Báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học " Developing Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) systems for dragon fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces - Milestone 8 " pdf

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Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development



037/04VIE
Developing Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) systems for dragon
fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang
provinces



Milestone 8

Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI) staff competent in GAP
application and training

June 2007

Campbell J
The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd
HortResearch Nelson Region
PO Box 220
Motueka 7143
NEW ZEALAND

DISCLAIMER
Unless agreed otherwise, HortResearch does not give any prediction, warranty or assurance in relation to the
accuracy of or fitness for any particular use or application of, any information or scientific or other result
contained in this report. Neither HortResearch nor any of its employees shall be liable for any cost (including
legal costs), claim, liability, loss, damage, injury or the like, which may be suffered or incurred as a direct or
indirect result of the reliance by any person on any information contained in this report.








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CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 3
1. A CADRE OF SOFRI, PPD AND OTHER PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL STAFF
COMPETENT IN TRAINING AND APPLICATION OF GAP AND EUREPGAP
METHODS AND PRINCIPLES
3
Situation at the start of the project 3
Training programme 3
Current capability 5
2. STAFF OF PPD AND EXTENSION STAFF IN BINH THUAN EVALUATED AS TO

THEIR AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF GAP AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
APPLICATION BY SMALLHOLDERS
6
Attempts for involvement 6
Ongoing level of activity and understanding 6
3. STRATEGY FOR APPLICATION OF GAP TO OTHER DRAGON FRUIT
PRODUCERS OR OTHER FRUIT SECTORS DOCUMENTED AND TESTED
7
Pilot development, quality and sustainability 7
Pilot and project efficacy 8
Access to the pilot as an outreach tool 9
Delivery of the pilot model to other dragon fruit production areas 10
Benchmarking survey data 11
Manual development 11
End of project options 11
SOFRI company development 12
Vietnam quality initiative 13
4. FINAL DRAFT OF GAP/EUREPGAP MANUAL INCORPORATING FEEDBACK
FROM TRAINING PROGRAMMES AND LESSONS LEARNT IN APPLICATION 14
Manual preparation 14
Translation of the document 14
Distribution 14
Copyright issues 14
Current manual status and future development and availability 15
APPENDIX 1 16
Specific training documentation table from Milestone #7 16
APPENDIX 2 19
Dragon fruit project environment Error! Bookmark not defined.
APPENDIX 3 19
So Tay San Xuat Trai Cay Theo Tieu Chuan Gap publication 19

APPENDIX 4 30
Dragon fruit quality manual cover and index 30
APPENDIX 5 35
BRC Copyright approval for the Dragon fruit Quality Manual 35

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INTRODUCTION
Much of the reporting requirements for Milestone 8 have been included as part of the
project’s regular six monthly reports and in the previous Milestone No.7 report. The purpose
of this report has been to briefly cover the Milestone No.8 bullet points and elaborate on those
areas not previously reported on.
1. A CADRE OF SOFRI, PPD AND OTHER PROVINCIAL AND
NATIONAL STAFF COMPETENT IN TRAINING AND APPLICATION
OF GAP AND EUREPGAP METHODS AND PRINCIPLES
S
ITUATION AT THE START OF THE PROJECT
At the start of the dragon fruit GAP project many SOFRI staff had a significant understanding
of Good Agricultural Practice theory but very little experience in the practical application of
quality systems. With specific regard to the dragon fruit project, the combination of that lack
of practical experience and a dearth of knowledge about dragon fruit production meant that
SOFRI personnel were not confident/knowledgeable enough to undertake project
responsibilities.

It was necessary for the project to overcome these constraints early, so training efforts
concentrated on gaining acceptance of the project leader by the SOFRI project team, and
enhancing their GAP and crop skills not only to implement the project but also to understand
the GAP quality processes to a level that ensured project interventions would be completed
and that they were sustainable at project end.

Figure 1. Non-compliant on-the-floor Figure 2. Compliant packing.
packing.

TRAINING PROGRAMME
The training provided by the project firstly concentrated on the those SOFRI staff with the
responsibility for implementing project initiatives and this was undertaken through strong
mentoring and some presentations by the project leader during his periodic visits to Vietnam
and intermittent communication and correspondence between visits.


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The project leader also gave presentations to the wider SOFRI staff during his visits. It has
been extremely pleasing to note that the leadership provided at SOFRI by the director and
Project Champion Dr Nguyen Minh Chau has created an excellent environment for the
advancement of GAP quality capability in Vietnam horticulture, which has proved to be a
great base in which to manage and deliver this dragon fruit GAP project. It has been Dr Chau
who has drawn the project leader outside the specific terms of reference of the Collaboration
for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) project on many occasions, to ensure the
maximum benefit was gained from the project. Some of those extra activities include:
• Presentations to SOFRI staff based on the project leader’s experience in quality
systems (GAP)
• Project updates
• Formal presentation at the Can Tho International Agricultural Fair on GAP
• Introduction to Internal Auditing: presentation of training course for SOFRI staff
• Mentoring.

From the project leader’s perspective, there have been two very significant contributions
during the project that have enhanced the development in capability and confidence of the
national project team.

One was the implementation of the benchmarking survey, collection and processing of the
data and the presentation of the findings to SOFRI personnel and back to the dragon fruit
industry. The knowledge gained during the benchmarking exercise enhanced the team’s
understanding of the status of the commercial crop, production methods being applied and a
realisation that they knew a great deal about the crop and could contribute very strongly to the
support and improvement as intended during project intervention: Confidence gained!

The second, and major, contribution to national capability enhancement was the undertaking
of a study tour to New Zealand by Mr Nguyen Huu Hoang. Ong Hoang’s study tour is
detailed in the August 2006 project report. The understanding from observing applied
GAP/quality systems in a different environment, plus the formal training and confidence
gained by Ong Hoang during the study tour has been immense. It has been a delight for the
project leader to observe how this knowledge is being delivered to all areas of the project, to
other areas of his responsibilities at SOFRI, to other SOFRI staff and to those with other crop
responsibilities.

Figure 3. Packer management training. Figure 4. First Aid certificates for trained staff.

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Figure 5. Packer senior staff training. Figure 6. Packer/farmer linkage training.




Figure 7. Farmer training.


CURRENT CAPABILITY

The response to project training by the Vietnam project team at SOFRI has been fantastic.
The key Vietnamese project people of Dr Nguyen Minh Chau, Project Champion, Dr Nguyen
Van Hoa, Project Leader and counterpart to the Project Leader, and Mr Nguyen Huu Hoang,
Project Implementer, are leaders of the project initiatives that will ensure sustainability in the
future. All three have strongly supported the project and reports of the project exceeding
expectations can be largely attributed to their efforts:
• Dr Chau for his setting up of the overall quality initiative at SOFRI and his respect and
influence across other Institutes, Government Departments and the private sector and
for creating the environment for successful project management and delivery and
infrastructure development
• Dr Hoa for his leadership of the dragon fruit project, his role on the Agricultural
Chemicals Board, his technical and technology transferring skills and his knowledge
of the crop and the GAP project initiatives to the level of the customers’ demands
• Ong Hoang for his thorough knowledge of the dragon fruit crop, his expertise,
understanding and delivery of GAP, quality systems. Ong Hoang fully understands the
quality systems for horticulture, the standards as set by the customer; the practical
application of those standards complete with documentation, auditing and
improvement. He is very skilful at delivering his considerable expertise to the

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horticulture industry in general and the dragon fruit project in particular in both
Vietnamese and in English.

The training programmes of the project have developed over the two years of project delivery,
from initially the project leader doing all the presentations in English to farmers/packers with
translations, to a situation where the training is given in Vietnamese with the project leader
providing a resource support role – very effective teamwork has developed! A table of project
training was presented in the Milestone 7 report and reproduced here as Appendix 1.

2. STAFF OF PPD AND EXTENSION STAFF IN BINH THUAN
EVALUATED AS TO THEIR AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF
GAP AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR APPLICATION BY
SMALLHOLDERS
A
TTEMPTS FOR INVOLVEMENT
At the commencement of project implementation, the team gave presentations to the senior
and field personnel of Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
(DARD). The presentations included an overview of the dragon fruit project scope, the
proposed activities during the life of the project and an invitation for DARD staff to be
closely involved with project implementation. The project team highlighted the need for
DARD personnel to contribute strongly to the project in the areas of farmer selection using
local knowledge and to become proficient in GAP as being applied by the project to ensure
sustainability following project completion.

Channels of communication between SOFRI and DARD in Binh Thuan were set up by the
project team and prior to each visit to the province by the project leader a formal letter
requesting permission for the visit has been sent to Local Government. Through the visit
permission request letter, DARD personnel are warned of the project activities in advance.

ONGOING LEVEL OF ACTIVITY AND UNDERSTANDING
One person on the DARD staff was nominated as the liaison person between the project team
and DARD. The nominated person accompanied the project team on several occasions during
the benchmarking survey, farmer selection for project input and for some of the training
sessions.

However, it has been disappointing that DARD involvement to the level required by the
project’s customer-driven quality standards has not reached expectations. Private sector

packers and farmers, through the receipt of project initiatives, have a far greater understanding
of GAP and its application to the level of the customer-driven standards than do the DARD
extensionists.

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3. STRATEGY FOR APPLICATION OF GAP TO OTHER DRAGON
FRUIT PRODUCERS OR OTHER FRUIT SECTORS DOCUMENTED
AND TESTED
P
ILOT DEVELOPMENT, QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY
As has been previously reported, the project has established a pilot group of exporter/packer
and farmers to provide a working model, firstly to show the viability of GAP production of
dragon fruit to high value markets and secondly to be able to demonstrate the commercial
model to the wider dragon fruit production areas of Binh Thuan, to Tien Giang and also to
other fruit crops.

Every effort has been made to establish the commercial model so that it is of a high standard
that exceeds the quality levels required by the customer-driven quality standards, is
sustainable through ongoing good management, has staff that completely “understand” their
areas of responsibility, and can operate at a profit.

Figure 8. High quality dragon fruit.











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PILOT AND PROJECT EFFICACY
Indications that the dragon fruit pilot has responded to the project’s intensive training
programme to a level of achievement close to meeting the quality standards of British
Retailers Consortium (BRC) and EUREPGAP include:
• Product traceability, a major component of the quality system, from the farm through

the packer and exporter to the market is clear and robust. At any time, product
identified in the market can be traced back through the supply chain to the farm,
production block, date of harvest/packing/despatch and all associated documentation
(e.g. spray diary etc.). The packhouse administrator responsible for the development,
operation and maintenance of the traceability system has a complete understanding of
traceability requirements and importance and the system’s integration with the
packhouse and quality system management
• Farmer diaries are accurate and complete, signed off by the trained and certificated
operator and are available to be evaluated by the appropriate authority to give
clearance for product to be exported
• Internal auditing of the pilot entities has developed from the formal training through to
the practical application. Formal Internal Auditing trained capability has been passed
on to other stakeholders, greatly enhancing their understanding of quality systems and
the customers’ needs
• Word of the project aims, intentions and potential have reached high value export
markets and enquiries for supply of dragon fruit that meet the selected standards are
being received
• TESCOs have already employed a third-party auditor to undertake an ethical audit of
the pilot packhouse. The audit report showed the packer to be close to the expected
standards. The packer implemented the recommendations for improvement
immediately, with most being completed during the audit. The third-party audit
greatly assisted the project quality initiative, by demonstrating to the pilot leaders how
seriously the standards are interpreted by high value markets such as TESCO.



Figure 9. Farmer spray diary audit, Figure 10. Farm documentation: e.g. spray
improvement and training. diary, fertiliser application records.

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Figure 11. Farm location and planting Figure 12. Farm block identification.
maps.

ACCESS TO THE PILOT AS AN OUTREACH TOOL
The project, in its negotiations during the dragon fruit project pilot establishment, has ensured
that the commercial working pilot model will be available to be used as an extension tool
when developing GAP systems to the wider dragon fruit industry and for other crop quality
improvement. A memorandum of understanding between the pilot packer and the Project
Champion formalises this close association between the pilot and the project team.

It is intended that initially only the project team will be responsible for the outreach
programme and interaction with the pilot. However, as extensionists become proficient, they
too will have access to the pilot. Indeed, as more commercial units modelled on the pilot
become certified, it is expected the burden of the outreach programme on the initial pilot will
become less, especially when the initiative shifts to other regions/crops.

Figure 14. Compliant fertiliser storage.





Figure 13. Compliant agrichemical storage.


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Figure 15. Packhouse staff cloak room and Figure 16. Packer purchase order and
protective clothing. export presentation of product.


DELIVERY OF THE PILOT MODEL TO OTHER DRAGON FRUIT PRODUCTION AREAS

Project delivery was intended for both the Binh Thuan and Tien Giang Provinces. It was
important for the project to establish the pilot to demonstrate viability and a working quality
system model for replication. As the pilot nears the standard that will achieve Certification by
the selected Certifying Body, outreach activities are becoming more active. Networking
between the pilot and other dragon fruit farmers and packers has commenced, as have study
tours by small groups visiting the pilot from Tien Giang.

It has been a high priority for the project to prepare both the pilot and key personnel to a high
level, so that the effect of quality dilution during the replication process is minimised. It is
also believed by project personnel that industry control will be needed in the future, to avoid
the quality momentum being damaged by insincere operators.













Figure 17. Transfer of quality farmer Figure 18. New dragon fruit
practices to other farmers. development.



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Figure 19. New compliant packhouse Figure 20. Field visit to almost
being constructed. compliant farmer during expression of interest
(EoI) preparation.

BENCHMARKING SURVEY DATA
The benchmarking survey undertaken by the project was very thorough and covered an
excellent cross-section of the small-holder dragon fruit farming community. Survey data were
very robust and as well as determining the “status” at project start, they have also been used a
technology transfer tools, and used by researchers involved with other crops.

MANUAL DEVELOPMENT
The project has published a Dragon fruit Quality Manual. The manual has a small section
covering the exporter and sections for the packer using the BRC Global - Food Standard and
for the farmer the EUREPGAP Standard. The manual is appropriate for use throughout the
dragon fruit industry, with minor modifications for each specific application, and can easily
be adapted for other horticultural crops.

The quality systems being applied by the project to enable the pilot access to the high value
markets of Europe and the United Kingdom are at a higher level than the standards currently
being set under AsianGAP. Indeed the AsianGAP initiative is an excellent foundation from
which to develop into the BRC/EUREPGAP/Customer specific standards. The progression of
quality systems in Vietnam’s horticulture is seen to commence with AsianGAP, continue on
to the BRC/EUREPGAP standards and to be fine-tuned for specific customer needs/demands.
This quality system evolutionary process will increasingly improve the safe, legal and quality
horticultural products for local markets through to high value export markets. The Dragon
fruit Quality Manual provides the basis of each unit’s documented quality system for each
standard.

END OF PROJECT OPTIONS
It is expected that, at project completion, most areas of the project objectives will have been
completed, with many exceeding expectations. It is clear to the project leader that the dragon
fruit practical initiative that has been stimulated and supported by the project is at a
vulnerable stage and further appropriate/compatible support would ensure long-term
sustainability in the future.

Key personnel from the dragon fruit project, SOFRI, HortResearch, dragon fruit packers and
farmers developed an expression of interest for a new two-year project, which was presented

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to Hassall and Associates International (HAI)/CARD on 22 May 2007 (Appendix 2). The
proposed scope for the new project is very ambitious and complex and would cover the
continuation of the current project initiative to ensure sustainability and delivery to the wider
dragon fruit areas and other crops. The proposed project would also address high value
market linkages, appropriate infrastructure development and the development of industry
specific/dependent/supported research, development and promotion.

Figure 21. Stakeholders develop the
Expression of Interest for a new project.







SOFRI COMPANY DEVELOPMENT
During the dragon fruit project period, there has been a directive for Vietnamese Institutes
like SOFRI to transform from government departments to profitable companies. There is a
similarity in this transformation process in many ways with that of HortResearch over recent
years. A study tour to New Zealand and Australia by selected senior Vietnamese officials
visited HortResearch on 28 February 2007 for prepared presentations and discussions with

key personnel. The project leader gave a dragon fruit project presentation to the delegation
and has frequently discussed the HortResearch model with Dr Chau during visits to Vietnam.

The SOFRI Company is seen by the project leader to be an important component in the future
Vietnamese quality-driven horticulture industry for its skills, services and problem solving
ability.



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VIETNAM QUALITY INITIATIVE
As part of Vietnam’s drive to expand good agricultural practices in horticulture, the
Government directed SOFRI in mid 2006 to publish a 400-page GAP book with an intended
distribution of 1,000 copies. (A copy is included with this milestone report – printed only in
Vietnamese). The project leader was requested to contribute a chapter for the book based on a
case study of the CARD dragon fruit GAP project (Refer to the February 2007 project report,
Appendix 2. The English version of the contribution: A case study of the project: Developing
GAP systems for dragon fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang
provinces – Viet Nam; authors John M Campbell & Nguyen Huu Hoang is contained in
Appendix 3 of this report).

As well as the inclusion of the chapter in the publication, extended use of material from the
dragon fruit manual was also made.

Figure 22. Field spray filling station with Figure 23. Block identification and
clean water, spill containment, appropriate caution signage.
drainage and bunding and staff wash-up
facilities.













Figure 24. Deep well protective cover.



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4. FINAL DRAFT OF GAP/EUREPGAP MANUAL INCORPORATING

FEEDBACK FROM TRAINING PROGRAMMES AND LESSONS
LEARNT IN APPLICATION
M
ANUAL PREPARATION
As reported previously, the Dragon fruit Quality Manual (Appendix 4, cover page and index)
was prepared by the project. The 270-page English version has been written to provide the
documented quality system for the project’s pilot exporter, packer and farmers as required by
the project’s selected quality systems of BRC Global – Food and EUREPGAP. The manual
was due in the draft form by the end of March 2006 (Milestone #4) and final draft by July
2007 (Milestone #8). However, because the project has progressively developed the final and
working version of the manual for the pilot, the document has been submitted as a final
version and earlier than required.

Verification that the manual fulfils its intended purpose will be confirmed during the external
inspection and pilot certification process when conducted by the Certifying Body.

TRANSLATION OF THE DOCUMENT
Translation of the manual has been undertaken by the SOFRI project team and is almost
completed – the position descriptions of the packer section are all that remain to be done.

DISTRIBUTION
At the time of writing only a small number of manuals have been distributed. Those receiving
the manual include the project donor HAI, CARD, the project implementing agencies of
SOFRI and HortResearch, the pilot, another packer being developed and farmers (farmer
section only).

COPYRIGHT ISSUES
When developing the manual for the pilot, the project team wanted the manual to be a high
quality tool for training all stakeholders of the pilot as well as describing the documented
quality system. Some copyright issues arose following project management’s desire to include

the BRC “Fundamental Statement” in the manual, to give those using the manual a better
understanding of the scope and purpose of each requirement in the standard. Negotiations
with BRC resolved the issues and the project is free to include the Fundamental Statement
providing a new standard is purchased for each subsequent packhouse facility established
(refer to Appendix 5).


CURRENT MANUAL STATUS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT AND AVAILABILITY
The Dragon fruit Quality Manual has been written specifically to fulfil the documented
quality system requirements of the standards being applied in the pilot. For the pilot, the
manual is a living document and as such is always being updated and improved as part of the
quality systems implemented in the pilot.

Besides specific changes to the manual to suit the needs of the pilot, the project highlights
other ongoing manual change needs:
• When adapting the manual to other packhouses
• When adapting the manual to other farms
• When adapting the manual to other crops
• To update as required by the existing quality standards (e.g. EUREPGAP from version
2.1 to 3.0)
• To include the standards requirements of customer-driven needs
• To prepare the manual so that it is suitable for inclusion on the CARD website.

At this early stage of quality development of the horticultural crops of Vietnam, it is
recommended that the project personnel provide the lead in manual changes and adaptation.

The manual developed as an output of the dragon fruit project is freely available to those
implementing quality improvement in dragon fruit.

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APPENDIX 1
S
PECIFIC TRAINING DOCUMENTATION TABLE FROM MILESTONE #7
Stage Area Component Prerequisite Training Outcome
1 Project
management

 Project Leader  Knowledge
 Acceptance
 Management
 Delivery  Project exceeds expectations
 SOFRI Project
Team
 Responsiveness to change
training
 Ability to implement project
obligations
 Motivation to pass on knowledge
gained
 From project leader via
mentoring, presentations, team
interactions, etc.
 Learning from training delivery
feedback
 Networking
 Study Tour: to New Zealand
 Formal courses: e.g. NZOQ
Internal Auditor Course

 Complete understanding of the dragon fruit crop
 Being customer driven
 Complete understanding of quality systems and their
implementation to the level of the adopted standards
 Peer recognition as experts in the field
 Respect for their competence in the project scope and
nationally
 Increased demand on their quality knowledge transfer
 SOFRI
Environment
 SOFRI leadership is quality
driven
 SOFRI Leadership has set up a
strong quality environment at the
institute
 SOFRI staff quality motivated
 Project leader presentations
 Networking
 Mentoring
 Other obligations outside the
scope of the project document
 Dr Nguyen Minh Chau has set up an excellent
environment within SOFRI for project delivery and
management
 All SOFRI staff are on the path to GAP learning and
application/support
 Respect for Dr Chau has facilitated the smooth
establishment of the project’s commercial “Pilot” and
a start to national infrastructure development to
support the quality dragon fruit industry

2 Project
delivery
 Benchmarking
survey
 Project team with the necessary
understanding and skills
 Test sample
 Training of young scientists
 Conducting the survey
 Learning through listening and
observing
 Documentation of the GAP status of small-holder
farms in relation to the EUREPGAP Standard
 Selection of farmers with project delivery potential
 Increased GAP understanding and capability of
SOFRI and DARD staff
 Identification of a suitable packer/exporter for project
GAP intervention
 Small-holder
GAP project
intervention
 Competent project team and
trainers with the necessary
understanding and skills
 Willingness to learn GAP
 GAP benefits extolled during
the benchmarking survey
 Farmer group training through
discussions, Microsoft® Office
 An increase in GAP understanding by small-holder

dragon fruit farmers
 Initial training presented to a wide range of farmers
previously selected through the benchmarking survey


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Stage Area Component Prerequisite Training Outcome
principles
 Have access to necessary
resources to make the physical
changes needed
 Have the ability to understand
and implement GAP
PowerPoint® presentations,
demonstration, etc.
 Individual farmer training
through discussions, farm
mapping, and requirements
needed to meet the standards,
etc.
 HACCP surveys and training
 Health and Safety training
 Risk analysis and
documentation
 Safe use of agrichemicals
and DARD personnel
 Workable alternatives to small-holder farmers lack of
commitment to take their level of GAP to the
customer driven standards of EUREPGAP
 Project continues to recruit small-holder farmers for

GAP intervention as they increasingly become
committed
 Small-holder farmers are ready to flock to the GAP
production of dragon fruit following proof of viability
as demonstrated by the project pilot
 Infrastructure
development
Prerequisites for a dynamic quality
driven dragon fruit industry include:
 Certified laboratory services for
soil, leaf, water analysis
 Safe use of agrichemicals
 First Aid certification
 Internal auditing.
 Trainer of approved trainers
 Certifying bodies
 Standards development
 Problem solving, R & D
Promotion, etc.
 Documentation of areas to be
addressed
 Mentoring
 Study Tour observations of
working systems
Although outside the scope of the project document, this
area has been encouraged by the project leader. Dr Chau’s
quality systems skills and understanding and position of
authority and respect have led to significant development
in this area.

 Approved/certified/appropriate providers to service
the quality needs of the dragon fruit industry to the
standards demanded by the customer – BRC and
EUREPGAP
 A competitive market for the service providers to
ensure costs to the farmer are kept to a sustainable
minimum
 A strong quality driven organised dragon fruit
industry is established
 Pilot
development
 A commercial packer/exporter of
dragon fruit that has the
resources, desire, skills and
attitude to adopt the changes
necessary to comply with the
selected quality standards
 Quality advise for the
packer/exporter to follow on its
path to quality compliance – to
work closely with the project
team
 Identification and project
selling to the packer/exporter –
an education/negotiation
process
 Identification of farmers for
project quality intervention –
farmers include large-holders
and well as small-holders – an

education/negotiation process
 Define the existing processes
and train for changes necessary
 Pilot packer/exporter selected and agreement to
cooperate with the project
 Mutual respect between pilot and project team;
particularly with the packer
 Full cooperation by farmers with project team
 Implementation of systems and advise delivery
 Documented quality system developed – “Dragon
fruit Quality Manual” in English and Vietnamese
written and presented to pilot
 Specific achievements in implementing the dragon
fruit quality manual e.g. Product traceability, quality



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Stage Area Component Prerequisite Training Outcome
 Establishment of a documented
quality system
 A code of honesty, transparency
and understanding
 A willingness to take the lead in
the quality development of the
pilot and to fulfil the system
responsibilities to the “supplier”
(small-holder)
 Allow the project to have access
to all the data generated by the

project initiative for subsequent
analysis and technology transfer
to other dragon fruit groups (and
other crops)
to facilitate compliance –
general and very specific
training
 Train individuals and groups to
a level of proficiency for
stakeholders to “understand”,
“control” and improve all
processes continuously
 Train the quality manager as
leader of the “quality”
responsibilities and in the role
of self assessment (Internal
Auditing)
control, etc.
 Physical changes made in the packhouse and on the
farms and services to facilitate compliance issues as
directed by the project team
 Farm registration, location, mapping, documentation,
etc.
 Supplier contract and schedule of costs agreed and
signed between packer and farmer in compliance with
the standards
 Honest, transparent and customer driven supply,
grade, pack and postharvest chain
3 Marketing
 Identify High

Value Markets
 That the pilot has attained
compliance with the BRC and
EUREPGAP Standards and
operates at that level at all times
 Train all pilot personnel to
understand the processes, to
keep those processes under
control at all times and have the
ability to constantly improve
them
 Train to be customer driven
 Attain and maintain preferred
supplier status with the
customer and to work together
to resolve any issues jointly
 BRC Global – Food Standards Certification at the
packhouse: maintained
 EUREPGAP Standards Certification for all supplying
farms: maintained
 Consistently high returns for product being exported
 Access to top end markets through providing product
that is safe, legal, of the quality and presentation
demanded by the customer
 Good communication between customer, exporter,
packer and farmer
4 Compliance
 External Audit  Compliance of the pilot
confirmed by internal audit
 Internal Auditor trained to the

appropriate proficiency
 Corrective action process and
implementation
 Good working relationships
with Certifying Body
 External audit completed
 Corrective action implemented
 Sign off of changes
 BRC Global – Food Standards Certification at the
packhouse
 EUREPGAP Standards Certification for all supplying
farms



19

APPENDIX 2: DEVELOP NEW EOI


APPENDIX 3
SO
TAY SAN XUAT TRAI CAY THEO TIEU CHUAN GAP PUBLICATION

English version of chapter. Vietnamese version published in the accompanying book.

Quality Systems for Good Agricultural Practice of Dragon fruit Production,
Packing and Export

A case study of the project: Developing GAP systems for dragon fruit producers and

exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces – Viet Nam.

John M Campbell
& Nguyen Huu Hoang
December 2006
********************************
Introduction
Dragon fruit is an important and expanding crop for many small farm holders and their
families in Vietnam’s rural economy. Market returns for dragon fruit in Asian markets has
declined by about 60% since 2000 because of oversupply, and exports to high value western
markets are seriously constrained because Vietnam’s production does not comply with their
regulatory and food safety requirements. European supermarkets have recently implemented
their Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group; Good Agricultural Practice (EUREGAP)
certification programme, a standard that embodies food safety, environmental and ethical
principles throughout the production system. The Vietnamese fruit sector is increasingly
aware of both the domestic and export demand for ‘safe fruit’ but local definitions of ‘safe
fruit’ fall significantly short of market expectations required in certified programmes such as
EUREPGAP. Moreover, in the absence of a successful implementation model, there is little
appreciation of what is required to progress the fruit sector towards internationally recognised
standards of food safety and Good Agricultural Practice.
This paper discusses the AusAID, Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development
(CARD) programme project: “Developing GAP systems for dragon fruit producers and
exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces of Viet Nam” as a case study. The
project, administered by Hassall and Associates International (HAI) is being implemented
jointly by HortResearch of New Zealand and the Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI)
of My Tho, Tien Giang, Vietnam.


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The Dragon fruit GAP project in brief
Dragon fruit was chosen as the preferred crop to implement high value market global quality
standards as it is a crop that is affected by relatively few pest and disease problems and
requires low inputs of agrichemicals. There are large areas of dragon fruit grown by mainly
small holders so the potential impact of the project quality initiatives can vastly improve the
income generating capability of those farmers willing to improve to the standards.
The two and a half year dragon fruit GAP project has undertaken to deliver quality systems
development in the dragon fruit industry, initially through establishing a ‘pilot’ model of
farmers, packer and exporter which when operating in conformity with market driven legal,
safety and quality standards will be used as a subsequent training model for the wider dragon
fruit industry and to other crops in Vietnam’s horticulture.
The principal objectives of the project are:
• To increase small holders’ competitiveness and capacity to supply dragon fruit to
high-value international markets, introducing new concepts of food safety,
environmental responsibility, sustainability and worker safety into their production
practices
• To provide technical support and training for Vietnam extension/researchers to
improve their capacity in group training procedures for GAP implementation in
dragon fruit
• Adoption of new practices that are required for entry into the European market
• Empowerment of small farmers to negotiate improved supply arrangements.

The Dragon fruit GAP project implementation
Implementation of the project commenced with a bench marking survey to determine the
level of agricultural practices at the commencement of the project. The survey was designed
by the project management team and implemented by the SOFRI project team with the
assistance of the young scientists of SOFRI. 120 farmers of the Binh Thuan province and 30
farmers of the Tien Giang province were surveyed. Data collected during the survey were
translated into English and entered into a database. Analysis of the data was made by
HortResearch staff and presentations of the findings returned to stakeholders. During the

survey, and based on collected data, appropriate farmers were identified for subsequent
project input.
Initial and significant project effort was applied to train those identified farmers in good
agricultural practice improvement. However, as the project is the first attempt to bring good
agricultural practices and market driven quality systems to the Vietnam horticulture industry,
there is no knowledge of the viability of producing dragon fruit using those quality systems
for accessing the high value markets of Europe. This and the provision of the resources
needed to implement good agricultural practice changes has discouraged farmers from
committing themselves to project improvement initiatives. After an initial period of
enthusiasm, farmers soon lost interest in committing to quality improvement for their farm.
It was originally the project directive to improve the lot of the poor and small farmer.
However, these farmers have very limited or no resources to make the necessary changes to
lift their operations to the level required by the high value market standards. Many small/poor
farmers totally rely on early fruit payments and fruit harvesting services of the collector and
have no capability for improvement.
The project recognised the need firstly to demonstrate the viability of the quality path for
dragon fruit production, and so accelerated the establishment of a ‘pilot’, which consists of

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farmers and a packer/exporter to implement quality improvement. It is anticipated that as soon
as the ‘pilot’ meets the requirements of the selected quality standards, is Certificated and has
an indication that the costs of compliance and product value from high value markets are
economically viable, there will be no problem selecting and retaining the poor/small farmers.
This will be especially true if economical development and seasonal financial help are made
available from financial institutions.
It must be stated that the pilot is the nucleus of a demonstration unit and no farmer wishing to
join the pilot will be refused entry. As the pilot expands, the project will encourage the
establishment of new units of the model both in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces.
The original selection of ‘pilot’ participants was based on the following criteria:

• Be market driven (customer focused)
• Be committed to quality management (show some improvement changes)
• Have access to the resources to make improvements to their operation to the level
required by the selected standard
• A willingness to improve/change and implement the requirements of the standards
• Accept training for themselves and all staff in their operation – demonstrate interest in
staff welfare and development
• Provide access to project generated data/information in their quality operations for
project comparisons with the ‘prior to project’ intervention data
• Be transparent and honest towards the standards
• Allow the project to use the pilot during its outreach programme.
Quality system standards specifically tailored for and by the intended market were chosen and
are being established by the project in the ‘pilot’. The standards being applied are the
minimum requirements for fruit being exported to the European market.
Market importance
The project is very market driven and every effort has been made by the project to develop
robust quality systems within the pilot that operate to the highest levels of the selected
standard to deliver safe, legal and quality products that meet or exceed the customer’s
expectation. The markets targeted by the project are the high value export market. Markets
can be defined as:
High value export markets: – made possible through the British Retailers Consortium
(BRC) Standard at the packhouse and appropriate packing, packaging and transportation
• Direct access to elite markets
• Restaurants
• Specialist exotic fruit markets
• Supermarkets that specialise in exotic/unique fruit
• High quality high end supermarkets with controlled volumes, top quality expectations
and high prices.
Commodity export markets – AsiaGap standards with downgraded fruit being packed in a
secondary packhouse

• Neighbouring countries

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• Supermarket chains that deal in volume but lower price - national.
Local markets
• All other fruit
• Processing?
Project emphasis for the pilot is to produce high quality fruit and pack that fruit in the BRC
compliant packhouse for the high value markets only. Fruit packaging will be to the
customer’s requirements and will possibly involve blister pack, retail display trays, bulk
packs, etc. direct to the customer and not be exposed to any rework in the country of
destination.
It needs to be strongly noted that the project emphasis is to access high value markets
continually to generate higher incomes for poor/small farmers. The ability to access these
high value markets to generate maximum returns for the farmers relies on three very
important major components:
1. Dragon fruit being exported to these markets meets the customers’ standards for
safety, legality and of the appropriate quality in all aspects
2. The processes from the farm through the packer and exporter to the customer are
undertaken by business operations that are dedicated to producing and delivering
product to the customer that meets or exceeds the customers’ expectations.
3. That the business operations of the farmer, packer, and exporter are viable and
sustainable.
To address each of the three components consistently, stakeholders need to cooperate and
work with a common goal to:
• Maintain certification and operate in confirmed conformity with all the standards at all
times
• Only target the high end of the market. Because dragon fruit is a short shelf life
product and must be exported by airfreight, there is a high inherent cost for each unit

of produce being exported. Profitability will only be maintained if maximum prices
are realised at all times – low quality product means low prices are realised and the
product has a short shelf life, rapidly deteriorating quality with product rework and
legal/disposal potential
• Constantly improve quality, customer satisfaction, processes and operations and
systematically reduce waste. The earlier a potential problem is removed from the
process, the lower the cost.

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Quality systems development
The project quality development process
The quality system development process that the project has followed has the following steps:
1. Benchmark the current practices at the commencement of the project to define the
operating standards on the farm compared with those of the EUREPGAP standards
2. Plan the scope and methodology for implementing the quality systems to achieve the
project objectives
3. Identify a ‘Pilot’ of a group of farmers, a packer and an exporter, to be used by the
project for subsequent development and demonstration
4. Decide on the appropriate quality standards for the project to implement in the pilot
quality systems
5. Access the standards
6. Define the process from the farm through the packer and exporter to the customer
7. Identify all the individual stages in the process
8. Prepare a dragon fruit quality manual, based on the selected standards that are
appropriate for the ‘process’. (The dragon fruit quality manual describes the manner in
which the process will be achieved to conform to the standards)
9. Improve the physical aspects of the project pilot processes so that conformity with the
standards can be achieved and maintained

10. Train personnel in their selected positions and responsibilities so they ‘understand’
their role to maintain conformity with the standards and have the capacity to undertake
other duties in cases of absenteeism in associated positions
11. Operate with the processes in conformity under operational conditions
12. Check the processes are operating in conformity by internally auditing individual parts
or all of the process
13. Confirm conformity through full internal auditing
14. Arrange for an approved Certifying Body to undertake an external audit for the
process against the selected standards and Certificate the process.
Choice of quality system standards
EUREPGAP at the farmer level and BRC at the packer level were chosen for project
implementation as both are very similar and compatible standards and are the minimum
requirements for market access to the high value markets of Europe.
Management of the quality systems of the project pilot has been embedded in the packhouse
under the control of the Quality Manager. There are many advantages from having the quality
system managed by the packhouse. They include:
• The packer is market driven and can provide the vision, leadership and motivation to
develop and maintain the full quality system so that it conforms with the standards at
all times
• The packer can provide coordination of the quality systems from the field to the
customer

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• The packhouse requires a strong quality management system to meet the standards and
these include many on-farm functions
• The packhouse quality manager can assist farmers’ quality obligations in areas where
they are deficient
• Distribution of technical information to the farmers is possible in an accurate and
systematic way so all farmers are coordinated in their management and quality

approach
• The operation is of a size that gives it the capability of contracting out to specialists
for problem solving
• Bulk purchasing of consumables at discounted prices
• Provision of internal audit services at the packhouse and on the farm to enhance
uniform operating standards and to ensure corrective action for non-conformities is
undertaken and closed off
• Costs of compliance are less to implement and manage with the quality system being
managed at the packhouse and those costs can be spread over a large throughput of
fruit on a per carton basis.
Quality manual
The philosophy of the project in developing the quality manual has been to develop a
document that is user friendly, appropriate to the operation, closely follows the sequence of
the individual standards and requirements of the selected standards and can be used as a
training tool for stakeholders.
The Dragon fruit Quality Manual has three main sections:
• Exporter section – The pilot packer is also an exporter so the manuals exporter section
is small because most requirements are included in the packer section. Much of the
exporter component is also outside the scope of the project
• Packer section – The packer section has been developed around the packhouse
operations and follows the format and requirements of the BRC Global – Food
Standard
• Farmer section – The farmer section has been developed around good agricultural
practice for farm operations and follows the format and requirements of the
EUREPGAP Standard.
The manual also includes a reference section, which contains:
• Definitions
• Protocols
• Plan samples
• Position descriptions

• Documentation generic samples
• Linkages to sites of information, requirements, etc.
• Dragon fruit register.
The dragon fruit quality manual is appropriate as part of a robust quality system. In total it
appears complex, but by addressing each component of the standard/manual separately it can
be easy to implement the quality system.

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The manual developed by the project is the final copy. However, it must be appreciated that
the manual is a living document and will continually undergo change in the project pilot as
part of the continuous improvement processes being implemented, or when being adapted to
other dragon fruit operations, and when being applied to other horticultural crops.
The project developed dragon fruit quality manual has been prepared in a way so that it can be
applied to other farms and packhouses, whether for dragon fruit or other fruit crops. There is
no doubt that a motivated packer or farmer could acquire the manual and implement the
quality system to the standards required without assistance. However, it is recommended that
the experience of the project-trained personnel be sought.
There is a drive in the South East Asia Region to implement standards for horticulture
production, for example AseanGAP. The requirements of the AseanGAP Standards, while not
as comprehensive as the BRC and EUREPGAP Standards, are comparable/compatible in
many areas. For this reason it is possible to lift the relevant sections in the dragon fruit quality
manual for use in the application of the AseanGAP Standard. The advantages of doing this are
to standardise the quality systems being applied, to provide an excellent introduction into high
quality horticultural production and form a strong quality system platform for those wishing
subsequently to raise their standards to the higher level.
Physical preparation
Once the quality standards are accepted and the manual (the blueprint/plan for the process)
prepared, the physical improvement of the process needs to be implemented so that the
process operates as described in the manual and so that each segment of the process meets or

exceeds the requirement of the standard.
It cannot be emphasised enough that all physical improvements are to be completed to a high
standard that addresses every item in the manual. The physical appearance of the operation is
the ‘window’ for the owner to show that the operation fully embraces quality and it also
indicates to the auditor that the quality of the processes is being taken seriously.
Documentation
Documentation for the dragon fruit project pilot meets the requirements of the standards being
applied. Some generic samples of the documentation are included in the dragon fruit quality
manual, while much of the documentation has been developed from the existing packhouse
documentation and is confidential to the packer because of the sensitivity of the information,
such as employment contracts.
Conformity with documentation requirements is of paramount importance and is a major tool
by which the process is measured. Accurate documentation of the process has three major
functions, which are:
1. For the operation owner to confirm to the customer that all processes conform to the
standards at all times. This ensures that the customer can have confidence that the
product they are purchasing is safe, legal and of the required quality. It also confirms
to the operator that the processes are “in control”
2. For the protection of the operation owner: If the product supplied has been processed
in documented conformity to all the standards and to the customer’s specifications and
has subsequently arrived at the customer with a problem, then it can be defended that
the problem occurred outside the scope of the operation. For example: poor
temperature control by the freight company damaging fruit or reducing shelf life -
legal compensation claims can target the correct nonconformity offender