Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development
(CARD)
Program
32
I
MPROVING THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF VIETNAMESE
VEGETABLES THROUGH PROTECTED CROPPING SYSTEMS
title:
Improving the safety and quality of Vietnamese vegetables through research and
capacity building in qual
ity assurance, postharvest management and high technol
ogy
protected cropping systems
Project c
ode
:
CARD 004/04 VIE
Author(s):
Tran Khac Thi
1
, Pham My Linh
1
& Suzie Newman
2
Project Implementing organi
s
ations:
1
Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (FAV
RI
)
, Vietnam
2
Industry and Investment, NSW (formerly NSW DPI)
SUMMARY
Protected cropping provides vegetable growers with an opportunity to enhance product quality and
improve food safety. With the overall objective of providing Vietnamese scientists and
extension
specialists with the training and tools to implement and foster regionally feasible improvements to
current vegetable production practices and supply chains, the CARD project 004/04 VIE focussed on
development of a low
-
tech greenhouse system to e
nhance the productivity and sustainability of the
Vietnamese vegetable industry for delivering high quality product to market. This was achieved
through: 1) greenhouse replicated experiments and demonstration trials in Northern, Central and
Southern Viet
nam; 2) four in
-
country workshops and 3) two Australian study tours for research and
extension personnel. Key highlights of the project have included: 1) Adaptation of technologies by
both farmers and researchers to Vietnamese conditions; 2) Utilisation o
f hydroponic systems in both a
research and demonstration trial context; 3) Enhanced capacity of Vietnamese research and extension
personnel and 4) Economic analysis of protected cropping systems for tomatoes and cucumbers. The
nethouse with run
-
to
-
waste c
ocopeat system was shown to be an effective and cost effective model,
however further optimisation and extension of this technology was required to facilitate successful
adoption.
The project CARD 004
-
04VIE was mainly implemented by Fruit and Vegetable Res
earch Institute (key
project institution in Vietnam, led by Prof. Dr. Tran Khac Thi). It was collaborated with Institute of
Agricultural Sciences in the south (IAS), Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry
(HUAF).
Australian institution is Industry and
Investment, NSW Department of Primary Industries:
Gosford Primary Industries Institute (GHI
-
NSW
-
DPI, represented by Dr Nguyen Quoc Vong and Dr.
Suzie Newman). Project duration was from 2005
-
2007.
1.
Introduction
Vietnam has two main vegetable productio
n
areas on agricultural land: i) the peri
-
urban
specialized and concentrated vegetable
production area, ii) winter vegetable
production area rotated with food crops.
The
first area accounts for about 43
-
45% area and
40% production with diverse species: 75
-
80
species of vegetables including nearly 30
species of key vegetable crops (Tran Khac Thi,
2005). Vegetable products of this area are
mainly supplied to concentrated residents who
pay lots of attention to quality and safety of
products. Products of the l
atter area are usually
used as materials for processing and export as
well as domestic consumption. The peri
-
urban
vegetable area tends to be narrowed, cultivated
land contaminated by heavy metals, chemicals
gets increased. One of the important solutions
i
s to apply high
-
tech in the indoor vegetable
cultivation to increase yield and control
product quality.
This experience of many
CARD 004/04
–
Safe vegetable productio
n through protected cropping systems
33
developed countries including Australia has
been
researched and developed in Vietnam
through this project.
2.
Project objectiv
es and activities
2.1.
Project objectives
Facilitate the wider implementation and
adoption of protected cropping systems
of low to medium technology that require
fewer chemical inputs through targeted
research and extension activities;
Examine current s
upply chain constraints
and utilize quality assurance principles to
implement targeted system improvements;
Enhance Vietnamese research,
development and extension capacity in the
areas of protected cropping systems, post
harvest management and quality
ass
urance systems
.
2.2.
Project activities
2.2.1
Capacity building of research and
extension personnel
This was a key focus of the project and was
achieved in a number of ways including 1)
working collaboratively with Australian
colleagues on joint protec
ted cropping trials; 2)
participating in Australian study tours to look
at what can be learned from the Australian
industry and how this could be modified and
adapted to Vietnamese conditions and 3) the
introduction and
trialling
of simple low
-
tech
innovat
ions.
In order to enhance capacity of Vietnamese
researchers and extension officers in
identifying supply chain constraints and in
the
areas of protected cropping systems, post
harvest management and quality assurance
systems
, the project provided a supp
ly chain
training and supply chain study.
2
.
2
.
2
Demonstration of p
rotected cropping
models
A series of replicated and demonstration trials
were undertaken by researchers and extension
project personnel in Hanoi, Hue and Lam
Dong to compare protected cro
pping and
traditional field based systems. Experiments
were undertaken to evaluate growing media,
tomato and cucumber variety performance and
the use of hydroponic systems. This work
produced 7 publications in international and
Vietnamese scientific liter
ature
and the results
of this work can be used for extension
purposes.
2.2.3
Fostering practice
-
change in farmers
and other supply chain partners
A series of workshops on protected cropping
systems, supply chain management and Good
Agricultural Practice
(GAP) took place during
the life of the project. These workshops were
designed not only as information sessions but
also to facilitate discussion between farmers
and supply chain partners on 1) improving
product handling; 2) alternative market
options; 3)
food safety and 4) GAP systems
and their implementation. Much of the
discussion also centered on the opportunities
around protected cropping systems.
3.
Research results and discussions
3.1
Capacity of Vietnamese scientist and
extensionists improved
There were 2 training courses, 1month each
(Sept
-
Oct 2005 and June
-
July 2006) for 6
Vietnamese scientists from FAVRI, IAS, and
HUAF who have visited to Australia for
training courses on
:
Best practices for vegetable production,
postharvest management
skills in supply
chain mapping, Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP) and quality assurance
(QA) systems;
Protected cropping systems, postharvest
and quality assurance.
Experiments were conducted at GHI, they
had chances to visit open field vegetable
growing
systems in Yanco, wholesale
markets, retail markets in Sydney
The project has
also
organized four training
courses for 275 extension workers of the Plant
Protection Sub Departments (PPSD) of Ho Chi
Tran Khac Thi, Pham My Linh & Suzie Newman
34
Minh City, Hanoi, Can Tho and Da
Lat.
Training program w
as implemented by
experts from NSW
-
DPI Dr.
Suzie Newman,
Dr. Sophie Parks, and Dr. Joseph Ekman,
Dr.
Nguyen Quoc Vong and Vietnamese
experts: Prof. Dr.
Tran Khac Thi, Dr.
Ngo
Quang Vinh, Dr.
Pham My Linh.
Training
contents include introducing vegetable
pro
duction technologies in greenhouses,
vegetable supply chain management and the
basic principles of good agricultural practice
(GAP) applied to fresh produces.
The
project team from both
Vietnam
ese
and
Australia
n
sides
has published 7 scientific
articles i
n English and Vietnamese languages
regarding
to the content of research and
development of the project.
3.2
H
ydroponic vegetable
production
demonstrations
established at
FAVRI,
HUAF and IAS
All four Vietnamese Research Institute
partners in this proje
ct have successfully
implemented hydroponic growing systems.
Training periods in Australia have enabled
them to learn how to build and run the systems
successfully in both a research and commercial
context.
Run to Waste technology is applied to tomato
an
d cucumber with an average yield of 120
and 75 tons/ha, respectively.
For leafy
vegetables, NTF technology is
applied.
Vegetable products grown with the
above technologies, in addition to high yield
capability, off
-
season production, could also
ensure food
safety by actively adjusting
nutrition and preventing insects, thereby using
less chemicals. On the basis of this initial
demonstration, many applications have been
done with some improvement for suit each
specific condition such as in Linh Nam
commune, H
oang Mai District
–
Hanoi; at the
Moc Chau Tropical Flower Company in Son
La; at Phong Thuy Vegetable Seedling
Production Company in Duc Trong district,
Lam Dong province; ... In the future, this
growing type will be developed extensively in
peri
-
urban veg
etable areas, especially when the
hi tech agricultural program is put into
operation.
Photo 1
: FAVRI hydroponic lettuce trial
Photo 2.
The hydroponic system at HUAF
Photo 3. Testing hydroponic systems at Can
Tho University
Photo 4. Demonstrat
ion trial Lam Dong
CARD 004/04
–
Safe vegetable productio
n through protected cropping systems
35
One of the most concerns of this project is to
use coconut coir as growing media for soilless
vegetable cultivation.
Australian and European
standards for measuring the physical and
chemical characteristics of growing media
were used
to evaluate Vietnamese coir and
compare it to other samples in the Australian
marketplace. Table 1 shows the results from
the heavy metal analysis undertaken for a
range of different samples.
Coco peat quality
which is a large natural resource of Vietnam
proved through the experiments according to
the indicators: pH, salt content, color, water
holding coefficient
, etc
.
,
shows that it is
eligible for the production, especially coir
derived from the Mekong River delta.
Table 1:
Heavy metal analysis of eig
ht samples of compressed coir bricks of different origin *
-
limits
of detection)
Sample
type
Source
origin
Color
Colo
r
code
Alumi
num
(
mg/kg
)
Arsenic
(mg/kg
)
Cadmiu
m
(mg/kg
)
Chromi
um
(mg/kg
)
Copper
(mg/kg
)
Nickel
(mg/kg
)
Lead
(mg/kg
)
Seleniu
m
(mg/kg
)
Zinc
(mg/kg
)
24
3
0.9
1
0.9
1.3
1.7
6.6
1.1
Sample of
unknown
origin
Unknow
n
Greyed
Orange
160
D
1100
< 3
< 0.9
3.6
3.6
<1.3
< 1.7
< 6.6
19
Peat
Exceed
Viet
Nam
Greyed
Orange
177B
800
< 3
< 0.9
1.8
4.2
1.7
< 1.7
< 6.6
19
Galuku
coco peat
easifil
l
Sri
L
an
k
a
Greyed
Orange
166C
1100
< 3
< 0.9
5.6
5.6
1.8
< 1.7
< 6.6
16
Plant best
soil
sponge
Viet
Nam
Greyed
Orange
166C
440
< 3
< 0.9
29
3.6
6.1
< 1.7
< 6.6
21
Mekong
company
Viet
Nam
Greyed
Orange
177B
520
< 3
< 0.9
3.6
3.7
1.4
< 1.7
< 6.6
13
Mekon
g
company
Viet
Nam
Greyed
Orange
165B
370
< 3
< 0.9
26
3.3
<1.3
< 1.7
< 6.6
11
Richgro
India
Greyed
Orange
165
A
240
< 3
< 0.9
4.5
4.3
1.5
< 1.7
< 6.6
9
Brunnings
Easy
Wetta
Sri
Lanka
Greyed
Orange
177B
500
< 3
< 0.9
7.1
4.4
<1.3
< 1.7
< 6.6
13
3.3
P
r
actice
-
change in farmers and other
supply chain partners
fostered
T
hrough attendance at project training
workshops, receiving direct technical advice
from the project team or through the provision
of project training materials
e.g.
tomato and
cucumber pro
duction factsheets
, the farmers’
awareness and opportunities for
implementing
alternative technologies (
e.g.
the range of
protected cropping options, hydroponic
systems) or systems (
e.g.
GAP)
.
In addition to this the inclusion of farmer
champions such as
Mr Phong in the project is
likely to have a long term benefit for vegetable
producers in Lam Dong. As he looks to
expand his enterprise and associated farmer
group, the changes that he has made to his
business in both production and marketing will
continu
e to impact other farmers well beyond
the life of this project.
S
upply chains were mapped for 2 supply
chains: 1) Mr Phong’s tomato seedling and
vegetable operation and 2) Metro’s
Da
L
at
vegetable supply chain. Key problems with
handling operations were
identified and
solutions proposed. Mr Phong has
subsequently implemented some of these
improvements with the implementation of his
new postharvest operations.
Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development
(CARD)
Program
36
Photo 5.
New grafting set
-
up in
specially constructed shed with
improved efficien
cy
–
April 2007
Photo 6.
Mr Phong
implementing new practices in
his greenhouse.
Photo 7.
Tomato variety trial on
Mr Phong’s property
–
April
2007
Options for linking smallholders with Metro
were also explored through a series of
consultations. As gree
nhouse producers are
aiming for the top
-
end of the market, the best
specifications for them to utilise are those
developed by the supermarkets. As part of this
project we held a series of discussions with
Metro to discuss quality specifications, quality
a
ssurance and how Metro goes about engaging
farmers. At our workshop in Can Tho, a
number of the farmers asked specific questions
of the Metro Can Tho management in how
they might look to become a Metro supplier.
Metro specifications for tomatoes and
cucu
mber were included in Milestone 8.
Discussions with the Metro Supply Chain
Manager in Ho Chi Minh revealed that Metro
often has difficulty meeting these
specifications. They were actively seeking
engagement with farmer groups through
projects such as our
s, as a way of trying to
source product that was produced to their
specifications. Whilst in the case of our
project we had completed our training
activities there is certainly the potential for
other AusAID CARD projects to follow up on
this (and indeed
later projects have formed
good links with Metro). Metro was very keen
to work in with projects that were providing
farmer groups training in improved crop
management and postharvest handling.
Projects such as this have the opportunity to
identify farme
r groups that through project and
commercial training initiatives will enable
them to supply into supermarkets. This is
particularly important for projects such as this
where by introducing high
-
end technology,
suppliers need to look towards supplying mor
e
high
-
end markets.
4.
Conclusions
The project has met its key objectives and
delivered on all project milestones. The
overall objective of the project to provide
Vietnamese scientists and extension specialists
with the training and tools to implement
and
foster regionally feasible improvements to
current vegetable production practices and
supply chains, has largely been achieved.
Effectiveness of the project is clear and the
transferred technologies of the project continue
to take effect.
For the firs
t time in Vietnam, soilless
vegetable cultivation technology in
greenhouse/nethouse have been studied and
transferred to research and training institutions
in three regions of Vietnam. Previously, this
technology from Israel (Run to Waste) was
introduced t
o Hai Phong and Hanoi, which was
not successful due to its unsuitability to
climatic conditions in Vietnam as well
unavailability of well
–
trained staff to operate
the technology. The demonstrations of this
project somewhat have overcome the
disadvantages
of the Israeli technology.
Especially, NTF technology for vegetable