, AVRDC: World Vegetable Centre and CIRAD. 2. Thi, T. K. (1999). Study on the environmental factors and solutions on safe vegetable development. National Workshop on Safe and Year-round Vegetable Production in Peri Urban Areas, Hanoi, CIRAC/RIFAV. 3. Thi, T. K. (2000) "Safe vegetable development to supply Hanoi (Vietnam)." Background paper for FAO seminar, Feeding Asian Cities Volume, DOI. 4. P.H. Cuong. (2008). Real status of applying GAP in Northern central Vietnam. Document of Training workshop on ASEAN-GAP distribution. April 2008. MARD. 5. Report of testing pesticide residual in vegetables by Plant Protection Department of Nghe An 2007-2008. 6. Statistical Bureau of Nghe An. Statistical report in 2005-2009. 7. Tran Thi Uyen (2009). Report on actual status of production, consumption management of safe vegetables in Nghe An. Workshop of the VIE021/CARD.