Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học " Improvement of export and domestic markets for Vietnamese fruit through improved post-harvest and supply chain management - MS6 " ppt

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development



CARD Project Progress Report

050/04VIE
Improvement of export and domestic
markets for Vietnamese fruit
through improved post-harvest and
supply chain management





MS6: FOURTH SIX MONTHLY REPORT

July 2007

1
Table of Contents

1. Institute Information 1
2. Project Abstract 3
3. Executive Summary 3
4. Introduction & Background 5
5. Progress to Date 6
Implementation Highlights 6
Smallholder Benefits 12

Capacity Building 13
Publicity 14
Project Management 15
6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues 17
Environment 17
Gender and Social Issues 19
7. Implementation & Sustainability Issues 21
Issues and Constraints 21
Options 22
Sustainability 23
8. Next Critical Steps 23
9. Conclusion 24
10. Statutory Declaration Error! Bookmark not defined.

1
1. Institute Information
Project Name
Improvement of export and domestic
markets for Vietnamese fruit through
improved post-harvest and supply
chain management.
Vietnamese Institution
Southern Sub-Institute of Agricultural
Engineering and Post-Harvest
Technology (SIAEP)
Vietnamese Project Team Leader
Mr Nguyen Duy Duc, M. Eng.
Australian Organisation
Queensland Department of Primary
Industries and Fisheries (DPI & F)

Australian Personnel
Mr. Robert Nissen
Dr. Peter Hofman
Mr Brett Tucker
Mr. Roland Holmes
Ms Marlo Rankin
Date commenced
June 2005
Completion date (original)
May 2008
Completion date (revised)
June 2008
Reporting period
Progress Report 3 Six Monthly January
2007

Contact Officer(s)
In Australia: Team Leader
Name:
Mr. Robert Nissen
Telephone:
+61 07 54449631
Position:
Project Leader
Fax:
+61 07 54412235
Organisation
Queensland Department of
Primary Industries and
Fisheries (DPI & F)

Email:


In Australia: Administrative contact
Name:
Michelle Robbins
Telephone:
+61 07 3346 2711
Position:
Senior Planning Officer
(Emerging Technologies)
Fax:
+61 07 3346 2727
Organisation
Queensland Department
of Primary Industries and
Email:


1
Fisheries (DPI & F)

In Viet Nam
Name:
Mr Nguyen Duy Duc,
Telephone:
+84 (8) 8481151
Position:
Director SIAEP
Fax:

+84 (8) 8438842
Organisation
Southern Sub-Institute of
Agricultural Engineering and Post-
Harvest Technology (SIAEP)
Email:



2
2. Project Abstract

The fruit industry in Vietnam has a great potential and plays an important role in
agricultural production. In 2003, Vietnam exported US$43 million of high value fruit to
high-income countries and imported US$14 million of fruit and vegetables. Vietnam is
experiencing difficulties in competing with other Asian nations in export markets and its
own domestic market, especially with China and Thailand. This suggests that Vietnam’s
horticultural industries require substantial development to be globally competitive.
Vietnamese consumers are demanding safer and higher quality fruit. This project has
identified key pre-and post-harvest technology gaps that reduce product quality, safety
and consistency. Targeted training programs are focusing on the total supply chain and are
providing benefits by helping to implement quality management systems and GAP
systems at the village level providing greater employment for the farming community.
This project embraces the five CARD strategies for rural development; and in particular;
strategies to increase production and competitiveness of agricultural systems; reduce
poverty and vulnerability, and increase stakeholder participation whilst ensuring
sustainability.
3. Executive Summary
Studies on mango and pomelo fruit quality characteristics have been carried out. Results will
help establish fruit quality characteristics that will be used to develop quality guides for the

marketing of mango and pomelo.

Quality monitoring surveys to establish fruit defects have been carried out on mango by
SOFRI staff. Fruit affected by sapburn ranged from 16% to 50% across 5 markets in Can
Tho city. Market surveys conducted by Mr. Nissen on mango fruit being sold in northern
Vietnam showed that fruit affected by Anthracnose was 34%, sapburn 52%, abrasion marks
21%, and pressure marks 30%, fruit fly 1% and fruit rots (stem end and other rots) 3% (See
report on Survey of Mango Fruit Offered for Sale in Northern Vietnam). Many fruit had
multiple defects severely affecting consumer acceptance and product saleability.

CARD Project training of SIAEP and SOFRI staff and material supplied has assisted SIAEP
in the delivery of training workshops for Metro in their joint project with GTZ and the
Ministry of Commerce in Vietnam. Materials supplied and training carried out by this
CARD project have assisted SIAEP staff in the ADB project and workshops to assist farmers
in developing new agricultural supply chains to supply Metro stores with produce that meet
their specifications, particularly on product quality and food safety. Training for of more
than 700 farmers has been completed by SIAEP staff. Workshop evaluations have
indicated that over 90% of farmers were very satisfied with material supplied and workshops
conducted.

The strategic plans developed as part of this CARD Project for mango and pomelo are being
implemented by SIAEP and SOFRI team members. Considerable progress has been made on
the top 5 priorities for both the Vietnamese mango and pomelo industries.


3

Top 5 Priorities for the Mango Strategic Plan:- Listing in Order of Importance for Mango
Industry
1. Improve production process (e.g. follow GAP)

2. Need to improve the linkages between farmers – traders – customers, scientists and
government also need to be involved
3. Need market information for export and domestic markets
4. Improve packing and storing procedures/Need technical support to improve storing,
packing and packaging material
5. Government to help with planning and development for specialised fruit growing area

Top 5 Priorities for the Pomelo Strategic Plan:- Listing in Order of Importance for Mango
Industry
1. Supporting techniques from seedling–farming-harvesting (Guidance for GAP)
2. Advice/counsel on standards/specifications of products
3. Intensively farming and programming production area
4. Training on IPM
5. Improving applicability of farming techniques and technologies of harvesting,
packing and transporting

Preliminary socio-economic farmer surveys on Xoai (Mango) cultivar “Cat Hoa Loc”
farmers in the Hoa Hung Commune, Cai Be District, Tien giang Province in the Mekong
Delta of Vietnam indicates that:-
• Growers with high levels of management practices and high input levels obtain a
profit of VND 15,105,000 per 1000m
2
, 2.1 times greater than growers with mid level
management practices and mid level inputs and 3.7 times greater than grower with
low level management practices and inputs.
• For a 1000m
2
area of mango the average farmer input is VND 6,405,000.
• The average yield per 1000m
2

is 960 kg.
• The unit cost per kg of “Cat Hoa Loc” mango is VND 7,600.
• Mangoes are mainly sold at local markets. It is recommended to improve income,
farmers should develop market opportunities in HCMC and northern Vietnam.

Preliminary surveys of Buoi (Pomelo) cultivar “Nan Roi” in the My Hoa Commune, Binh
Minh District, Vinh Long Province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam indicates that:-
• Growers with high levels of management practices and high input levels obtain a
profit of VND 3,576,000 per 1000m
2
, 2.4 times greater than growers with mid level
management practices and mid level inputs and 3.9 times greater than grower with
low level management practices and inputs.
• For a 1000m
2
area of pomelo the average farmer input is VND 3,244,000
• The average yield pre 1000m
2
is 1,648 kg.
• The unit cost per kg for Buoi “Nam Roi” is VND 2,100.
• Pomelos are mainly sold at local markets. It is recommended that farmers to improve
income they should develop market opportunities in HCMC and northern Vietnam
and look at ways of direct selling to the consumer.


4
4. Introduction & Background
Fruit and Vegetable crops are highly lucrative compared to staple crops. Horticultural
produce has high value-added and income generation potential when compared to livestock
and grain production. Horticulture is highly attractive especially for small scale farmers, and

has a comparative advantage, particularly where land holdings are small, labour is abundant
and markets reasonable accessible (Weinberger and Lumpkin, 2006). This situation is
particularly true in Mekong Delta and Central South Cost Province of Khanh Hoa, Viet Nam.

Ford et al., (2003), suggested the competitiveness of Vietnamese fruit industries were failing
due to poor, unstable product quality, no quality standards, poor post harvest technologies
and pre-harvest practices, lack of group co-operative marketing structures and little
information about supply chains, prices and customers needs.

This project is addressing these constraints by engaging with key Vietnamese stakeholders
from research institutes (SIAEP and SOFRI) and local farmers in the mango and pomelo
industries in Southern Viet Nam. This project has taken account of the total supply chain
network and focused on where significant benefits are to be gained in the pre- harvest, post-
harvest and marketing sectors.

The objectives of the project are:

• Improved pre-harvest technologies to produce high quality mango (integrated pest
management, integrated crop management, fruit fly control, maturity indices,
reduced pesticide residues, better environmental and human health etc)
• Improved mango and pomelo post-harvest technologies (eg cool chain
management, packaging, post-harvest dipping, ethylene ripening, waxing, washing
and wetting agents, quality assurance)
• Improved quality standards and quality assurance programs for mango and pomelo.
The approach and methodologies developed for these crops through this project
will be applied to other fruits and vegetables.
• Mapping of current supply chains to domestic and selected export markets, with
particular emphasis on determining consumer preferences and needs, and reporting
results back to farmers.
• Provide a better understanding and possible improvements of the supply chain by

Viet Namese fruit industries for mango and pomelo.

This project will fill capacity gaps and reduce major weaknesses in pre-and post-harvest
technologies affecting product quality consistency and supply chain management and
planning. Highly specialised targeted training programs appropriate for institutions and
industry stakeholders will be provided.

At the local village and district level, cluster development of farmer/grower groups should
ensure better on-farm prices. This will increase power to these farmers which will benefit all
members of the supply chain (intermediaries to retailers) rather than the present powers
brokers in the chain. Farm incomes will therefore increase and result in better standard of
living for rural families. In addition, if quality management systems are implemented at the
village and district level through more appropriate fruit quality standards, packaging and
grading systems should increase returns resulting in greater employment at the local village

5
level. The flow on effects of this will benefit the poor in the rural areas, and specifically help
provide more jobs for rural women.

5. Progress to Date
Implementation Highlights
Implementation highlights of CARD Project activities
Since mapping and conducting the SWOT analysis of the mango and pomelo supply chains
considerable development has been made on developing new supply chains. Development of
the action plans and the setting of responsibilities for SIAEP and SOFRI staff and supply
chain participants have been carried out and substantial development into identifying key
fruit quality characteristics competed. Determining fruit quality levels acceptable to farmers,
collectors, wholesalers, traders and retailers for pomelo and mango were undertaken. These
activities align with the proposed project activities 3, 5 6 7, 8, and 11 and project milestones
4, 7 and 9.

For example, studies on pomelo cv. “Nam Roi” and “Da Xanh” have been carried out and
data collected on fruit quality characteristics. Market requirement characteristics reported on
include:
Fruit shape
• Skin Colour
• Weight
• General Appearance
• Number of seed
• Rind colour, thickness and easiness to peel
• Flesh firmness, colour, juiciness flavour and separation flesh sacks from the segment
locular wall.

Studies on fruit quality characteristics for mango cv. “Cat Hoa Loc” and “Cat Chu” to
develop market quality characteristics included:
• Fruit shape, size, appearance
• Skin colour
• Brix levels
• Damage and defects (sapburn, disease and pest, cuts punctures, abrasion marks etc.)

See Appendix B for summary of pomelo and mango quality characteristics to be used for the
quality manual guides for Vietnam’s pomelo and mango industries.

Studies on mango sapbrun undertaken by SOFRI staff showed that the percentage of mango
fruit affected by sapburn ranged from 16% to 50% with an average of 33% across 5 markets
in Can Tho city.

6
Table 1. Percentage of sapburn mango fruit observed at retail markets in Can
Tho City (main season 2005)
Retail market Sapburn mango fruit (%)
3/2 market 41,5
Xuân Khanh 16,7
An Nghiep 50,0
An Hoa 31,3
Cai Khe Trade Centre 27,1

Source: Tran Ngoc Suong et al. 2006. Study on pre-harvest cultivation techniques and post-
harvest treatments to improve fruit quality and to prolong post-harvest shelf-life of mango cv.
“Cat Hoa Loc” in Can Tho provinces.

Skin damage on mango, no matter how small has a significant effect on customer and
consumer acceptability. Practices especially in South Vietnam have a sever effect on mango
fruit quality and saleability. Skin damage caused by any of the following conditions:
• environmental conditions (rainfall, wind, high temperature causing sunburn)
• pre-harvest management practices (damage due to pest and disease sprays, abrasion
or wind rub marks, incorrect tree pruning and training etc.)
• post-harvest practices or transport and handling practices (during picking, grading,
sorting and packaging causing abrasion, cuts, pressure and puncture marks).

Fruit affected by anthracnose in the northern markets is common. Market surveys conducted
by Mr. Nissen on mango fruit being sold in northern Vietnam showed that fruit affected by
Anthracnose was 34%, sapburn 52%, abrasion marks 21%, and pressure marks 30%, fruit fly
1% and fruit rots (stem end and other rots) 3% (See report on Survey of Mango Fruit Offered

for Sale in Northern Vietnam). Many fruit had multiple defects severely affecting consumer
acceptance and product saleability.

The disease Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloesporiodies) severely affects mango post-
harvest life and fruit quality. The fungus remains dormant on green fruit until it begins to
ripen. As the natural resistance of green fruit breaks down, the fungus can grow unchecked
unless post-harvest treatments to control the disease are applied.

Therefore training on mango post-harvest physiology was conducted by the Australian team
in July 2007. One demonstration conducted during this training showed the use of a mango
stem sap remover which eliminates fruit sapburn. The use of this product alone will have a
significant impact on fruit quality and post-harvest storage life of mango as it will also help
stop fruit being affected by Anthracnose. Post-harvest treatment with Sportak ® is also
recommended.

In Australia there are two main treatments available. A hot dip using carbendazim (Spin
flo®) or a dip or flood spray with prochloraz (Sportak®). Your choice of treatment depends
on the level of disease in the orchard and the incidence of the other major fungus, stem-end
rot. If stem-end rot is not a problem, you can treat with prochloraz alone; if it is a problem,
you will need to use a hot carbendazim dip.

Post-harvest treatment trials conducted a SOFRI on controlling Anthracnose have proven to
be highly successful (see Appendix B) but skin scalding and browning and los of water from
the fruit are evident.

7

For Vietnamese growers, adopting such practices will be difficult. Chemical costs,
implementation of correct chemical dipping rates and controlling the hot water temperatures
and treatment practices involve complex processes. In Australia, many mango growers still

have significant problems with hot water treatment of mangoes and therefore this practise is
left to a few professional operators who have equipment capable of achieving reliable results.

It is recommended for Vietnam that a dip with prochloraz (Sportak®) be implemented to
control Anthracnose as this procedure can be easily carried out at the farm level with training
on chemical usage and dipping procedures. Many Vietnamese growers are not capable of
carrying out hot water dipping treatments due to lack of equipment and specific knowledge to
achieve repeatable and reliable results. New high value markets need to be developed before
such practices can be implemented to justify costs of carrying out such practices at the farmer
level.

Development of new supply chains
CARD Project training of SIAEP and SOFRI staff and material supplied has assisted SIAEP
in the delivery of training workshops for Metro in their joint project with GTZ and the
Ministry of Commerce in Vietnam. CopMart are also negotiating with SIAEP to develop
new agricultural supply chains. Materials supplied and training carried out by this CARD
project have assisted SIAEP staff in the ADB project and workshops to assist farmers in
developing new agricultural supply chains to supply Metro stores with produce that meet
their specifications, particularly on product quality and food safety. Training for of more
than 700 farmers has been completed by SIAEP staff. Workshop evaluations have
indicated that over 90% of farmers were very satisfied with material supplied and workshops
conducted. These activities align with the proposed project activities 3, 5 6 7, 8, 11, and 12
and with project milestones 4, 7 and 9.


Implementation of mango and pomelo strategic plans
The strategic plans developed as part of this CARD Project for mango and pomelo are being
implemented by SIAEP and SOFRI team members. Considerable progress has been made on
the top 5 priorities for both the Vietnamese mango and pomelo industries listed below.
These activities align with the proposed project activities 3, 5 6 7, 8, 11, and 12 and project

milestones 4, 7 and 9.

Top 5 Priorities for the Mango Strategic Plan:- Listing in Order of Importance for Mango
Industry
6. Improve production process (e.g. follow GAP)
7. Need to improve the linkages between farmers – traders – customers, scientists and
government also need to be involved
8. Need market information for export and domestic markets
9. Improve packing and storing procedures/Need technical support to improve storing,
packing and packaging material
10. Government to help with planning and development for specialised fruit growing area

Top 5 Priorities for the Pomelo Strategic Plan:- Listing in Order of Importance for Mango
Industry
6. Supporting techniques from seedling–farming-harvesting (Guidance for GAP)
7.
Advice/counsel on standards/specifications of products

8
8. Intensively farming and programming production area
9. Training on IPM
10. Improving applicability of farming techniques and technologies of harvesting,
packing and transporting

Action Plans for the Implementation of the Strategic Plans
In May 2006, key roles and responsibilities were allocated for the implementation of the
strategic plans developed. Actions undertaken as per these plans are as follows:-

Action 1. Development of GAP including pest and disease management (IPM/IDM)
Mango Priorities 1, 2 & 5

Pomelo Priorities 1, 2, 3 & 4

Action 2. Improved linkages between growers, traders, customers, scientists, extension agents
and government
Mango Priorities 2
Pomelo Priorities 2

Action 3. Improving pre and post-harvest farming techniques and technologies for mango and
pomelo
Mango Priorities 1, 3 & 4
Pomelo Priorities 1, 2, & 5

Project manuals developed and supplied to date are:
1. Mango Cultivation Handbook
2. Mango Pest Control Handbook
3. Mango Disease Handbook
4. Pomelo Handbook
5. Mango and Citrus Orchard Design
6. Mango Information Kit (DPI&F Agrilink Publication Translated into Vietnamese)
7. Citrus Information Kit (DPI&F Agrilink Publication)
8. Citrus Pests and Their Natural Enemies (DPI&F Publication)
9. The Good Bug Book (ABC Publication Book)

Project Manuals and Training Workshops developed to date are:
1. Introduction to Food Supply/Value Chains
2. Developing Food Supply/Value Chains
3. Improving Export and Domestic Markets for Vietnamese Fruit through Improved
Supply Chain Management
a. Strategic Planning
b. Mapping and Developing Supply Chains

c. Analysing Supply Chains
d. Determining Improvements and Developing new Supply Chains
e.
Developing Action Plans
f. Evaluating and Monitoring Supply chains
4. Supply/Value Chain Analysis: Surveys and Interview techniques and questionnaires
Design
5. Quality Flows: Monitoring Quality via Sequential Sampling of Mango and Pomelo
down the length of the Supply/Value Chain
6. Developing New Improved Horticultural Supply Chains

9
a. How to Develop a New Supply Chain
b. Market Research and Segmentation
c. Building and Marketing Strategy
d. Supply Chain Development
i. Getting The Product right
ii. Building Effective Information and Communication Strategy
iii. Building and Effective Distribution and Logistics System
iv. Building Effective Relationships
v. Creating Shared Value
1. Monitoring Quality
2. Packaging
7. Mango and Citrus Orchard Design
a. Orchard Layout
b. Farm access and facilities
c. Water courses and dams
d. Positioning rows
e. Training and pruning systems
f. Planting trees

8. Mango Post-harvest Physiology Manual
a. Post-harvest biology
i. Fruit ripening and quality loss
ii. Main causes of quality loss after harvest
iii. Post-harvest technology
1. Introduction to mango post-harvest physiology
2. Harvesting and field handling
3. Packhouse operations and practices
4. Ripening and storage
5. transport for mango
6. Know your market
7. Causes and Solutions of post-harvest defects
9. Designing Training Workshops for Mango and Pomelo Farmers in Vietnam
10. Farm Economic Analysis Workbook.

The process employed during training workshops allows farmers, extension agents and
researchers to discuss ideas, develop solutions to problems encountered in developing
improved post-harvest practices and new supply chains. Workshops conducted in July 2007
by Australian trainers were held at SIAEP and SOFRI training rooms. Whilst these
workshops were specifically designed as “train the trainer” workshops, several farmers and
extension agents were in attendance (see Appendix B for workshop participants lists).

Training Workshops
Mango Post-Harvest Physiology Workshop, Designing Training Workshops for Mango and
Pomelo Farmers Workshop, and the Socio-economic Workshop to assess the impact of
supply chians for mango and pomelo growers in Vietnam were conducted during July-
August 2007. These workshops align with the proposed project activities 3, 5 6 7, 8, 9, 11,
12 and 13 and with project milestones 4, 7 and 9.

10
Workshop evaluations
The ORID system was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the four workshops conducted in
July 2007. Both Vietnamese farmers and SIAEP and SOFRI staff were surveyed at the
completion of each workshop. The workshops conducted were:
• Mango Post-Harvest Physiology Workshop
• Designing Training Workshops for Mango and Pomelo Farmers
• Developing Fruit Quality Guides for Mango and Pomelo Industries
• Socio-economic Analyses of Supply Chains

Analysis of the four workshops using the ORID system showed on average that:-
• workshop length:- 92% of participants found that the workshops were of the right
time length with the remaining 8% indicating that they were too short.
• trainees understanding of concepts:- 50% of participants understood the concepts very
well, with the remaining 50% understanding concepts well.
• new information:- 91% of all participants indicted that a high proportion of
information presented was new to them with the remaining 9% indicating most of the
information was new to them.
• usefulness of information provided:- 72% of participants indicated that the
information would be very usefully in working with other professionals and growers
to develop new supply chains, whilst the remaining 28% indicated that all the
information would be useful.
• trainees use of methods and material:- 85% of participants indicated that training
methods used and information provided would be used by them to conduct their own
workshops.
• trainees confidence in using techniques and methodology:- 91% of participants
indicated that their confidence would improve with further training.

• cultural barriers:- 33% of participants indicated that their may be some cultural
barriers in implementing new methods, whilst 50% were unsure and 17% believed
there were no barriers.
• trainer’s knowledge:- 80% of participants believed that the was very good whilst the
reaming 20% of participants believed it was good
• fulfilling trainees expectations:- 65% of participants indicated that their personal
expectations with the workshops and their needs were highly satisfied. The
remaining 25% had their expectation satisfied.

Milestone achievements
As per the CARD Project Management Unit agreed and approved adjusted milestones in the
1
st
six monthly report (Appendix A). This project has achieved all the milestone on time and
on budget. These are and are listed below.
• Milestone 1 June 2005
o contract signed
• Milestone 2 January 2006
o 1
st
six monthly report submitted and statutory declaration and training inputs
highlighted
• Mile stone 3 July 2006
o 2
nd
Six monthly report submitted and statutory declaration and training inputs
highlighted

11
• Mile stone 4 January 2007
o Methodology, analytical techniques and training material for supply chain
analysis and development
o Supply Chain maps for Mangos and Pomelos.
o Strategic Plan for Mangos and Pomelos
• Milestone 5 January 2007
o 3
rd
Six monthly report submitted and statutory declaration and training inputs
highlighted
• Milestone 6 September 2007
o 4
th
Six monthly report submitted and statutory declaration and training inputs
highlighted.

Smallholder Benefits
This CARD project has also demonstrated that improved on farm practices (new orchard
designs; pruning and training systems; IPM and IDM systems) will greatly improve the
living standards of farmers via implementation of improved farming and supply chain
practices. Whilst many of these practices are a significant improvement on traditional
practices they are only part of a sustainable GAP system. On farm socio-economic studies
carried out by SOFRI and SIAEP staff showed that improvements via increased inputs and
management practices significantly improve farmer’s returns in the Mekong Delta.

Mango
Preliminary surveys of Xoai (Mango) cultivar “Cat Hoa Loc” farmers in the Hoa Hung
Commune, Cai Be District, Tien giang Province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam indicates
that:-

• Growers with high levels of management practices and high input levels obtain a
profit of VND 15,105,000 per 1000m
2
, 2.1 times greater than growers with mid level
management practices and mid level inputs and 3.7 times greater than grower with
low level management practices and inputs.
• For a 1000m
2
area of mango the average farmer input is VND 6,405,000.
• The average yield per 1000m
2
is 960 kg.
• The unit cost per kg of “Cat Hoa Loc” mango is VND 7,600.
• Mangoes are mainly sold at local markets. It is recommended to improve income,
farmers should develop market opportunities in HCMC and northern Vietnam.

Table 1. Input profit by farmer groups for “Cat Hoa Loc” Mango farmers in the Hoa Hung
Commune, Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.
Description High
Level
Group
Medium
Level
Group
Low
Level
Group
Average Ratio
(times)
High vs.

Medium
Ratio
(times)
High vs.
Low
Unit production cost
(VND 1000/kg)
6.7 7.8 8.7 7.7 0.9 0.8
Unit production profit
(VND 1000/kg)
11.4 8.6 6.8 8.9 1.3 1.7
Input profit (%) 2.1 1.2 0.8 1.4 1.7 2.6
Unit of Profit of area
(VND 1000/1000m
2
)
15,105 7,332 4,112 8,850 2.1 3.7

12


Pomelo
Preliminary surveys of Buoi (Pomelo) cultivar “Nan Roi” in the My Hoa Commune, Binh
Minh District, Vinh Long Province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam indicates that:-
• Growers with high levels of management practices and high input levels obtain a
profit of VND 3,576,000 per 1000m
2
, 2.4 times greater than growers with mid level
management practices and mid level inputs and 3.9 times greater than grower with
low level management practices and inputs.

• For a 1000m
2
area of pomelo the average farmer input is VND 3,244,000
• The average yield pre 1000m
2
is 1,648 kg.
• The unit cost per kg for Buoi “Nam Roi” is VND 2,100.
• Pomelos are mainly sold at local markets. It is recommended that farmers to improve
income they should develop market opportunities in HCMC and northern Vietnam
and look at ways of direct selling to the consumer.

Table 2. Input profit by farmer groups for Buoi “Nam Roi” farmers in the My Hoa
Commune, Binh Minh District, Vinh Long Province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.
Description High
Level
Group
Medium
Level
Group
Low
Level
Group
Average Ratio
(times)
High vs.
Medium
Ratio
(times)
High vs.
Low

Unit production cost
(VND 1000/kg)
1.8 2.1 2.3 2.1 0.8 0.8
Unit production profit
(VND 1000/kg)
2.5 1.8 1.6 1.9 1.4 1.6
Input profit (%) 150 90 80 110 1.7 2.0
Unit of Profit of area
(VND 1000/1000m
2
)
6,427 2,624 1,652 3,567 2.4 3.9


Developing new chains
This CARD project is through SIAEP and SOFRI staff are working with the various groups
of the supply chain participants (farmers to consumers) in the mango and pomelo supply
chains in Vietnam. Many farmer groups and chain participants are now taking greater
initiatives by developing new alliances and approaches. For example:- groups are now
preparing to supply retailers “Metro” and “CopMart” with product sourced from the Mekong
Delta. This is an example of how this project has developed the capacity of farmers,
collectors, traders and wholesalers to link with large consumer outlets even though there are
many problems to overcome. Significant improvements in product quality and food safety
will not be achieved overnight. Careful planning and development of these supply chains
will have to be undertaken to ensure that all chain participants create value and receive a fair
share of the rewards.

Capacity Building
Training workshops processes
SIAEP and SOFRI Staff members along with several key growers participated in four

workshops during July 2007. These workshops involved “participatory action learning” and

13
“farmer training farmer” processes to develop solutions to improving pre-, post-harvest and
supply chain management impacts on mango and pomelo fruit quality. Employing such a
process, allows this CARD project to obtain wider support from a cross section of
participants. This consultative and participatory action learning approach is designed to
empower the rural poor and supply chain participants in the decision making processes.
Based on the agreed directions in the strategic and action plans for both the mango and
pomelo, the CARD project participants (SIEAP, SOFRI staff and the mango and pomelo
farmers) develop skills via workshops aligned to the CARD Project objectives.

Mr. Nissen, Dr Marques and Dr Russell conducted 5 training workshops during July-August
2007 for 14 days this follows on from the 4 training workshops conducted by Mr Nissen and
Ms Rankin in November-December 2006 for 15 days.

Workshops for July August were
• Post-harvest physiology and handling of mango
• Designing workshop for mango and pomelo farmers in Vietnam
• Developing quality assurance guides for mango and pomleo in Vietnam
• Developing socio-economic supply chain evaluations and analysis for Vietnam
• Development findings on new supply chains in Vietnam
o New supply chain developments
o Action plan review
o Sequential sampling and surveys
o Planning activities for the next 12 months

These 5 workshops were conducted on:
• 30
th

-31
st
July 2007:- Workshop 1
• 1
st
-2
nd
August 2007:- Workshop 2
• 3
rd
-4
th
August 2007:- Workshop 3
• 6
th
-7
th
August 2007:- Workshop 4
• 7
th
-8
th
August 2007;- Workshop 5

Field visit to SOFRI was undertaken where the “Developing quality assurance guides for
mango and pomleo in Vietnam” was conducted in conjunction with farmers.

Training manuals and PowerPoint presentations developed for workshops were:
• Post-harvest physiology and handling of mango
• Designing workshop for mango and pomelo farmers in Vietnam

• Developing quality assurance guides for mango and pomleo in Vietnam
• Developing socio-economic supply chain evaluations and analysis for Vietnam

Publicity
Two publicity articles were developed and sent to DPI&F in Brisbane. One article may be
included in the DPI&F annual report. This article highlighted work conducted by DPI&F as
part of this CARD funded project in South Vietnam.

“Knowledge Exports”:- article submitted for publication in DPI&F annual report.

14
The profitability of supply chains for both mango and pomelo in Vietnam has been
significantly improved by the multi-disciplinary AusAID CARD funded Project. This
emphasised the need to maintain fruit quality through the supply chain downstream to the
consumer. DPI&F is working with both Australian and Vietnamese Government Agencies
and Queensland and Vietnamese commercial partners. This is in line with the Memorandum
of Understanding signed between the Queensland and Vietnamese Governments, to assist in
development of agriculture in Vietnam and to help develop trade between mango and citrus
industries in both countries.

Commencing in 2005, to date the project has resulted in the development of new
management procedures to enhance fruit quality, the implementation of new post-harvest
technologies to maintain fruit quality and the establishment of greenfield operations by an
Emu Exports Ltd. which will expand their trade into the Asian region.

Skills and expertise provided by DPI&F included:

• an evaluation of supply chains in Vietnam, research undertaken to assist commercial
partners to maximise profitability from Queensland trade into Asian regions;
• the development of new training aids and material to assist Queensland and Vietnamese

industries provide a product suited to the overseas target market ; and
• the provision of training in post-harvest fruit handling to approx 700 Vietnamese fruit
growers and supply chain participants.

Governments and agribusiness enterprises in fast growing economies in countries in South
East Asia are fast tracking industry improvement by importing state of the art research,
production and supply chain management expertise. DPI&F, with a range of government and
commercial partners, will continue to take advantage of a growing market for the
international transfer of primary industries skills and knowledge.

The model used in this project will improve DPI&F’s capability and capacity to take
advantage of similar opportunities in the future.

Mr Nissen has written a paper on “Development of new processes for evaluation and
implementing new improved horticultural supply chains operating in the transitional
economies of south-east Asia”. Mr Nissen will orally present this paper at the International
Society of Horticultural Science Conference in Hanoi, September 2007. Processes developed
and used in the AusAID CARD funded project and their successes will be highlighted at this
conference by Mr Nissen.
Project Management
Linkages to other projects
Even closer linkages with the joint RMIT and DPI&F project staff working on Quality
Assurance Systems for ASEAN Fruit and Vegetables (QASAFV) have been undertaken.
The QASAFV project is one of 10 projects initiated under the ASEAN Australian
Development Cooperation Program (AADCP). Exchange of information has occurred on a
regular basis. The information exchanged covered areas such as:
• product quality concepts and quality assurance guidelines
• development of ASEAN GAP standards
• supply chain development and evaluation processes

15
• extension training methodologies for training trainers

Material developed for training the trainers to develop farmer training manuals and training
courses was exchanged and adapted for incorporation into the CARD project training.

Close links were established with the DPI&F group working on projects funded by
Australian Melon Industry. These projects were developing quality assurance guidelines and
manuals for the Australian Melon Industry. Several manuals and poster and reference
material produced by the industries indicated below were purchased by this CARD project
and supplied to the Vietnamese CARD project participants. Industries were:-
• Australian Melon Industry
• Australian Mango Industry
• Australian Lychee
• Australian Citrus Industry

These manuals posters and charts provide ideas and examples to the Vietnamese mango and
pomelo farmers, researchers and extension agents, collectors, traders and wholesalers on how
to construct quality assurance charts and manuals.

Project activities management
During this 6 month period, several factors interrupted the project activities timeline from the
Australian side. Due to circumstances beyond Mr. Nissens control, activities and training
workshops to be conducted in ay 2007 were deferred to July-August 2007. This was due to
personal health problems of Dr. Hofman and Mr. Nissen (see below for reasons). Further
complications have arisen due to the continuing health problems of Dr Hofman. It was
decided that Dr. Roberto Marques, Dr Hofman’s post-harvest colleague working at
Maroochy Research Station on mango post-harvest technologies conduct the workshops in
Vietnam in July-August 2007. This was done to ensure the project remains on track.

Reasons for the delay in project activities from May until July-August 2007 are:-
• Dr. Peter Hofman’s wife has been hospitalised to have a hip operation on the 24
th
of
April. It is expected that her recovery will take two months. Dr Peter Hofman does
not wish to travel for two months until his wife has recovered. Dr. Peter Hofman is
one of the principal trainers for the post-harvest physiology section and was to train
the Vietnamese collaborators in mango post-harvest physiology.
• Dr Peter Hofman injured his back in June and is unable to travel. In July 2007 Dr
Peter Hofmam is still recovering from a back injury sustained earlier in the year and
due to its slow recovery is working from home. Dr Peter Hofman has been advised
not to travel in 2007 and therefore will not be available for travel for the rest of this
year.
• Emu Exports Pty Ltd (Vietnam) is the Qld based company we are working closely
with in Vietnam. We were to visit Emu Exports facilities and use their training rooms
and packing shed near Nha Tran in Vietnam to train the Vietnamese farmers and
collaborators. Training was to include:- harvesting, transport, handling, sorting and
grading and packing. Emu Exports has had a crop failure in Vietnam there is less

16
than one container on the 10ha orchard. Therefore, no fruit is available for training
the Vietnamese farmers and collaborators. We have negotiated with Emu Exports
(Vietnam) and have rescheduled this training for May 2008.
• Our Vietnamese collaborators at the Southern Sub-Institute of Agricultural
Engineering and Post-harvest technology (SIAEP) are installing some equipment at
the Emu Export packing shed near Nha Trang in Vietnam. The delivery and
installation of this machinery has not been completed and SIEAP requested that the
training be held off until the machinery installation has been completed.
• Mr Nissen was scheduled to go into hospital in May, for a minor procedure. Due to
the timing of this procedure Mr Nissen was not able to travel as per the scheduled

project activities.

Further complications arose due to unavailability of Ms. Marlo Rankin in May to October
2007 because of personal reasons. It was agreed to that her supervisor at the University of
Queensland, Dr Iean Russell who is highly qualified economists and has worked overseas in
Cambodia, travelled to Vietnam in Ms Rankin’s place. Dr. Russell in conjunction with Mr.
Nissen conducted training workshops on gathering socio-economic data and analysis in July-
August 2007.

Even though there has been almost a 6 month delay from the Australian side to the project
due to the events mentioned above. By substituting Dr Marques for one trip whilst Dr
Hofman recovers and Dr Russell for one project trip due to unavailability of Ms Marlo
Rankin has enabled this CARD project to remain on track as per the CARD Management
approved amended milestone and activity timeline submitted in the first six monthly report.

The Vietnamese SIAEP and SOFRI staff aligned to this CARD project continued working on
the project activities and action plans during this period.

6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
Environment
Environmental issues identified during previous workshops are still of a major concern for
many farmers in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. These included:
• agricultural spray application methodology and practices (incorrect and constant use
of agricultural chemicals (insecticides, growth regulators etc.)
• type and amount of fertiliser and their application methods to reduce environmental
contamination (both organic and in organic)
• mixed farming methodology and cultural practices (mixed plant and animal farming
practices)
• increasing contamination of irrigation water via salt water and grey water incursions
• incorrect water management practices and irrigation methods (e.g. disposal of grey

water and by product contamination of waterways and over watering and nutrient
leaching and runoff


17

Agricultural spray application, methodology and practices
Understanding how risk plays a very important role in decision making processes used by
many Vietnamese farmers is critical to developing solutions to problems with agricultural
spray applications. Even though risk is not directly spelt out in surveys or answers provided
by farmers in Surveys conducted as part of the CARD Project, risk does impact heavily on
their decision making process.

Whilst many farmers are conscious of environmental impacts, they indicate problems with
incorrect chemical usage and overuse of chemicals is happening. The harsh reality is; if they
do not use chemicals, the fear of crop loss is very high and the impact on family income
overrides their many of their concerns listed above. This issue was very evident during the
farmer CARD Project training workshop in November 2006 on mango and citrus orchard
design. As a consequence of these fears, continual use of unregistered chemical sprays and
calendar spray regimes are practiced. This practice can lead to food safety issues, as well as
the environmental contamination of waterways and disease resistance due to incorrect
chemical rates and overuse.

At times there are only a few alternatives to calendar spray regimes but training in IPM and
IDM systems will lead to a substantial change in agricultural chemical usage.
Implementation of good IPM/IDM systems and demonstrations are essential to achieve
farmer acceptance of such a system. The use of monitoring systems can substantially
decrease chemical usage, decreasing food safety issues and chemical impact on the
environment. Monitoring systems need to include:
• weather conditions

• sampling disease or pest prevalence in the orchard
• establishment of disease incidence levels related to crop loss and economic
impacts

For example:- this CARD Project has found that Vietnamese mango farmers have a
significant disease problem, Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporidies).

Weather conditions. Weather conditions can impact heavily on fruit quality and food safety
issues as well as the environment. Any rain during fruit maturation periods will increase the
incidence of certain diseases. In mango surveys conducted as part of this CARD Project,
34% of all mango fruit offered for sale in the market place are severely affected by
anthracnose. This is a result of favourable weather conditions for disease infection of fruit on
trees before harvest. Anthracnose attacks flowers and small fruit and lays dormant for many
months until conditions favour its development. To control such a disease pre-harvest spray
program and pruning of trees to improve spray penetration and increase ventilation of trees
along with removal of dead branches is required.

Orchard design and layout. This project has found that most small established Vietnamese
orchards are poorly designed. They have large trees which are not easily harvested or
sprayed. If the orchard is not designed to facilitate the management of trees for disease
control, then severe environmental and financial consequences will result. Poorly designed
and maintained orchards can result in
• a build up of disease and pests
• disease and pest resistance to chemicals

18
• contamination of soil and waterways due to incorrect spray methods, rates and
disposal of containers

Farmer training in mango and citrus orchard design and layout was carried out by this CARD

Project in November 2006 using participatory action learning and farmer training farmers
methods. This highly successful workshop resulted in many farmers drawing orchard plans
and discussion on how to change existing orchards. GAP on farm practices to eliminate:-
• acid sulphate soils (ASS) disturbance
• nutrient runoff
• irrigation and water management

Chemicals:- The use of targeted chemicals specially designed to control a particular disease
is essential. Reliance on continual use of a calendar chemical spray regime and especially in
tropical regions can quickly result in disease resistance. Orchard monitoring for the disease
and correct timing of chemicals applications at the correct rates can significantly reduce:-
• incidence of the disease in the orchard and on the fruit
• number of sprays required
• farmer input costs (chemical and application costs)
• chemical residues on fruit, therefore eliminating food safety concerns
• environmental contamination of soil and water ways

Farmer training in orchard pest and disease practices will be carried in October 2007 with
mango and pomelo farmers in the Mekong Delta (Tien Giang and Vinh Long provinces) and
Nha Trang province.

Post-harvest management practices:- Temperature management of fruit after harvest is
also critical in reducing post-harvest problems with anthracnose. Therefore, making sure
fruit are cooled within 48 hours after harvest for storage and transport is critical. Post-
harvest dipping of fruit, correct handling during and after harvest and packaging stacking and
storing is essential to reduce the incidence of anthracnose on marketed fruit. Training was
conducted by this CARD project in July 2007 on mango post-harvest techniques.

Gender and Social Issues
Social Issues

Education of farmers is critical to achieving improvements in the supply chain. Farmers are
the starting point as it is impossible to improve fruit quality as the product moves through the
supply chain (farmer to collector to wholesaler to retailer). Significant improvements in food
safety and GAP practices at the farmer level are needed if Vietnamese fruit supply chains are
to achieve compliance with large domestic food retailers and export market quality standards.
At the present time greater emphasis is placed on price, yield and volume than on product
quality and safety by farmers, collectors and wholesalers. Traders and exporters have
reported difficulty in filling orders (obtaining sufficient quantity of a particular quality grade
that meet export standards). This has been well documented by farmer, collector, wholesaler
and traders surveys and workshop findings conducted as part of this CARD project.

Small vendors and retailers in distant domestic markets in Vietnam have trouble selling
product due to problems with product quality. Mango market surveys conducted by Mr.
Nissen on mango fruit being sold in northern Vietnam showed that fruit affected by

19
Anthracnose was 34%, sapburn 52%, abrasion marks 21%, and pressure marks 30%, fruit fly
1% and fruit rots (stem end and other rots) 3% (See report on Survey of Mango Fruit Offered
for Sale in Northern Vietnam). Many fruit had multiple defects severely affecting consumer
acceptance and product saleability.

Farmers with higher education levels appear to be able to understand problems and apply
new technology to solve those problems. Others less educated, appear reluctant to change
and favour traditional methods. Another significant problems faced by many small farmers
is the lack of resources. Farmers often refer to a lack of resources during workshops,
meetings and field visits. For this CARD project on supply chains these resources can be
broadly classified into:-
• land and water resources
o availability and quality (pollution and salinity)
• equipment and material resources to facilitate the GAP practices

o disease free material, pumps, chemicals, spray tanks, packaging etc.
• monetary resources
o purchase equipment and implements new practices and systems etc.
• knowledge and information
o how to obtain knowledge:- from whom and where
o how carry out GAP practices (Example:- how to apply sprays correctly,
timing of sprays for control of pests and diseases as well as fertiliser, and
irrigation practices etc.

As mentioned above surveys conducted as part of this CARD project have found that mango
farmers with high levels of management practices and high input levels obtain a profit of
VND 15,105,000 per 1000m
2
, 2.1 times greater than growers with mid level management
practices and mid level inputs and 3.7 times greater than grower with low level management
practices and inputs. For pomelo farmers with high levels of management practices and high
input levels obtain a profit of VND 3,576,000 per 1000m
2
, 2.4 times greater than growers
with mid level management practices and mid level inputs and 3.9 times greater than grower
with low level management practices and inputs.

Whilst forming small farmers into groups has creating greater economies of scale and
reduced the number of participants in the supply chain, the benefits to individual farmers in
the group, appear to be tightly linked to education levels. For example, many farmers have
insufficient information on which to make decision on what chemical to apply and what is
the most economical way to apply. It has been observed that many farmers and labours do
not take adequate protection from pesticides. There is a need to educate farmers in the
correct handling of pesticides and possible risks to their health. Many farmers are also are
not aware of over use of chemicals and the problems of pest and disease resistance that can

be created by chemical over use. Most farmers are aware of consumer suspicions of
chemicals used to grown fruit and vegetables and the move by consumers towards a clean
green product and organic grown products. As part of this CARD project training to improve
farmer GAP practices workshops in IPM/IDM will be conducted during October 2007.

Gender Issues
As stated in the previous report this project is aware of the need to incorporate, encourage
and support the role of women in the design and implementation of project objectives and
outputs. This project recognises the vital role women play at all levels of both mango and

20
pomelo supply chains and strategies are being trialled to seek out and encourage the
involvement of women in the project.

Information gathered during the course of this project show that women are predominately
involved in the post-harvest marketing and sale of the fruit. They often represent the
majority of collectors, wholesalers, traders and retailers in local, regional and HCMC
markets where greater than 85% of sellers are women. Therefore future upstream training
will be designed to address these roles and encourage their participation.

The Vietnamese project team is well represented with women. Several new faces have been
added to this project form SIAEP, increasing the numbers of female team members. They
will play a very important role in training farmers and conducting surveys and data collection
in markets and the retailers sectors. Both Director Nguyen Duy Duc (SIAEP) and Dr.
Nguyen Minh Chau and Dr Hong (SIAEP) are committed to the professional development of
female staff. It was pleasing to see that young female scientists from both institutes take on
key responsibilities as part of the project. SIEAP’s Director, Mr Nguyen Duy Duc, and
SOFRI’s Director, Dr Nguyen Minh Chau should be congratulated for their foresight in
having the faith, by providing the project with female staff who are committed to getting the
job done.

7. Implementation & Sustainability Issues
Issues and Constraints
Fruit quality and safety standards
As reported in previous reports, higher grade standards through the traditional supply chains
will be very difficult to achieve. Fruit grade standards for mango and pomelo will be
difficult to implement, especially when topping is practiced by the majority of participants in
the supply chain. This CARD Project has developed preliminary quality standards but
acceptance by all of the supply chain participants will have to be obtained by training
collectors wholesalers, traders and retailers.

Developing new supply chians
Training of researchers, extension agents and farmers on developing new supply chains was
conducted by this CARD Project in November 2006. The development of new supply chain
will rest with supply chain champions who want to improve their performance, product
quality and income. Therefore the development of these new supply chains:-

• cannot be enforced by the researchers and extension agent
• researchers and extension agents can assist supply chain champions with technical
advice and training workshops to ensure that they (the champions) obtain maximum
benefits from the new supply chains
• business to business transactions have to be constructed and conducted by the chain
champions themselves, but advice may be provided by researchers and extension
agents and other business professionals

Many farmers and supply chain champions are risk adverse. They will not change from
traditional practices. Many farmers and supply chain champions believe that before change
can be undertaken, their families’ security, food and social welfare etc., has to be assured and

21

significant income generated to allow investment in new ventures. This CARD project
agrees with family security reasons, but change will come from market and customer
pressure and change may be imposed through this market pressure.

The training and knowledge provided by this project will have a significant impact on how
farmers and supply chain champions handle this change. This CARD project is not designed
to, and does not have the funding to set up its own demonstration supply chains. This project
was designed to assist farmers and supply chain champions change and develop new supply
chains by providing knowledge training in new supply chain practices and post-harvest
techniques.

GAP with emphasis on IPM/IDM issues
This CARD Project in October 2007 will be undertaking training in IPM/IDM for mango and
pomelo. It will be up to farmers to implement IPM/IDM practices. The CARD project
survey results, showing that farmers whose management practices and input are high
compared to other farmers surveyed may assist with training other farmers. Their
experiences and results will provide inspiration for other farmers to improve practices.

Options
Development of new supply chains based on grade standards for both pomelo and mango is
being undertaken via consultation with grower/farmers, collectors, traders, wholesalers. Wall
charts and grade standards have been developed. The development of a quality guide for
pomelo and mango has been undertaken by this CARD Project team in July 2007 and will be
finalised by December 2007. These new supply chains being developed by this project will
have to fight for their existence against older more established chains. However, if these new
chains can reduce losses or have a higher of proportion of their fruit accepted as grade/class 1
by the wholesalers then this will improve their returns.

Mango and pomelo farmers and supply chain participants wishing to access high value
markets in HCMC will have to:-

• work together as members of an informal chain group
• agree to follow the same management practices
o pest and disease agrochemical programs to ensure a safe product
o harvesting practices (maturity index)
o ensure grade/quality standards
o use similar packaging to ensure protection of their brand and trade marks

This CARD project in October 2007 will be conduction training workshops and visiting Emu
Exports at Cam Ranh, Nha Trang province. The CARD project will training farmers and
supply chain participants on how Emu Exports Vietnam is implementing and maintain GAP
principles (pre-and post- harvest), grade standards and their supply chain to markets. These
participatory action learning farmer workshops will be on IPM/IDM, harvesting, packaging,
stacking and handling.

This CARD Project will continue training in IPM and IDM at the local level.
• how to conduct and carry out monitoring for pest and disease
• identification of type crop damage
• identification of pest and disease causing crop damage

22
• when and how to spray
• on farm chemical management
• and implementation of GAP principles

Sustainability
As reported this project is addressing sustainability issues through
• “participatory action learning” (PAL) and “farmer training framer” (FTF) process
involving CARD project supply chain participants (grower/farmers, collectors,
traders, wholesalers, exporters) section of champions or industry leaders.
• train the trainer workshops of SIAEP and SOFRI project staff who will have

capability to expand methodologies and process used in this project to other industries
• workshops that provide information on GAP, IPM and IDM principles and inking
these to other previous CARD Project (Dragon Fruit) and AADCP project.
• providing background information on the benefits of health and safety, environmental
and social impacts of implementing GAP, IPM and IDM methods in new pre- and
post–harvest practices
• establishing supply chain maps for product, communication and monetary flows,
infrastructure and skills audits
• undertaking process analysis to determine problems and obtain input from
participants on solution to problems encountered in the supply chains
• undertaking baseline surveys on quality and survey to assess improvements being
implemented
• identifying and assisting farmers/collectors/wholesalers/traders and exporters and
retailers implement new pre- and post-harvest practices
• assisting farmers/collectors/wholesalers/traders and exporters to develop new
improved supply chians

If sustainability problems do arise, they are being addressed by the project through
participatory action learning process, and this project is making good progress in addressing
issues above. One issue of concern and highlighted by many farmers and involves financial
assistance. The project team members believe that some of these issues can be addressed
through development of grower financial training project and government assistance through
special schemes set up to assist farmers implement GAP principles.

8. Next Critical Steps
These have been grouped under the following categories based on strategic plan and are as
follows:
• Develop and implement GAP, focussing initially on pest and disease management
(IPM). Training on IPM and IDM systems will be carried out in October 2007.
• Improving applicability of farming techniques and technologies of harvesting,

packing and transporting. Training to be carried out in October 2007, January 2008
and May 2008.
• Reducing post-harvest losses by establishing a demonstration of production, sorting,
packing and transport systems to provide the quality required by selected better retail
outlets. These activities will depend entirely on Emu Export Vietnam Ltd and

23