Moc Chau – Fresh Studio

Sowing a bright future for economic development and women’s empowerment

Posted on January 28, 2019November 9, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

There are great opportunities to increase vegetable production in Son La and through these vegetable value chains empower local ethnic women and increase their technical as well as their management skills.

Successful vegetable production starts with access to good quality seeds, seedlings and access to knowledge and technologies for more advanced vegetable production. Without ensuring that these points are well implemented and present locally it will be difficult to bring vegetable production chains to a higher level.

This project will enable access to good quality seeds, seedlings and knowledge and technologies for more advanced vegetable production to hundreds of local farmers and farmers groups, specifically targeting ethic women.

Project objectives

Establishment of a seedling production sector creating increased capacity, additional income and jobs for ethic women in Moc Chau and Van Ho, with further upscaling in other areas.
More professional vegetable production resulting in better quality vegetables, produced year-round, in compliance with Viet GAP and against a better cost price generating higher incomes for over 500 famer households in Moc Chau and Van Ho and other areas in Son La province.
Establishment of 13 successful agri-businesses led and managed by women.
Creation of new and stable jobs within the agriculture sector suitable for local women.
Increased capacity of over 350 local women in technical and management skills through extension services, field days and training sessions
Accelerate the development of an inclusive, sustainable and modern horticulture production sector in Son La province
Increased cooperation between the public and private sector to develop the horticulture sector in Son La providing women more choice to beneficially engage in agriculture.

Project donor

Project partners

Applied Horticultural Research
BvB Substrates
Royal Brinkman
Semillas Fito
Semences Gautier
Fresh Studio

How growing high-quality vegetables increased farmers’ income by 150%

Posted on February 26, 2016November 9, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

An Australian-funded project with the support of Fresh Studio is helping farmers in Vietnam increase their income by supplying high-quality, certified-safe vegetables to retail stores and urban consumers in Hanoi.

Using a value chain model developed as part of the ACIAR – AHR project team, farmers in the Moc Chau region of North Western Vietnam are now producing certified-safe vegetables for urban consumers in northern Vietnam. Through the project effective direct trading relationships and two-way communication between the farmers, the supermarkets and specialty safe vegetable stores in Hanoi have been established. Direct marketing to Hanoi represents a completely new approach and market for local farmers and it’s showing clear economic benefits. In 2015, 68 project farmers (71% female and 10% H’Mong) in the Moc Chau villages of Tu Nhien, Ta Niet and An Thai, produced about 800 tonnes of certified-safe vegetables on 22 hectares of land.

Participating farmers from the Tu Nhien village in Moc Chau earned an average net income of 300 million VND ($18,000) per ha in 2015. This compares with an average net household income of 120 million VND ($7,560) per ha for non-project vegetable farmers in the village, which is an increase of 150% in net income.

The leader of 38 farmers in the Tu Nhien village, Ms Luyen said:
“Farmers who are working in the new value chain are no longer poor, they do not have to borrow money to grow their next crop. Many of the farmers have been able to improve their houses, and can more easily afford to send their children to school”.

*Ms Luyen from Tu Nhien village and Ms Vu Thi Phuong Thanh from Fresh Studio are justifiably proud of the premium strawberries now grown in Tu Nhien village.*

In the neighbouring project village of Van Ho, H’Mong farmers have been producing vegetables for only one season, yet they have already recorded a net income from vegetables of 116 million VND ($7,300) per ha per year, an increase of 480% over the 20 million VND per ha they can earn from rice. Alternative land uses such as growing maize or rice return a net income to the farmer of about 20 million VND ($1260) per ha per year, only 7% of the income they could make from accredited-safe vegetables.

Ms Luyen has been able to buy two trucks for sending high-quality vegetables from Moc Chau to Hanoi in good condition. She has also built a covered packing area and a separate crop receival area where local farmers can bring their produce for grading and packing before it is sent to retailers such as FiviMart, Metro and Biggreen in Hanoi, on the night it arrives.

*Ms Luyen, leader of the Tu Nhien village supplying high-quality vegetables from Moc Chau to Hanoi tends a crop of tomatoes in her new greenhouse.*

Project team members Ms Hang and Dr Pham Thi Sen from the Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI), and Ms Nguyen Thị Sau from the Fruits and Vegetables Research Institute (FAVRI).

Mr Bùi Văn Tùng and Ms Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh Chang from the Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI) inspecting a cabbage crop in Van Ho.

Mrs Luyen, leader of the Tu Nhien village with one the trucks she bought to transport vegetables from Moc Chau to Hanoi.

Source: AHR.com.au

Moc Chau safe vegetables for the common interest of farmers, suppliers, retailers and consumers

Posted on March 5, 2015November 9, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

‘Rau an toàn Mộc Châu’ or ‘Moc Chau safe vegetables’ are now presented daily on the tables of many families, canteens and restaurants in Hanoi, meeting the demands of many consumers for safe, fresh and delicious vegetables.

This is a result from strong linkages between the Moc Chau district authority, Son La provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the research team of the ACIAR-funded project ‘Improved market engagement for counter-seasonal vegetables producers in North-West Vietnam’.

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Source: ACIAR in Vietnam magazine

Publication date: March 2015

Moc Chau vegetables gaining a strong foothold in Hanoi market

Posted on February 21, 2014November 7, 2022 by Luyen

Over the past summer, vegetable production in the three farmer groups in Moc Chau supported by the project “Improved market engagement for counter-seasonal vegetable producers in North West Vietnam” has improved the quality and safety of vegetables for Hanoi consumers.

The quality of vegetables including tomatoes, beans and cabbage sold by Moc Chau farmers to retailers in Hanoi has tripled from 60 tons last year to nearly 180 tons this year.

43 farmers form 3 villages have increased their production area form just 4 hectares last year to 18 hectares this season and diversified their assortment of crops to improve their overall market offer.

Farmers also made investments in their farms of which the adoption of basic net-covered greenhouses is the most significant. After returning from a study trip to Da Lat this year, they expanded from just 3 net houses last year to 9 this year. This investment will enable farmers to grown higher value crops such as lettuces and broccoli during the lowland off season.

^ Moc Chau farmers putting up basic protective structures

Farmers in Moc Chau have been strongly supported by agronomists from the Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI), consulting firm Fresh Studio and Hanoi Agricultural University. These groups worked together offering technical support, organizing field days and market feedback sessions, and training farmers in record keeping and food safety regulations of Safe Vegetable Certification, VietGAP and METRO Requirement.

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Source: ACIAR in Vietnam magazine

Publication date: January 2014

This development is a result of the collaboration with project:

Creation of a value chain for vegetables in North Vietnam

Vegetable farmer extension program in Moc Chau yields encouraging results

Posted on December 9, 2013November 7, 2022 by Luyen

MOC CHAU – Bringing vegetable farmers together, with different techniques and farming styles, and comparing their performance among each other, will lead to improved yields, higher quality produce and increasing farmers’ income.

The weekend before the conference ‘Supplying the market of tomorrow’, a delegation from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) participated in a farmers’ exchange meeting with three farmer groups in Moc Chau organized by the Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NOMAFSI), Hanoi University of Agriculture (HUA), Fruits and Vegetables Research Institute (FAVRI) and Fresh Studio.

With over 40 farmers present, the meeting focused on the three largest vegetable products supplied to Hanoi by the farmer groups during the past season: French bean, tomato, and white cabbage.

Presentation:

	Farmer’s exchange meeting
	Location: Tu Nhien, Moc Chau
	Date: 18 November 2013
	Download: English Tiếng Việt

Opening up
Ms. Vu Thi Phuong Thanh (agronomist, Fresh Studio) started the meeting by giving a general introduction comparing the production area, assortment and volumes of vegetables sold under the project in 2012 and 2013. Ms. Thanh shared that “the total production area increased more than four times: from four hectares in 2012 to eighteen hectares in 2013. Moreover, the total volume sold to Hanoi retailers by the three farmer groups reached 155 tons from May to October this year.”

Comparing farm performance
After the introduction presentation, the farmers were split into smaller discussion groups according to crops (French bean, tomato and white cabbage) they produced,

In each group, every farmer’s performance was discussed and compared within the group. This analysis was made possible through farmer record keeping which were encoded in the MonQi database – a software Fresh Studio uses in its extension program to analyze farmer performance and benchmark farmer’s performance with each other.

The comparisons were used to fuel the discussion among farmers to answer questions like “What caused the differences in yield?” and “Why one farmer earned more than the other?” Farmers were very eager to share with fellow farmers how they grow their crops and how they think other farmers can improve their crop performance.

Farmers have a lot of experience, but hardly compare actual figures of their own farm with other farmers. Putting them in a group to show them the performance of their own farm and how their farm compares to other farmers in the same group is very useful to learn from each other.

After the group sessions, FAVRI shared with the farmers the results of the post-harvest trials that they conducted. Transportation of vegetables by plastic crates proved to give the best results both on product quality and temperature management as compared to nylon bags and carton boxes.

The success of the 2013 season is yet another milestone in developing the vegetable sector of Moc Chau. The Moc Chau district is only a four-hour drive away from Hanoi making it an excellent regional alternative to supply temperate vegetables during the summer months of May to September.

Also interesting to read:

Successful Moc Chau R&D farm field day organized

Posted on October 10, 2008November 8, 2022 by Luyen

DALAT – On the 8th of October a very successful field day was organized by Fresh Studio at the vegetable R&D farm developed by the collaboration of Applied Plant Research of Wageningen UR and Fresh Studio.

Funded with a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture program for International Cooperation, a R&D farm for vegetables was established to test varieties of vegetable seeds from a range of national and international companies for their agronomic and financial viability. Trials were executed year round with a focus on off-season feasibility.

The aim of the R&D program was to determine whether the highlands of Moc Chau (1000-1500 meters) may become an important supply area to booming urban areas in North Vietnam.

During our field day, over 50 farmers, cooperatives, vegetable traders, seed companies, representatives of the Moc Chau Agriculture Department and the Dutch Embassy participated. The results of one year of hard work were presented through an interactive poster exhibition and guided farm walk.

Tag: Moc Chau