Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Linkedin

Category: Crops

Dutch Horticulture Open House event: completion TF Horti Dalat project

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

The Transition Facility (TF) project “Accelerating the development of modern greenhouse vegetable production in Vietnam”, supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs started in 2014 in Lam Dong province. This project is coming to a close. To highlight the innovations introduced and celebrate the achievements a Dutch Horticulture Open House was organized at the R&D farm of Fresh Studio in Dalat.

The first ever Dutch Horticulture Open House was a huge success with over 300 attending farmers. Greenhouse technologies used within the project were exposed and demonstrated to farmers and project partners during the event. The Open House provided ample opportunities for networking and discussions. Also, the six pilot farmers, whom invested in imported greenhouses, were put into the spotlight.

The following results clearly show that this project contributed to the accelerated development of modern greenhouse production in Vietnam and has created a foundation to further introduce Dutch greenhouse technologies in Vietnam:

  • > 720 farmers trained in modern greenhouse production
  • 6 Modern greenhouse established with 6 pilot farmers
  • 4 vegetable brands created
  • 3 Training manuals developed
  • Successful commercial introduction of various new inputs
  • Next disbursement of loans of 300,000 EUR to invest in modern greenhouse production in preparation

These results would not have been achieved without the contribution and support of all the project partners. We are grateful for this cooperation and look forward to see you all during the next Horticulture Open House at our R&D farm in 2018.

Photo impression of Dutch Horticulture Open House

This development is a result of the collaboration with project:

Accelerating a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector

Modern greenhouse vegetable production can provide an innovative solution to meet the fast growing demand for high quality, safe and sustainable produced vegetables, which are year round available …

Dutch potato to help lift up Vietnamese agriculture

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

The Dutch Vice-Minister of Agriculture and local authorities of Bac Ninh province visited an event in the field of the project “Growing out of poverty with potato” in Tien Du district, Bac Ninh on the occasion of potato harvest and delivery of training certificates to participating farmers.

“Growing out of poverty with potato” is 5 year PPP (Public Private Partnership) project (2014-2019) between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Fresh Studio (local project management), Agrico, PepsiCo Vietnam and Dutch Wageningen University. With the objective of setting an example of a sustainable value chain for high quality potato in Vietnam, the project has been implemented for two years and has acquired promising achievements. The event is the result of commercial production trials for two Dutch potato varieties, Markies & Rosagold, before putting in mass production.

Potatoes provide an interesting opportunity to improve food security, support pro-poor development and boost a healthy, diverse diet in Vietnam. Despite being richer in fibre, vitamins, and minerals than rice or wheat, with the production requiring less water and land, production and consumption of potatoes in Vietnam are still very modest. Potato has also been proved a profitable addition to the current crops planted by small-scale farmers in Vietnam.

Siebe van Wijk, Managing Director of Fresh Studio stated during his presentation: “The 5-year project stimulates supply, fosters demand, develops the value chain and initiates a structural policy dialogue to support a sustainable potato sector in Vietnam. The project is successful when the Vietnamese potato sector can compete with imports and supplies of both the domestic table potato market and the potato processing industry with a consistent volume of high quality potatoes”.

On the supply side, the project focuses on testing high-yielding varieties, training farmers and production advisors. After two years the project obtained among others the following achievements:

  • 2 high quality potato varieties were selected to be introduced in Vietnamese market.
  • Purchase, test and introduction of tractors, planting and harvesting machines.
  • 27 production advisers and 1690 farmers (70% female) were trained in potato production.
  • Farmers and traders were connected during a series of field activities, after which more than 648 supply contracts were signed.
  • Nearly 1000,000 consumers in the urban areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city were reached during awareness campaigns (online and offline) on nutritional values of potatoes and preparation modes.
  • To understand the demand, preferences and behaviour of consumers, 1000 consumers participated in consumer research.
  • The Potato Policy Discussion Platform has been formed and active with regular meetings and policy workshops.

Speaking at the event, Marjolijn Sonnema, Dutch Vice Minister of Agriculture stated:“As one of the world’s biggest agricultural manufacturers, the Netherlands hopes that our expertise will help Vietnam in enhancing food security, promoting sustainable agricultural production, increasing farmers’ incomes, and improving their livelihoods”.

With a smart approach and dedicated implementing partners, it is positive that the project will be able to build a robust system for potato sector which can sustain and flourish even after the project finishes. And the day when Vietnamese potato can compete with imports, supplying effectively for the domestic market will be in vision.

Enhancing the capabilities of Vietnamese key-trainers in protected horticulture in South Vietnam

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

HollandDoor and Fresh Studio in collaboration with Nong Lam University organized the first training week of a 2 week practical training course to build the capacity of 20 key persons active in protected horticulture in the south of Vietnam.

The practical training course was held from 24 – 28 October at the Agricultural High Tech Park in Cu Chi. For this training week 3 greenhouse crops (tomato, melon and lettuce) were established as practical training locations.

The training deals with:

  1. Knowledge transfer and skills training in the field of market-oriented, sustainable (protected) cultivation
  2. Training on appropriate, practical training methods for farmers, engineers and students (including course and materials development)
  3. Training on the concept of knowledge sharing between farmers and sme’s (study groups)

During the first practical training week participants were trained by Jos Leeters, Geerten van der Lugt, Lo Xuan Dung and René van Rensen in:

  • Fertigation and irrigation strategies for greenhouse crops
  • Measuring and monitoring farm activities and greenhouse crops
  • Training methodology
  • Substrate characteristics and usage
  • Supply chain and market trends

Through presentations, practical exercises and group discussion the trainees gained valuable insights in these subjects and how to apply these within the local situation. The enthusiasm of both the trainers and trainees resulted not only in a very successful and but also enjoyable training week as can be seen in the photo impression of the training week.

This practical training course was offered with the financial support of EP Nuffic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Vitalising the Vietnamese potato sector: read the results of year 2

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

How to achieve food security, improved nutrition and accelerate sustainable agriculture in Vietnam? How to increase the income of small scale farmers in Vietnam? 

The ‘Growing out of poverty with potato’ project aims to tackle this challenge and sets an example by creating a value chain for a high quality and sustainable potato production system in Vietnam. Since its launch in 2014, the ‘Growing out of poverty with potato’ project made a great deal of progress. The results up to March 2016:

Year 2: Project results Apr 2015 – Mar 2016Download

In summary

Supply

  • Field trials with 5 high-yielding potato varieties were successfully completed.
  • Potato production enhancing equipment, like irrigation systems and machinery to plant and harvest potatoes was successfully tested.
  • 950 farmers (of which 70% female) received a training certificate after attending 3 potato training modules regarding potato production.
  • Training of 14 potato production advisors was completed. Potato production advisors will visit contract farmers at least once every two weeks to assist them in optimizing their production performance.

Demand

  • Over 200.000 consumers were reached through awareness campaigns in wet markets and supermarkets in Hanoi and HCMC.
  • 400 consumers were interviewed to get more insight in their potato preferences.
  • Food labs: 400 consumers participated in the sensory evaluation of potato varieties.
  • 50 households prepared 4 selected potato varieties at home and provided feedback per potato variety.

Supply chain development

  • 10 field days were organized and attended by 6 traders and over 350 farmers.
  • 353 farmers signed contracts with traders to deliver potatoes.

Policy development

  • 2 meetings were organized with the Potato Policy Discussion platform
  • In cooperation with all partners, Dutch embassy, Vietnamese authorities and research institutes a policy brief was completed with recommendations to strengthen the Vietnamese potato sector.

For more in-depth information about the progress in year 2 of the ‘Growing out of Poverty’ with potato project and projection to year 3 kindly download the full newsletter of Year 2 below:

Year 2: Project results Apr 2015 – Mar 2016Download

Dutch horticulture technologies successfully tested in Vietnam

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

As part of the Transition Facility project “Accelerating the development of a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector in Vietnam” hydroponic lettuce production and biological control of pests in greenhouse vegetables are successfully applied at the R&D Farm of Fresh Studio.

Lettuce is a major crop in Lam Dong province and grown year round. The majority of the lettuce is sold in Ho Chi Minh City. In the rainy season the challenge for farmers is to produce good quality lettuce as disease pressure is high. In the dry season availability of sufficient irrigation water is becoming also a challenge as this dry season has shown. A solution for both challenges is to grown lettuce on a hydroponic system (Nutrient Film Technique). This technique has been successfully tested at the R&D Farm of Fresh Studio as part of the Transition Facility project “Accelerating the development of a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector in Vietnam”. With this system farmers are able to harvest up to 14 rounds of lettuce from the same area for the fastest growing lettuce types, greatly increasing productivity per m2. Due to the very hygienic growing conditions, disease pressure is kept at a minimum enabling top quality lettuce to be produced year round.  The closed irrigation system ensures no water is lost. Compared to growing lettuce in the soil, the amount of water needed to produce the same volume of lettuce with the hydroponic production is estimated to be > 75% lower.

Keeping pest under control and ensuring food safety is a challenge in Vietnam as greenhouse vegetables often need to be harvested daily, while the interval to harvest vegetables after applying a crop protection product is several days to over one week. In the Netherlands pest insects are mainly controlled in a biological way through natural enemies. This technique was successfully tested for cucumber and sweet pepper at the R&D Farm of Fresh Studio. Trails for tomato are planned for later in the year. Besides eliminating the need to apply pesticides to keep pest insects under control, the trial results indicate that the average production also increases, due to the more regular harvest. Through this technology food safety can be increased, while farmers can still be competitive with their vegetable selling price. 

Both technologies are demonstrated and shown to local Vietnamese farmers and farmers have started to commercially apply both technologies. A clear sign that the project’s objective, accelerating the development of a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector in Vietnam, is on the right track.

This project is implemented by a consortium consisting of Wageningen University, Rabobank Foundation, Fresh Studio, BVB Substrates, Da Lat University, HAS Hogeschool Den Bosch, Koppert Biological Systems, Rijk Zwaan, Ludvig Svensson, YARA, CMF and Priva and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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

Posted on 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

Fresh Studio organizes fresh produce value chain study tour in Vietnam

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

In early December 2015, Fresh Studio was contracted to organize “Vietnam Fresh Produce Value Chain” study tour. The delegation consisted of 17 participants from both public and private sectors in horticulture. 

The key objective of the study tour was to provide the delegates with insights into value chain development for fresh produce for the domestic market. When working with perishable products, it is vital to understand how and where in the chain the ‘value added’ can be created. Other issues such as training farmers, quality assurance and marketing of value added products should also be taken into consideration during the value chain development process.

Therefore, Fresh Studio organized a travel workshop along horticulture value chains that were started in 2008 in Dalat and have over the years expanded to the Mekong Delta, and until now developed into a sustainable business supplying fresh produce for urban consumers in Vietnam. During the seven-day study tour, the delegation traveled to three main horticulture production areas in the south of Vietnam. The group was accompanied by agronomists, QA specialists, marketing consultants and the company’s directors who supported the delegates to achieve the study goal.

  • The delegates visited HCMC peri-urban farmer areas and the modern and traditional wholesale and retailers in HCMC.
  • In Dalat, the delegates visited various vegetable/fruit/flower farming systems (from low tech, mid-tech to high tech farms) and the Fresh Studio R&D farm. In addition, the study tour participants also went to several traditional and modern vegetable packinghouses.
  • In the Mekong delta, the tour participants visited the modern fruit and vegetable processing facility of The Fruit Republic (TFR) Company in Can Tho and a successful fruit export sourcing system in Vinh Long province.

After the study tour, the knowledge of vegetable production and supply chain of the delegates has been improved greatly, especially on the knowledge of Vietnam vegetable production that can be applied in other SEA countries. Apart from learning activities, the delegates also enjoyed Vietnamese food and culture.

Three more milestones achieved in modern greenhouse vegetable production sector in Vietnam

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

3 significant accomplishments in the Transition Facility project “Accelerating the development of a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector in Vietnam”, including the first harvest of tomatoes and sweet peppers produced at the six pilot farms, the development of a market brand name and logo for each pilot farmer, and the start of training 720 farmers in modern greenhouse technology.

Also, positive reactions from all the guests visiting the Fresh Studio R&D Farm. They were all impressed with the tomato crop in the new greenhouse with automatic irrigation and climate control.

After planting the first crops in August, the Transition Facility project is in full swing and the first crops are looking promising to deliver good results.

Since 4 months, the 6 pilot farmers are now using their greenhouse and are very satisfied. Strong winds and heavy rain did not result in any problem. At the Fresh Studio R&D farm, irrigation and climate (including screening) control for the pilot greenhouse is currently managed fully automatic which is resulting in stable growing conditions. The first tomatoes (end of October) and sweet pepper fruits (November) were harvested with excellent quality. With over 2 kg per plant in the first tomato production, the yield target has also been achieved.

Download the project newsletterDownload

To strengthen the sales position of the products produced by the pilot farmer, a student from Van Hall Larenstein completed a research regarding packaging possibilities for tomato and sweet pepper in Vietnam. Advice was provided regarding the packaging options to the pilot farmers.

To distinguish the products in the market a brand name and logo was designed per pilot farmer by Fresh Studio’s Marketing & Business Development team.

Furthermore, next to the production manual for sweet pepper the first Vietnamese tomato production manual was completed. With over 200 slides, the current training manuals for sweet pepper and tomato includes a lot of useful information. Nevertheless, training manuals should be constantly updated and improved.

As part of the project, 8 field days have been organized so far. During these days, a total of 150 sweet pepper farmers and 156 tomato farmers have been trained in sweet pepper and tomato production with modern greenhouse technology. The farmers appreciated the training materials and the opportunity to visit the pilot greenhouses in order to see, experience and discuss the application of modern greenhouse technologies at their own farm.
Certainly there is much interest of farmers to learn more about and to use modern greenhouse technologies. Therefore, it is expected that these training activities will contribute to accelerated adoption of modern greenhouse vegetable production techniques by Vietnamese farmers.

This development is a result of the collaboration with project

Accelerating a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector

Modern greenhouse vegetable production can provide an innovative solution to meet the fast growing demand for high quality, safe and sustainable produced vegetables, which are year round available …

Accelerating the development of the Vietnamese potato sector

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

The stereotype of Asian agriculture consists of endless rice fields. However, there is plenty of space for potato, both literally and figuratively speaking. The project “Growing out of poverty with potato” strives to support Vietnam in becoming more self-sufficient in the production of potatoes. The project covers the entire chain, from farmer to consumer.

Article by: Marc Meijer

“How many objectives could one project possibly target simultaneously? The revitalization of the modest Vietnamese potato industry through this project increases the living standards of farmers, expands the diet variations of the population, improve food safety, makes Vietnam become self sufficient with domestic potato supply and contributes to sustainable agricultural growth.” It completely addresses all different crucial aspects, and therefore is a solid and inspiring project. I believe in this project.” says Mrs. Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, the Director of Marketing and Business Development at Fresh Studio.

New varieties

The project encompasses three components. “On the production side, we’re introducing new varieties and sustainable cultivation techniques, targeting 2500 farmers. In addition, we support the farmers with trainings and the organization of their businesses. With simple farming machinery we try to improve the working conditions. This is necessary, since potato cultivation is a labor-intensive activity. It involves strenuous manual work. Most of the cultivation and harvesting is taken up by women.” On the demand side, the project focuses on raising awareness about the nutritional values of potatoes. Building on an extensive consumer research, this will be achieved by an extensive awareness campaign in early 2016. The third component consists of establishing the linkage between supply and demand. “We identify the proper traders and retailers in order to supply high quality potatoes in the best possible way to consumers.“

It completely addresses all different crucial aspects, and therefore is a solid and inspiring project. I believe in this project.

Mrs. Sigrid Wertheim-Heck

Taste lab

What distinguishes this project from similar projects is the significant focus on demand. In other words, as Mrs. Wertheim-Heck puts it: “We assess the agricultural performance of the new varieties as well as the market performance.” The latter happens in “taste labs”-locations where consumers (and farmers) can taste and judge new potatoes varieties. In this way, the market potential of certain varieties will be apparent in advance.

Combination

“Growing out of poverty with potato” is a public-private partnership between Fresh Studio, PepsiCo Vietnam, Agrico BV and Applied Plant Research WUR. This consortium combines local expertise with international cultivation advice, and introduces Dutch potato varieties with commercial potential for different purposes. The potato cultivation season in Vietnam fits in the rice-low season. This implies that farmers can generate an additional income in this period.

Big buyer

“The participation of PepsiCo Vietnam, a company with large purchasing power and interest in sourcing high quality product from sustainable producers, is important.” said Mrs. Wertheim-Heck. “It provides stability for the farmers. The support from the Dutch Government with FDOV (see box) enables us, the project partners, to execute a project that would otherwise not be feasible for a stand-alone private party. A sector in Vietnam that received less attention, is given a major upswing on all aspects.”

FDOV

With the “Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security” (FDOV) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands stimulates public-private partnerships in the field of food security and private sector development in emerging markets. RVO is responsible for the operational management of this facility. For more information visit: http://www.rvo.nl/subsidies-regelingen/programma-publieke-private-samenwerking/faciliteit-duurzaam-ondernemen-en-voedselzekerheid.

Read this article in Dutch @ RVO.nl

____________________________________________________

Source: RVO.nl

Publication date: 2015

First milestones achieved for the development of a modern greenhouse sector

Posted on by Ngô Khoa

With the completion of 6 modern greenhouses an important milestone is achieved as part of the Transition Facility project “Accelerating the development of a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector in Vietnam”. Sweet pepper and tomato crops are planted and the first harvest is expected in October. The greenhouses will be used to train >700 farmers in modern greenhouse vegetable production.

The completion of 6 modern greenhouses is the result of a lot of preparation and efforts of various project partners and the 6 selected pilot farmers. Although this is a real milestone, the project activities don’t stop here. The next phase of the project involves the actual production in the greenhouses and knowledge dissemination activities towards farmers. Regular updates regarding the crop status and production results will be provided in future project updates.

Access to finance

To enable the pilot farmers to make the investment in modern greenhouse vegetable production the Rabobank Foundation signed an agreement with Sacombank to provide the 6 pilot farmers with a loan to finance their investment in the modern greenhouse hardware and the initial operational costs. After obtaining approval from the State Bank of Vietnam the loans were disbursed to the pilot farmers in April 2015.

Greenhouses

At Fresh Studio’s R&D farm a multi-span greenhouse (CMF ESPACE 9.60 M) with automatic ventilation and screening (SVENSSON XLS 50 F HARMONY REVOLUX) is installed. At the other 5 pilot farms a multi-span greenhouse (CMF ESPACE 9.60 M) with fixed ventilation is installed.

Climate control and irrigation

A climate control and irrigation system (PRIVA NUTRIFIT and MAXIMIZER) is installed at the Fresh Studio’s R&D farm to operate the new greenhouse. This system will also be used to collect climate data for the project partners.

Substrate

Grow slabs (with a mix of cocopeat, peatmoss and perlite) from BVB-substrates are imported to be used as substrate by the pilot farmers.

Varieties

5 pilot farmers decided to grow tomatoes (beef, normal, cocktail and cherry) and 1 pilot farmer decided to grow sweet pepper (red and yellow). The varieties planted are from Rijk Zwaan.

Fertilizer

YARA Vietnam made arrangements to enable the pilot farmers to buy the Kristalon fertilizer range.

Training materials

The first version of Vietnamese sweet pepper and tomato training materials is completed. For NFT lettuce, training material is being developed. Farmer training activities will start in September 2015.

Knowledge development

As a spinoff of this project a proposal to develop a practical knowledge and training institute that supports the development of the Vietnamese agrifood sector towards a sustainable, healthy and upgraded industry, through sharing knowledge and skills in the production-, postharvest- and distribution stages of the supply chain was submitted by HAS Hogeschool and granted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. The name of the project is Fresh Academy Vietnam.

This development is a result of the collaboration with project:

Accelerating a modern greenhouse vegetable production sector

Modern greenhouse vegetable production can provide an innovative solution to meet the fast growing demand for high quality, safe and sustainable produced vegetables, which are year round available …

Follow us on:

Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Linkedin

© 2022 Fresh Studio

en_GBEN
en_GBEN viVI