Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development: " Cocoa Fermentation and Drying and Quality Assessment in Vietnam " potx

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Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development




Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development





013VIE05 VIE: Cocoa Fermentation and Drying and Quality
Assessment in Vietnam








COCOA FARMERS SURVEY: BEN TRE, CAN THO and
DAK LAK PROVINCES 2006 & 2007

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 5
Introduction 5

Section 1: List of Participants 7
Gender 10
Ben Tre Province: 10
Can Tho Province: 10
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 10
Age Distribution 10
Can Tho Province: 11
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 11
2.3 Education level 11
Ben Tre Province: 11
Can Tho Province: 11
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 11
2.4 Family size 11
Ben Tre Province: 12
Can Tho Province: 12
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 12
2.5 Occupation 12
Ben Tre Province: 12
Can Tho Province: 13
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 13
Section 3: Establishment of cocoa 13
3.1. Sources of information on growing cocoa 13
Ben Tre Province 13
Can Tho Province 14
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 14
3.2 Purchasing of cocoa seedlings. 14
3.2.1 Distance to travel to purchase seedlings 14
Can Tho Province 15
Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces 15
3.2.2 Prices paid for seedlings 15

Ben Tre Province 15
Can Tho Province 15
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 16
3.3 Labour and time inputs for planting seedlings 16
3.4 Time for production of pods 16
Ben Tre Province 16
3.5 Pod production with time 17
Section 4: Farm Demographics 17
4.1 Size of farm and area planted to cocoa 17
Ben Tre Province: 17
Can Tho Province: 19
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 19
4.2 Plantings of cocoa 19
Ben Tre 19
Can Tho Province 20
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 21
4.3 Density of cocoa tree plantings 21
Ben Tre Province: 21
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Can Tho Province 22
Dak Lak and Dak Nong 22
4.4 Outlook for growing cocoa 22
Ben Tre Province 22
4.5 Crop Diversification 22
Ben Tre Province 22
Can Tho Province 22
Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces 23
Section 5: Time and labour inputs in processing cocoa 23
5.1 Harvesting pods 23
Ben Tre Province 23

5.2 Pod Storage 24
5.3 Breaking of pods 24
5.4 Fermentation of cocoa 24
5.5 Transferring beans from fermenting boxes to drying baskets 24
5.6 Drying of cocoa 25
Section 6: Selling of cocoa crop 25
Category 1: Selling fermented and dried cocoa 28
Ben Tre Province 28
Can Tho, Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces. 29
Category 3: Selling pods only 29
Ben Tre Province 29
Can Tho, Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces. 30
Category 2: Selling both fermented dried beans and pods 30
Ben Tre, Can Tho, Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces 30
Can Tho, Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces. 32
Summary of findings re labour and incomes 32
Section 7: Conclusions 34
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List of Figures

Figure 1: Age distribution of cocoa farmers in Ben Tre 10
Figure 2: Educational level of Cocoa farmers in Ben Tre 11
Figure 3: Family size of cocoa farmers in Ben Tre 12
Figure 4: Occupations amongst cocoa farmers in Ben Tre 12
Figure 5: Sources of information for cocoa growers in Ben Tre 13
Figure 6: “Other” sources of information in Ben Tre 14
Figure 7: Distance to seedling buying point 14
Figure 8: Price paid for seedlings in Ben Tre 15
Figure 9: Time for seedlings to produce pods in Ben Tre 16

Figure 10: Average weekly pod production after planting 17
Figure 11: Farm size distribution in Ben Tre 17
Figure 12: Area planted to cocoa 18
Figure 13: Percent farm area planted to cocoa in Ben Tre survey 18
Figure 14: Trees planted on seventy five farms in Ben Tre 19
Figure 15: Newly planted farms in Ben Tre 20
Figure 16: Cocoa tree density 21
Figure 17: Method of selling cocoa crop in Ben Tre in 2006 27
Figure 18: Changes in method of selling cocoa in twenty five selected farmers 27
Figure 19: Companies sold to. 28
Figure 20: Prices paid by major buyers 29
Figure 21: Buyers of pods in Ben Tre in 2006 & 2007 29
Figure 22: Average prices paid for fermented dried beans & pods 30
Figure 23: Average prices paid by different buyers in Ben Tre in 2006 & 2007 31



List of Tables

Table 1: Farm size and area planted to cocoa in six selected farms in Dak Lak and Dak Nong 19
Table 2: Plantings of cocoa on seven selected farms in Dak Lak & Dak Nong provinces 21
Table 3: The average number of hectares under cocoa cultivation, percentage of farm under cocoa and
average number of trees of different category of farmers 26

Table 4: Prices received by selling pods in VND/kg pod and VND/kg dry bean equivalent in
Ben Tre in 2007. 32


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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank AusAID and the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for
approving the project and AusAID funding.

Thanks also to the staff of Can Tho University, Nong Lam University and Western Highlands Agricultural
Science Institute who contributed their time and labour to project activities. This is especially the case for
Huynh Xuan Phong from Can Tho and Pham Van Thao from WASI

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Ben Tre province is thanked for their assistance in
farmer surveys and the selection of smallholder sites for solar dryer evaluation.

Smilja Lambert of MARS, inc. is thanked fro her assistance with project activities, her technical advice and
liaison with the Vietnamese cocoa industry and research Institutes involved.

Le Thi Tuyet of the World Cocoa Foundation, Sustainable Cocoa Development Program is thanked for her
assistance and advice and organising fermentation and drying trials in Ben Tre and at Nong lam University.

Success Alliance is also thanked for their in providing information regarding the cocoa industry in Vietnam and
in the establishment of solar dryers and fermenting boxes at their demonstration farm sites in Ben Tre Province.

Introduction

In 2006 the Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development (CARD) program approved a project on
“Fermentation and Drying and Quality Assessment of Cocoa in Vietnam”. This was in response to the
Vietnamese Government’s intention of having10,000 hectares of cocoa planted by 2010. During the conduct of
this project, projected plantings of cocoa, by the Vietnamese Agricultural Ministry, have changed this aim to
60,000 hectares by 2015 and 80,000 hectares by 2020. The government is pledging VND 40Billion in the
country’s burgeoning cocoa trade. Cocoa production is expected to be at 52,000 tonnes by 2015 and 108,000
tonnes by 2020. This would make Vietnam one of South East Asia’s largest cocoa producers with estimated

annual revenue of $120M by 2020.

An essential part of this plan is to refine cocoa fermentation and drying (processing) procedures, from other
cocoa growing countries to suit the Vietnamese environmental and social conditions. During this project,
experimentation has been conducted with fermentation and drying procedures and preferred methodologies
established. Adherence to these procedures will ensure a high quality cocoa, which should attract a premium
price. The adoption of solar driers was also expected to result in reduced labour and time inputs as well as an
increased capacity of farmers to process their crop.

In 2005 there was quite a large survey conducted by the SUCCESS Alliance project that included the size of
farms in Ben Tre, number of cocoa trees, type of planting materials, number of households, the ways they are
doing fermentations and also about the other crops that are grown in these farms (coconut, fruit trees,
pineapple ) The study also included predictions about the combination of crops farmers could employ which
produced the best income. This survey was mainly related to what farmers were earning growing other crops
and a theoretical prediction of what they could earn from intercropping with cocoa. This CARD survey
addressed only what farmers are making directly from cocoa and related issues. In the follow-up survey in Ben
Tre, there are a few discrepancies regarding gender, age, educational levels and number of family members
with the 2006 survey. This is possibly due to the person being interviewed and factors such as family members
moving to other households. Where a discrepancy occurs, the 2006 figure is used.
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This baseline survey should provide a useful guideline and reference. It will help to ensure the best picture of
the current situation and so be helpful in evaluating the impact of the CARD project on smallholder/cooperative
farmers in Ben Tre and Western Highlands provinces.

The survey was meant to address the following factors:
• Family/ village distribution of income and labour and associated social factors.
• Industry factors such as transportation and marketing procedures
• Assessment of price and availability of materials required for fermentation boxes, solar driers and solar
hot houses.
• Assessment of most suitable locations for fermentation boxes and dryers for on-farm trials.

• Participate in initial fermentation and drying trials. This can be done at the research institute or at a
nearby fermentary or village site, where the presently existing procedures are applied
• Village techniques and labour inputs re harvest., fermentation and drying and incomes received for it
The survey was conducted in two stages. Firstly a baseline survey was conducted of fifty farmers in Ben Tre
and six in the Western Highlands in August 2006. Three farmers in Ben Tre and one in Dak Lak were then
provided with solar driers and a follow up survey conducted in December 2007. In this manner, most of the
issues to be addressed were met and an estimate of the impact of adoption of methodologies made.

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Section 1: List of Participants

Year surveyed
ID Name Village District Province
2006 2007
1 Nguyen Thi Le

Cam Yun Mo Cay Ben Tre √
2 Nguyen Thi Kim Loan
(ED&F MAN)

Son Dong Ben Tre Ben Tre √
3 Huynh Minh Thi

Lung Hoa Giong Tram Ben Tre √ √
4 Thai Van Be

Phuoc
Thanh,
Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √

5 Nguyen Van Tam

Tan Trung, Mo Cay Ben Tre √
6 Druong Van Tuong

Binh Khanh
Tay
Mo Cay Ben Tre √
7 Dinh Van An

Hoa Loc Mo Cay Ben Tre √
8 Le Hoang Sau

Ngai Dang Mo Cay Ben Tre √ √
9 Le Van Quan

Ngai Dang Mo Cay Ben Tre √
10 Le Van Phuoc

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
11 Nguyen Van Nhieu

Luong Hoa Giong Trom BenTre √ √
12 Le Tan Dat

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
13 Tran Van Mo

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
14 Tran Quang Buu

Phuoc Thans Chau Thans Ben Tre √
15 Cao Thi Ha

Tan Thans Chau Thans Ben Tre √
16 Nhu Trung

Phu An Hoa Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
17 Pham Thi Cam

Phu An Hoa Chau Thans Ben Tre √
18 Nguyen Van Xue

Tam Phuoc Chau Thans , Ben Tre √
19 Nguyen Van Hieu

Tam Phuoc Chau Thans Ben Tre √
20 Dang Van Nau

Long Thoi, Cho Lach, Ben Tre √
21 Dang Van Phop

Long Thoi, Cho Lach Ben Tre √
22 Diep Kinh Luan

Long Thoi, Cho Lach Ben Tre √
23 Doan Thi Thieu

Hoa Nghia, Cho Lach Ben Tre √
24 Vo Van Ngai

An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
25 Pham Thi Anh

An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √

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26 Ngo Tan Si

An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
27 Cao Thi Nhan

An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
28 Nguyen Tan Khoa

,An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
29 Phung Tan Thanh

An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
30 Chau Van Lam

An Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
31 Nguyen Hong
Phuong

An Khanh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
32 Nguyen Thi Tuoi

An Khanh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
33 Nam Suong (*)

An Khanh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
34 Nguyen Van Lap

An Khanh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
35 Tran Van Anh

An Khanh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
36 Bui Van Hoang

Hnu Dinh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
37 Nguyen Thi Thanh

Hnu Dinh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
38 Nguyen The Luc

Hnu Dinh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
39 Le Thanh Son

Phu Duc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
40 Pham Van Hung

Phu Duc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
41 Tran Van Dung

Thanh An Mo Cay Ben Tre √ √
42 Le Hung Son (*)

Phu Duc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √ √
43 Le Truong Yon

Thoi An Mo Cay Ben Tre √
44 Le Huu Phuoc

Ngai Dang Mo Cay Ben Tre √ √
45
Vo Van Hoang
Ngai Dang Mo Cay Ben Tre √ √
46 Nguyen Van So

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
47 Le Truc Lam

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
48 Tran Minh Luan

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
49 Nguyen Van Khoe

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
50 Duong Van Khau

Luong Hoa Giong Trom Ben Tre √ √
51 Ceran Cehi Cehanh

An Khanh Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
52 Nguyen Thi Dieu
Hien

Thuan Dien Chau Thanh Ben Tre √

53 Le Quoc Viet

An Khan Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
54 Coran Ceruong Phu

An Khan Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
55 Do Van Phuc

Phu Duc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √

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(*)Given solar drier

56 Le Thi Muoi

Phu Tuc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
57 Nguyen Thi Phan

Phu Tuc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
58 Phan Thi Anh Tuyet

Phu Tuc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
59 Le Thi Muoi

Phu Tuc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
60 Nguyen Thanh

Phuong & Ho Thi
Hong Hue (*Large
Dryer)

Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √

61 Luong Van Thong

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
62 Luong Thi Nam

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
63 Le Cong Minh

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
64 Nguyen Thi My
Nhung

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
65 Nguyen Thi Thuy
Dung

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
66 Tran Van Nham

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
67 Pham Trong Nhan,

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
68 Phan Thi Thanh Thuy

Tam Phuoc Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
69 Le Van Bon

Tien Thuy Chau Thanh Ben Tre √
70 Vo Hong Chau

Mo Cay Ben Tre √
71 Le Cong Binh

Mo Cay Ben Tre √
72 Tran Van Lam

Mo Cay Ben Tre √
73 Nguyen Van Ren

Mo Cay Ben Tre √
74 Nguyen Minh Hien

Mo Cay Ben Tre √
75 Nguyen Thanh Xuan

Mo Cay Ben Tre √
76 Huynh Kim Vinh (*)

Ba Lang Cai Rang Can Tho √ √
77 Nguyen Thi Hue (*)

Yang Mao Krong Bong Dak Lak √ √
78 Bui Xuan Ngoc

Do Ry Dak Mil Dak Nong √ √
79 Hoang Kim Binh

Do Ry Dak Mil Dak Nong √ √
80 Dao Van Tuan

DakRla Dak Mil Dak Nong √ √
81 Huynh Van Thuong

Cu Hue , Eakar Dak Lak √ √
82 Hoang Van Phi

Easo Eakar Dak Lak √ √

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Section 2: Farmer demographics
Gender
Ben Tre Province:
Because of the size of the budget & time restraints of staff from Can Tho University, a large survey could not
be conducted. There are approximately 2000 cocoa farmers in Ben Tre Province therefore a survey of 50 of
them can not be regarded as truly representative. In the original survey conducted in July 2006, fifty farmers
were asked to complete a questionnaire. In November 2007 a follow-up survey was conducted. Of the 50
farmers originally surveyed in Ben Tre, 25 were included in the follow-up. Two of these farmers had solar
dryers. An additional twenty five farmers were also included in the survey. One of these twenty five new
farmers had been given a solar dryer. This therefore increased the total number of farmers surveyed to seventy
five which is hopefully more representative of impacts and attitudes to cocoa farming. These additional farmers
were within the vicinity of where solar dryers had been placed, so that they had some idea of the concept and
were able to communicate with farmers regarding them.

In the original survey, ten of the fifty farmers surveyed were women. In the second survey, twelve of the new
twenty five farmers were female. So of seventy five farmers surveyed in all, twenty two (29%) were female.

Can Tho Province:
In Can Tho province, there is only one substantial cocoa farmer, Huynh Kim Vinh and he was provided with a
solar drier.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
A total of six farmers were surveyed in these two provinces and one was female. This woman, Nguyen Thi
Hue was supplied with a solar drier.

Age Distribution
Age Distribution Ben Tre 2006-2007
2, 3%
14, 19%
41, 54%
18, 24%
15-25 26-40 41-55 55+

Figure 1: Age distribution of cocoa farmers in Ben Tre

The fact that the 15-25 year age group made up only three percent of the total number of farmers may indicate a
lack of interest in the age group in pursuing agriculture for an income. The majority (78%) of farmers were
aged over 41.

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Can Tho Province:
In Can Tho province, there is only one substantial cocoa farmer, Huynh Kim Vinh who was born in 1930. He
does have neighbours, who have some cocoa planted and sell pods to him or as fruit at markets. These

neighbours were considered to be too small producers to be included in the survey.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
In Dak Lak and Dak Nong, only six farmers were surveyed. Of these, only two gave their ages and were both in
the > 55 group (1947 & 1932).

2.3 Education level
Education levels were divided up into four categories: Elementary (grade 1-5), Secondary (grade 6-9), High
school (grade 10-12) and tertiary (College upward).

Ben Tre Province:
Educational level Ben Tre 2006-2007
17, 23%
29, 38%
27, 36%
2, 3%
Ele m e n t a r y Secondary High School Tertiary

Figure 2: Educational level of Cocoa farmers in Ben Tre

In Ben Tre, people who had done secondary, high school or tertiary, constituted 77% of farmers surveyed. This
indicates a fairly well educated population who should be able to comment on or adopt methodologies
recommended.

Can Tho Province:
In Can Tho province, Huynh Kim Vinh (age 78) had elementary education but he has demonstrated himself to
be a person who is innovative and adopts recommendations readily.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
In Dak Lak and Dak Nong the only farmer who responded to the question was Nugyen Thi Hue who had high

school education.

2.4 Family size
Family sizes were divided into three categories of small, 1-2; medium, 3-5 and large, > 6 members.
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Ben Tre Province:
Family Size Ben Tre 2006-2007
4, 6%
44, 61%
24, 33%
1-2 members 3-5 members > 6 members

Figure 3: Family size of cocoa farmers in Ben Tre

In Ben Tre, families with 3-5 members constituted the largest segment at 61%. Families with more than six
members constituted 33% and families of 1-2 constituted only 6%.

Can Tho Province:
In Can Tho province, Huynh Kim Vinh had six family members. These constituted himself and wife; a son,
who is a teacher and a daughter who’s a nurse with two children.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
In Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces there were two families of four; one with five and one with eight
members.

2.5 Occupation
Ben Tre Province:
Ben Tre Farmer Occuption 2006-2007
59, 79%

11, 15%
2, 3%
1, 1%
1, 1%
1, 1%
Only farms Animal Husbandry Local Govt Official
Insurance salesman Photographer Coffee shop owner

Figure 4: Occupations amongst cocoa farmers in Ben Tre

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There were five different types of occupation that some participants had other than farming. These included;
animal husbandry, local government official, one photographer, one coffee shop owner and one insurance
salesman. The bulk of farmers surveyed (79%) had crop production as their sole source of income. If that is
combined with animal husbandry (15%), then ninety four percent of respondents had agricultural activities as
their sole source of income.

Can Tho Province:
In Can Tho province, Huynh Kim Vinh and his wife only practiced farming. His household members include a
son, who is a teacher and a daughter who’s a nurse.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
In Dak Lak and Dak Nong, of the six farmers surveyed, two were local government officials and the other four
had farming as a sole source of income.

Section 3: Establishment of cocoa
3.1. Sources of information on growing cocoa.
Ben Tre Province

Source of information

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
2006 2007
Year of survey
Number of farmers
Radio
TV
Fam ily
Neighbour
Other

Figure 5: Sources of information for cocoa growers in Ben Tre

The survey of fifty farmers in August 2006 followed by twenty five farmers from the 2006 survey plus 25
newly surveyed farmers demonstrates a shift in obtaining information towards the category of “other”. The
category “Other” consists of; local government officials, Nong Lam University/ Success Alliance/ Mars,
farmers clubs and newspapers.

During the 2007 survey of fifty farmers, twenty stated that their source of information had changed since 2006
and thirty reported no change. Farmers frequently stated more than one source of information.

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"Other" sources of information
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2006 2007
Year of survey
Number of farmers
Local Govt. official
SA/NLU/Mars
Farmers clubs
Ne w s paper

Figure 6: “Other” sources of information in Ben Tre
Changes in farmer’s source of information are illustrated in figure six. Local government officials have tended
to play a major role in dissemination of information in 2006 and 2007. The Success Alliance/MARS/NLU
program was been the second largest source in 2006 followed by farmers clubs. In 2007, the influence of the
SA/ MARS/ NLU program had grown as had farmers clubs, which are now an equivalent source of
information. It should be noted that information coming from local government officials and farmers clubs has
originated from the Success Alliance program.

Can Tho Province
Mr Nam Vinh is unusual in that he started growing cocoa in 1985. Success Alliance is not active in Can Tho
and he only lists a book (French) as a source of information. He reported no change in information between
2006 and 2007.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
With the six farmers in these provinces, all of them listed TV as a source of information. Five listed radio, four
listed local government official, two listed neighbour and one listed a book as sources of information. All of
them stated that there had been no change in sources between 2006 and 2007.

3.2 Purchasing of cocoa seedlings.
3.2.1 Distance to travel to purchase seedlings
Distance to seedling buying point
8, 11%
9, 12% 25, 34%
20, 27%
12, 16%
< 1km 1-5km 6-10km 11-15km > 15km

Figure 7: Distance to seedling buying point

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The distance the seventy five farmers, surveyed in 2006 & 2007, have to travel to purchase seedlings is
presented above. Only seven out of fifty, farmers could purchase seedlings closer in 2007 than 2006. Three of
these obtained seedlings from NLU and two were breeding themselves. Two were obtaining seedlings from
local government outlets. As twenty five percent of farmers have to travel more than eleven kilometres to
purchase seedlings, there seems to be room for improvement in the location of seedling nurseries.

Can Tho Province.
The one farmer had to travel sixty kilometres to Ben Tre province to purchase seedlings, suggesting that Can
Tho province does need nurseries for farmer’s requirements if the crop is ever to be established in that
province.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces
In Dak Lak and Dak Nong all farmers reported having to travel over sixty kilometres to WASI to purchase

seedlings. There is therefore a need to establish nurseries closer to farmers in these provinces.

3.2.2 Prices paid for seedlings
Ben Tre Province
Prices of Seedlings Ben Tre
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
2006 2007
Year
VND / seedling
Minimum
Average
Maximum

Figure 8: Price paid for seedlings in Ben Tre

With the fifty farmers surveyed in 2006, one farmer was propagating his own seedlings and one had received
seedlings free from Nong Lam University. These two farmers were omitted from the data. In 2006, the average
price of seedlings was VND3981 and in 2007, VND3815. Therefore, only a slight decrease if any, had
happened. Of the fifty farmers who were surveyed in 2007, 14 reported a decrease in price and forty four, no
change in price.

Can Tho Province
Mr Nguyen Kim Vinh did not report any change in prices. This is probably due to his age and having an

established farm, with no requirements for more planting.
16
Dak Lak and Dak Nong
Prices in these provinces varied between VND12000 – 3500 in 2006 and generally hadn’t changed by 2007.
With three of the six farmers, they didn’t know what the price of seedlings were, probably due to having
established farms with no further plantings in 2006 & 2007.

The status of the distance farmers have to travel to obtain seedlings and prices being charged does suggest
there is some room for improvement in the number and location of seedling nurseries in all provinces surveyed.
Distances to travel and price of seedlings could be an impediment to farmers wishing to grow cocoa.

3.3 Labour and time inputs for planting seedlings
Obtaining quantifiable data on labour, time inputs and costs for planting cocoa seedlings proved difficult to
obtain from farmers. For the sake of this survey, it will be assumed that these factors are similar to that of the
other two main cash crops i.e. coconut, longans and other fruits. Only prices paid for seedlings will be taken
into account in later economic evaluation of cocoa growing.

In a similar manner, there has been no attempt to quantify how much pre-existing crop of longans, other fruit
and coconut are displaced for the sake of planting cocoa.

3.4 Time for production of pods
Ben Tre Province
Time for seedlings to produce pods
0
10
20
30
40
50
60

<12 12 to 18 19-24 >24
Months after planting
Farms producing pods
Number of farmers

Figure 9: Time for seedlings to produce pods in Ben Tre
Figure 9 demonstrates that, for the majority of farmers, seedlings take from 19 to 24 months to grow to produce
pods.

17

3.5 Pod production with time
Pod production
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2 years 3 years 4 years
Years after planting
Pods per week
Average pods per week

Figure 10: Average weekly pod production after planting

Figure ten demonstrates that weekly pod production was still increasing on the seventy five selected farms in
Ben Tre, four years after planting. Most of the farms surveyed had not had plantings prior to four years ago and
it remains to be seen how long peak production will go on for. In other countries, cocoa usually peaks in

production after three years, stays at that level for several years and then slowly declines. When a decline in
production occurs, it’s followed by new plantings or grafting. From the figures generated in this survey,
farmer’s income from cocoa could be expected to peak four years after planting seedlings.

Section 4: Farm Demographics
4.1 Size of farm and area planted to cocoa

Ben Tre Province:
In the follow-up survey, it was frequently found that farmers gave different estimates of both the size of their
farms and the area planted to cocoa. This is probably due to both factors not being accurately known or the
possibility of another family member answering the questionnaire.

Number of Farms in various size ranges (ha) & % in size
range, 2007
35, 49%
20, 27%
8, 11%
6, 8%
3, 4%
1, 1%
0.2-0.6 0.61-1.0 1.01-1.4 1.41-1.8 1.81-2.2 3.1-3.5

Figure 11: Farm size distribution in Ben Tre
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In Ben Tre Province one farmer, Nguyen Van Tam - Tan le II at Tan Trung, Mo Cay had a farm of 14 hectares
of which 0.6ha were planted to cocoa. This was an unusually large farm of ancestral inheritance and was left
out of the figures regarding farm sizes and other parameters. The data presented shows that seventy three
percent of farms were in the range of 0.2 to 1.0ha. The minimum sized farm was 0.20ha; the maximum 3.5ha
and average 0.85ha. The total area of land of the seventy three farms was 62.12ha. No farmers reported an

increase in the size of their farm although many did give a different estimate of the size of their farm in the
follow-up survey.

Ben Tre Farm Area Planted to Cocoa (ha) & (% in area range) 2007
46, 62%
16, 22%
8, 11%
2, 3%
1, 1%1, 1%
0.2-0.6 0.61-1.0 1.01-1.4 1.41-1.8 1.81-2.2 3.1-3.5

Figure 12: Area planted to cocoa.

Figures presented show that eighty four percent of farmers surveyed had areas planted to cocoa between 0.2 and
1.0ha. The minimum area planted was 0.15ha; the maximum, 3.5ha and average 0.68ha. The total area of cocoa
planted on the seventy three farms was 49.88ha. This means that out of a total farm area of 62.12ha, only
12.24ha was not planted with cocoa. This indicates that of the majority on the farms surveyed, there is little
room for expansion of cocoa plantings except if higher density intercropping is commercially and
agronomically viable. With the twenty four of the original fifty farmers who were interviewed in the follow-up
survey, only one of them had increased their area planted to cocoa. This was farmer number 26 who reported
planting 100 trees on an extra 0.5ha in 2007. Of the twenty five new farmers interviewed in 2007, none had
increased the area planted to cocoa in 2006-07.

Ben Tre % farm area planted with cocoa 2007
43, 58%
6, 8%
4, 5%
5, 7%
9, 12%
0, 0%

5, 7%
2, 3%
100-90 89-80 79-70 69-60 59-50 49-40 39-30 29-20

Figure 13: Percent farm area planted to cocoa in Ben Tre survey
19

The percentage of farm land used for growing cocoa further reinforces the fact that there is little room for
expansion of the crop on existing farms. Of the seventy four farmers surveyed, forty three had cocoa planted on
100% of their farm area. A further two had between 91-99% of their farm areas planted to cocoa.

Can Tho Province:
In Can Tho province, Huynh Kim Vinh had a farm with a total area of 1.0ha of which 0.3ha was planted with
cocoa. Mr Vinh had not changed the area of cocoa planted. He is an unusual case, in that he first started
growing cocoa with 1000 trees in 1985. Today he has only 300 trees left but this could be considered to be
because of his age of 78 years and therefore restricted ability to process larger amounts

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
Farmer
ID
Farmer & location Farm size
(ha)
Area planted
to cocoa
% of farm
area planted
to cocoa.
1 Nguyen Thi Hue (*) Yang Mao, Krong Bong,
Dak Lak
5 2 40%

2 Bui Xuan Ngoc Do Ry, Dak Mil, Dak Nong 5.2 5 96%
3 Hoang Kim Do Ry, Dak Mil, Dak Nong 1.5 1.5 100%
4 Dao Van Tuan, Dak Rla, Dak Mil, Dak Nong 2.5 1.5 60%
5 Huynh Van Thuong, Cu Hue, Eakar, Dak Lak 3 1 33%
6 Hoang Van Phi Easo, Eakar Dak Lak 1 0.5 50%
Table 1: Farm size and area planted to cocoa in six selected farms in Dak Lak and Dak Nong
(*) Has solar drier

The small sample of farmers surveyed in Dak Lak and Dak Nong had similar farm sizes and areas planted with
cocoa as in Ben Tre. All six reported no changes in farm size or area planted to cocoa between 2006 and 2007.

4.2 Plantings of cocoa
Ben Tre
No of Trees planted & Total Plantings on 74 Selected
Farms
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006-7
Cocoa trees planted Total planted

Figure 14: Trees planted on seventy five farms in Ben Tre
20

Time of new planting & number of farms of the 74
selected farmers from 2006&2007 BenTre Surveys
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006-7
Farms newly planted with cocoa Total of farms planted

Figure 15: Newly planted farms in Ben Tre

Figures for cocoa plantings and number of selected farms planted on, indicate that the years of 2001-2004
represented the most active years of cocoa planting for this particular sub group. This is probably a reflection of
the activities of Success Alliance and associated organisations during those years. The decline in plantings in
the year 2005 (3720 trees) and the 18 months prior to November 2007 (2530 trees) is more likely due to farms
being planted as densely as practical rather than any lack of interest in the crop. Of the 2530 trees planted on the
selected farms in 2006-07, 720 were planted on farm 72, which had not had cocoa planted on it before. The
total number of farmers growing cocoa in Ben Tre in 2006 was approximately 2,000. The figures for number of
cocoa growing farmers before and since then are not available to us.

Can Tho Province
Huynh Kim Vinh had approximately 1000 trees planted in 1985 and approximately 300 remaining today.
Again, this is largely due to his age rather than a lack of interest in the crop.
21
Dak Lak and Dak Nong

What year was the cocoa planted and how many trees were
planted in those years.
Farmer
ID
Farmer and
locality
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Total
At
Jan
2008
1 Nguyen Thi Hue (*)
Yang Mao, Krong
Bong, Dak Lak
450 1000 450 0 1900
2 Bui Xuan Ngoc Do
Ry, Dak Mil, Dak
Nong
6000 0 6000
3 Hoang Kim Binh
Do Ry, Dak Mil,
Dak Nong
800 700 0 1500
4 Dao Van Tuan,
DakRla, Dak Mil,
Dak Nong
600 700 0 1300
5 Huynh Van Thuong
Cu Hue, Eakar, Dak
Lak

1100 0 1100
6 Hoang Van Phi
Easo, Eakar, Dak
Lak
500 0 500
Total for Year 1300 1050 7700 1800 0 0 450 0 12300
Table 2: Plantings of cocoa on seven selected farms in Dak Lak & Dak Nong provinces.
* Has solar drier
The figures in the table indicate that new plantings on the six selected farms occurred mainly between the years
2000 to 2003 and peaked in 2002. Since then, new plantings have declined. The farm areas planted with cocoa,
presented in table 1, indicate that the lack of plantings since 2004 is not due to a lack of available land in the
case of farmers; 1, 4, 5 & 6 i.e. four of the six farms.
4.3 Density of cocoa tree plantings.
Ben Tre Province:
Planting Density (trees/ha)
2, 3%
5, 7%
24, 31%
16, 22%
13, 18%
5, 7%
6, 8%
3, 4%
0-200 201-400 401-600 601-800 801-1000
1001-1200 1201-1400 1401-1600

Figure 16: Cocoa tree density

22
The planting densities in Ben Tre, show that fifty three farmers (71%) had planting densities in the ranges of

400 to 1000 trees per hectare which is a commonly recommended level. A further fourteen (19%) had tree
densities from 1000 -1600 per hectare which would be in the maximum range ever recommended. Of the
remaining seven farmers (10%) one had sixty seven trees per ha; one had 200 trees per hectare. The remaining
five had between 201-400 trees per hectare. Therefore of the seventy four farms surveyed, only two had much
potential for greater planting density on the land they had already allocated to cocoa.

Can Tho Province
Mr Vinh had a planting density of 1000 trees per hectare on the 0.3 hectares he had allocated to cocoa.

Dak Lak and Dak Nong
With the six farmers interviewed, the lowest density was 867 trees per hectare; the maximum, 1200 and
average, 1017. Therefore among these farmers there was no room for expansion of their plantings on the land
they had allocated to cocoa. Farmers 52 and 53 had 96 & 100% of their land allocated to cocoa and therefore
had no room for expansion. Farmers 51, 54, 55 & 56 had between 33% and 60% (table 1) of their land allocated
to cocoa and therefore could expand production if they wished to.

4.4 Outlook for growing cocoa
Ben Tre Province
Of the forty nine farmers surveyed in 2006; only fourteen intended to increase the area planted to cocoa and
thirty five didn’t intend to increase the area planted. No farmers intended to clear cocoa trees. This is probably
indicative of the high percentage of farm area planted to cocoa already as well as relatively high planting
densities (figures 6, 7 & 10) rather than a lack of interest in the crop.

Of the fifty farmers surveyed in 2007, only eleven had planted new trees in the previous year. The numbers
planted varied from 50 to 720, with an average 230 seedlings per farm. In all but one case, the farmer who’d
planted 720 trees, the area planted to cocoa remained unchanged. The seedlings purchased were solely to
replace old stock. Of the fifty farmers surveyed in 2007, only one farmer intended to increase the area planted
to cocoa by 2010. It therefore appears, that with the farmers surveyed, who were already cocoa farmers, there is
not much room for expansion of their plantings. The only expansion that could happen within Ben Tre, is to
recruit new cocoa farmers through extension activities. It should be noted that no farmer intended to cut back or

cease cocoa farming.

4.5 Crop Diversification
Ben Tre Province
In the survey of seventy four farmers conducted in Ben Tre in 2006 and 2007, fifty eight were growing coconut
as a major cash crop and thirty eight growing fruit trees with or without coconut. The predominant fruit tree (26
farmers) was longans. Other fruit trees included; oranges, durian, banana, lemon, grapefruit and plums. A 2005
Success Alliance survey indicated that the average income per hectare from coconut was VND13 million and
VND 9 million from fruit. Other cash crops, frequently grown in Vietnam, such as pepper & cashews were not
encountered with any of the farmers surveyed. This could indicate a potential for crop diversification in Ben
Tre Province.

Can Tho Province
Nam Vinh was intercropping coconut with his cocoa.
23

Dak Lak and Dak Nong Provinces
Of the six farmers interviewed in these areas; one was growing cashews, coffee and fruit trees, one was
growing coffee and fruit and one, cashews only. The remaining three had cocoa as the only cash crop.

Section 5: Time and labour inputs in processing cocoa
Farmers can be divided into four categories when it comes to the processing of cocoa:

Category 1: They exclusively fermented and dried their own cocoa and sometimes cocoa pods purchased from
other growers. There were fourteen of these in the 2006 & 2007 Ben Tre surveys. For the four farmers who
exclusively ferment and dry their own cocoa all had family members, other than the farmer, who worked on the
farm. The number of family members working on the farm ranged from 8 to 1 with fairly equal numbers of
males and females. Only one farmer had someone other than a family member working and this was on a casual
basis. When this other person (male) was employed it was at a rate of 40000VND per day. Only two farmers
could be specific about the length of time family members spent working on cocoa. These were farmer ID 28

who stated one female and two males who spent 24hr, 12hr and 6 hr per week in peak, mid and minor harvest
periods respectively. Farmer ID 40 reported 1 female member working 20-25hr per week during peak harvest.

Category 2: Farmers who both sold pods and did their own fermentations when harvests were large enough.
There were twenty of these in the 2006 & 2007 Ben Tre survey. Of the fourteen farmers in this category, all had
family members involved in cocoa production. The numbers varied from 1 to 6 with fairly equal male and
female participation. Eleven of the farmers did employ non-family, usually one, on a casual basis. Pay rates
varied from 5000 to 45000VND per day. In all cases but one, the non-family member was a male. In the case of
farmer ID 42, he employed one male, at 40000VND per day and one female at 25000VND per day.

Category 3: Farmers who sold pods either to neighbours who had fermentaries, at breeding farms, at the fruit
markets or to buyers such E.D.&F Mann who have a fermentary as well as being a dry bean buying point.
There were thirty nine in this category.
Of the 27 farmers in this category 6 did not have any family members helping while the rest did. Other family
members varied from one to five with a fairly equal representation of men and women. Only four of the 27 ever
employed non-family members. Two of these were for breeding purposes and pay rates were not supplied.

Category 4: These were farmers who were growing cocoa but not selling their produce yet. These farmers
presumably are using pods for seedling production or are not close enough to buying points. There were two in
this category.

In all categories hired labour and associated costs were minimal and hardly affect the profitability of the crop.
Family members tended not to be paid any set rate and their cost inputs can not be defined. Their time inputs
however could be defined.

5.1 Harvesting pods
Ben Tre Province
Of the 75 farmers surveyed between 2006 and 2007, only nine did employ people, other than family members,
for farm labour. However these employees were used to do jobs such as weeding rather than any of the
harvesting or further processing of the cocoa crop. Therefore employment of workers doesn’t need to be taken

into account in labour inputs as they would apply to other crops as well.

With these farmers sixty seven stated that they spent less than ten hours per week during peak harvest, in
picking pods. Seven stated they spent between ten to twenty hours per week and one stated that they spent
between twenty to thirty hours. There did not appear to be a good correlation between the number of trees,
family members and time spent harvesting. For example, the largest number of trees on a farm was 5000 for ID
24
31 who had six family members but reported less than 10 hours per week harvesting. The farmer (ID 42)
spending the most time harvesting (21-30hrs) had 900 trees and also six family members. The age of plantings
for the two farmers was also similar. However there did tend to be a correlation between the farmers estimate of
kilograms of pods harvested per year and time spent. This suggests that some of these farmers are purchasers of
pods and are factoring in time spent in this activity. The important factor is that the majority of farmers spend
less than ten hours per week harvesting during the main period.

In the other provinces covered a similar trend was noted. The majority spent less than 10 hours per week
harvesting and there was little correlation between factors such as the number of trees & pods, family members
and harvesting times.

In most families there were generally two main workers with the remainder made up of children and elderly.
As it is not possible to determine to what extent children and elderly may play in harvesting and the other steps
in processing, it’s considered best to express harvest times and times for the other processing steps as hours per
week per household. Therefore less than ten hours per week were spent in most households.

5.2 Pod Storage
Storing pods does involve some shifting of them to avoid bruising of surfaces, mould contamination, keeping
them out of the sun and other factors. Therefore some labour and time goes into the practice of pod storage. The
majority of farmers who fermented cocoa, did practice pod storage. Between 5-7 days was the most common
period and seven days has been recommended in the Success Alliance program. Between the 2006 & 7 surveys
fifty nine of the seventy five farmers reported spending less than 5 hours per week in tending stored pods.
Eleven farmers reported spending between 5-10 hours and one from 11-15 hours. In this case farmers who

reported more time spent harvesting tended to also report more time in tending stored pods. Again it did not
correlate to tree numbers but tended to relate to pod estimates, suggesting these farmers are pod buyers. Again
similar findings were found for the other provinces and therefore the large majority of farmers spend less than
five hours per week tending pods during storage.

5.3 Breaking of pods
Of the thirty seven farmers surveyed in three provinces, twenty two reported spending less than five hours per
week breaking pods. Fifteen reported spending between five to ten hours. Four reported eleven to fifteen hours
but these were all purchasers of pods. Time spent in breaking pods has not been affected by any
recommendation from this program.

5.4 Fermentation of cocoa
The majority of farmers fermented cocoa for six days. A few reported seven day fermentations and one farmer
for eight days. Thirty three of the thirty seven farmers fermenting cocoa applied turns on days two and four.
This is what is recommended. One farmer turned every day and the remainder turned three times.

Twenty two farmers reported spending less than one hour per week in turning beans and fifteen reported
spending 1-2 hours per week. Therefore for all farmers, less than two hours a week is spent in turning beans
during fermentation.

5.5 Transferring beans from fermenting boxes to drying baskets
At the end of fermentation beans are transferred to drying baskets. Twenty two farmers reported spending less
than one hour per week in transferring beans from fermentation boxes to drying trays. The remainder reported
1-2 hours per week.

25
5.6 Drying of cocoa
In Ben Tre Province five farmers stated that, using traditional means, it took less than 3 days to dry cocoa in the
dry season. Fifteen stated in took 3-5 days and ten stated it took 6-8 days. In Can Tho one farmer stated it took
6-8 days. In Dak Lak and Dak Nong all farmers stated that it took 6-8 days in the dry season.

In Ben Tre, in the wet season, eleven farmers stated that it took 6-8 days to dry. Sixteen stated that it took 9-11
days and seven stated it took longer than 11 days. In Can Tho, Dak Lak and Dak Nong all farmers reported 9-
11 days in the wet season. In Ben Tre twenty five farmers stated they lost less than 1% of their cocoa to mould
contamination and seven stated that they lost 1-5%. The figures were the same for the wet season, so loss of
crop to mould contamination is not perceived as a problem in this province. The farmer in Can Tho reported
loss of 1-5% in the dry season and the same for the wet season. In Dak Lak and Dak Nong five farmers reported
losses of less than 1% in the dry and all reported losses of 1-5% in the wet season. Therefore, in none of the
provinces was mould contamination perceived to be a problem. With farmers who had received a solar drier,
the amount of time saved in drying was not well quantified, possibly due to the small number of farmers (5)
who received them. Also farmers who did receive them were usually pod buyers as well and ownership of a
drier usually allowed them to purchase more pods. Those who responded reported reductions of three to four
days in drying time in the wet and one to two days in the dry season. This therefore represents a significant
reduction in time and associated labour.

During drying, the baskets are moved around to keep them in the sun during the day. They are also shifted
under cover when it rains or at night. They are also turned and raked to expose the moist surfaces. Of the three
farmers who received a solar drier in Ben Tre, two reported the same amount of time was spent turning and
raking beans and one stated his time was reduced. With the farmer in Can Tho and one in Dak Lak who
received solar driers all reported the same amount of time spent turning and raking beans. The farmers
however, did state that they spent less time shifting baskets around and putting them under cover. The amount
of time saved was usually quantified at a few hours per week.

In summary, it would therefore appear that the solar driers are not reducing mould contamination to any large
extent because it is not a large problem. Drying times and associated labour were reduced by 1-2 days in the dry
and 3-4 days in the wet seasons and this represents a significant savings in time and labour. The main benefit
from the solar driers is that they allow farmers to process much larger quantities of crop. Because of this, they
can set themselves up as pod buying points and increase their incomes this way. Farmers were asked if they
would be prepared to spend $200 for a drier capable of producing 400kg of dried beans per week. Of the fifteen
who responded only five stated yes. This may be due to the advantages not being immediately apparent.

Section 6: Selling of cocoa crop
Farmers can be divided into four categories when it comes to the selling of cocoa:

Category 1: They exclusively fermented and dried their own cocoa and sometimes cocoa pods purchased from
other growers.

There were 4 farmers in category 1. In the 2006 survey, the farmers fermenting their own cocoa have ID
numbers 2, 4, 14, 28 and 40. Names and district/village is given in the file. Number 2 is omitted from the
figures as it is ED&F Man which is a buying point for both fermented, dried cocoa and pods. It is not a typical
village situation. The other farmers have areas under cultivation of cocoa of 0.5, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 ha
respectively, giving an average area of cultivation of 0.725 ha. The average total area of these farms is 0.825
ha. Therefore 88% of their land is used for cocoa growing with associated intercropping and the remainder for
other crops. The number of trees planted is 600, 800, 600 and 700 respectively. For these farms plantings were
conducted in either 2002 or 2003, except for farmer 40 who planted 150 trees in 2004 and 250 in 2005.
Therefore the average number of trees for farmers fermenting and drying their own cocoa is 675 trees.

Category 2: Farmers who both sold pods and did their own fermentations when harvests were large enough.