Value chain management and market linkages for fruits and aquaculture in Mekong Delta training

On 9 and 10 September 2022 Fresh Studio under the lead of our value chain development expert Mr. Siebe van Wijk organized the 2nd value chain management and market linkage training as part of the Nuffic OKP project: ‘Towards a climate resilient nursery sector and value chains in the Mekong Delta through capacity building in the educational and governmental sectors’.

During the training the trainee learned how to do a value chain analysis and which tools they can use to gather the insights of a current chain to be able to develop a value chain.

The highly participatory approach of the training resulted that all trainees were actively involved in the various training sessions. The knowledge and methods trained during the classroom sessions were applied by the trainees during their assignments and field work, including on site interviews with actors active within a water spinach and mustard chain.  The training activities accumulated in 2 groups presenting their ideas and approaches required to develop a water spinach and mustard value chain by the end of the training.

The OKP project is a Dutch-Vietnamese knowledge partnership project to promote the development of a climate-resilient nursery sector & value chains in An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Tien Giang and Vinh Long, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and managed by NUFFIC.

This project introduces scalable water technology pilots for the aquaculture and horticulture sectors to develop climate-smart value chains. The project international partners including Aeres University, Has University, Fresh Studio Innovations Asia and Nong Lam University work with local governments and educational institutions to enhance capacity so that adaptations to cope with transformation in the Mekong Delta can be accelerated at the local level.

OKP Project resumes training activities in Vietnam

The OKP project is a Dutch-Vietnamese knowledge partnership project to promote the development of a climate-resilient nursery sector & value chains in An Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Tien Giang and Vinh Long, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and managed by NUFFIC.

This project introduces scalable water technology pilots for the aquaculture and horticulture sectors to develop climate-smart value chains. The project international partners including Aeres University, Has University, Fresh Studio Innovations Asia and Nong Lam University work with local governments and educational institutions to enhance capacity so that adaptations to cope with transformation in the Mekong Delta can be accelerated at the local level.

After a successful two-day kick-off workshop and first training sessions in April 2021, unfortunately the training activities were limited to online sessions due to  Covid-19 restrictions. Although in-person meetings were restricted, Fresh Studio set up its fish nursery with an advanced water filtration system (RAS) from Alpha Aqua—an improvement over previous methods that greatly increased fingerling efficiency and water usage.

Fingerling R&D nursery established by Fresh Studio
Fingerling R&D nursery established by Fresh Studio

At the Nong Lam University, irrigation systems were installed. These systems enabled the university to train its students in applied research related to irrigation strategies and water use efficiency.

Irrigation system installed at Nong Lam University
Irrigation system installed at Nong Lam University

As the Covid-19 situation has eased the project partners are pleased that in-person training and other project activities can take place again in Vietnam. During the last 2 weeks, the groups focused on aquaculture and crops resumed training activities related to didactics and technologies related to climate-smart agriculture. The training was provided by experts from Aeres and HAS, focusing on didactics in combination with the local teams of Nong Lam University and Fresh Studio, focusing on technologies.

Aquaculture training week

The project resumed training activities were met with enthusiasm by the trainees, especially the training exercises in which the trainees were actively involved themselves. 

In the coming period the project will continue to roll out the planned project activities starting with another training session on irrigation in June and the 2nd value chain development training in September.

Toward a climate resilient nursery sector and value chain in the Mekong Delta through the capacity Building in educational and government sector

We are uplifted with the success of the two-day kick off workshop for the Orange Knowledge Program project “Toward a climate resilient nursery sector and value chain in the Mekong Delta through the capacity Building in educational and government sector” campaign by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Fresh Studio, Aeres University, Has University and Nong Lam University are collaborated to promote the development of a climate resilient nursery sector & value chains in the Mekong Delta.

Fifty (50) professors, lecturers, extentionists and researchers from colleges, TVETs, DARDS, research institutes from Dong Thap, An Giang, Can Tho, HCM, Long An, Tien Giang, Soc Trang participate in this workshop and will continue a collective learning journey until 2022 and beyond!

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