Sourcing – Fresh Studio

Grow more with less water and nutrients in Vietnam

Posted on September 18, 2023September 19, 2023 by Ngô Khoa

The project consortium partners Ridder, Royal Brinkman, HollandDoor and Fresh Studio are pleased to announce that our project application under the Partners for Water program has been approved. Under the project name: “Improving water availability and safety through optimized irrigation and fertilizer application by hydroponic growers in Vietnam” the project consortium will establish 2 pilot locations to demonstrate the feasibility and advantages of re-using drain water to local horticulture farmers in Lam Dong province, which is the horticultural production center of Vietnam.

Before the application of this pilot project a thorough feasibility study was undertaken by the consortium, providing sufficient understanding and proof for which crops, and under which circumstances an investment in re-using drain water has the fastest return on investment.

In Vietnam a modern greenhouse sector is fast developing, especially in the highlands of Lam Dong Province, which is since decades the main production region of fresh vegetables and flowers for the densely populated urban Mekong, including Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). To prevent soilborne diseases and to increase productivity, greenhouse production in Lam Dong is shifting fast towards hydroponic greenhouse cultivation (out of soil, on a substrate) in which irrigation is combined with fertilizer application (fertigation). In terms of water efficiency hydroponic cultivation is much more efficient, however irrigation requirements are still significant. This project is unique as it unlocks abilities in both the fields of water safety and water security:

Water security: increasing water use efficiency to produce horticultural produce and thereby decreasing the water footprint of vegetables and flowers produced by saving 10 – 35% of irrigation water.
Water safety: greatly reducing the contamination of the environment (eutrophication) by avoiding leaching of nutrient rich drain water into the environment.

*Modern sweet pepper and tomato production on substrate in Vietnam, without re using drain water.*

The rapid expansion of intensive horticulture production combined with irrigation practices and management which are not optimized, is putting pressure on the availability of sufficient irrigation water. The limits of available irrigation water resources are already reached. With increasing demand for fresh vegetables, this creates a risk for food security in some periods of the year. Using irrigation water more efficient and increasing the water use efficiency will enable the horticulture sector in Vietnam to grow in a sustainable manner, while ensuring food security and water availability in the future.

Picture of the greenhouse production area surrounding Da Lat city in Lam Dong province.

The re-use of drain water is not yet applied in Vietnam by local growers, while this is common practice in the Netherlands within the horticulture sector. Adapting the technologies applied in the Netherlands to be technically and economically feasible in Vietnam to re-use drain water makes this project unique and innovative. Especially the Ridder VitaLite system, which has not yet been applied by local vegetable growers in Vietnam. It may seem simple to copy the Dutch system and put it in place in Vietnam, but it is certainly not as simple as that. The systems to re-use drain water have been developed and have evolved over 40 years. Access to knowledge and companies providing services related the re-using of drain water are readily available in the Netherlands. This is, however, not the case in Vietnam. To introduce re-use of drain water successfully in Vietnam a holistic approach is required. For example, the Ridder VitaLate system which disinfects drain water, will not work if there is not a well working drain water collecting system collecting and transporting the drain water to the Ridder VitaLite system. The system also requires adaptations in monitoring and adjusting the fertilizer application program, to prevent that crops will not perform up to their full potential.

Schematic overview of re using drain water (source: Ridder) and the project partners.

To demonstrate and convince horticulture growers (main beneficiaries) to invest in this technology we will establish a pilot project, where 2 systems to re-use drain water with the Ridder VitaLite are established with local growers. Through these 2 pilot systems we will:

Test the system on a commercial scale and eliminate any unforeseen issue
Quantify the results of drain water re-use e.g. crop performance, water savings, fertilizer savings (water footprint) of crops grown and return on investment
Demonstrate the Ridder VitaLite technology enabling drain water re-use to 500 – 750 growers stimulating adoption of the technology by local growers
Create awareness of authorities of the benefit of re-use of drain water
Enable upscaling and commercial application of re-using drain water by Vietnamese growers
Develop a leasing construction for growers who are unable to make the investment themselves

The long-term objective of our pilot project is that the re-use of drain water becomes common practice in the horticulture sector in Vietnam. This will support the development of a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and more efficient horticulture sector as re-use of drain water will greatly improve the water use efficiency and prevent contamination of the environment (eutrophication) through leaching of nutrient rich drain water into the environment. At the same time re-using drain water will reduce the production costs and make Vietnamese growers more cost efficient.

For more information about this project please contact:

René van Rensen

Managing Partner – R&D Director Crops
Info@freshstudio.vn

The Partners for Water program is implemented by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) on behalf of the Ministries of Infrastructure and Water Management, Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs and Climate and Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

For more information see: www.partnersvoorwater.nl

Improve profits by properly sourcing mangoes and managing the packhouse

Posted on June 30, 2023July 5, 2023 by Ngô Khoa

Seasonal production is one of the main problems causing unstable price throughout the year. Besides, the lack of management at the packhouse will lead to high post-harvest loss and reduce the ability to trace back once there is any quality problem.

Reckoning all these issues, the Mango Business School had organized a successful one-day training called “Mango sourcing & packhouse management” at Sao Mai Hotel, Dong Thap to strengthen the knowledge of cooperative’s and company’s leaders as well as local extensionists on 28^th June 2023. The training is a capacity building activity operated under the Green Innovation Centers for Agriculture and Food Sector (GIC Vietnam) project.

The training was provided by both Fresh Studio’s sourcing expert in cooperation with a lecturer from Nong Lam University. The lecture covered comprehensively from managing raw materials at production stage to packing stage through 6 topics: building sourcing area and farmer system, planning and prediction the production volume, standard operation for a packhouse and how to manage and finally, quality control at the packhouse.

40 participants had registered for this course, whom came from a diverse background such as cooperative, company and local extensionist. Besides presentation, the workshop creates lots room for discussion through minigames and exercises. Most of trainees feedback the course is useful for their current works.

Shallot value chain analysis highlights key intervention opportunities

Posted on July 5, 2017November 7, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

In Vietnam, the province of Soc Trang is famous for its shallots. Since a few years, however, it is no longer the shallot itself but the shallot farmers which are grabbing headlines across the country.

Most shalllot farmers are among the poorest people in the country. Increasingly unpredictable rainfall has lowered yields and changing market conditions have created demand uncertainty. Each year thousands of tons of shallots remain unsold. Soc Trang province is aware of the difficulties facing the sector and wants to provide support.

Fresh Studio was requested to support Soc Trang province in this process. In the first phase of the project, Fresh Studio conducted a value chain analysis to critically assess the issues faced by different stakeholders and identify opportunities for improvement, including:

High cost and inconsistent quality of shallot seed.
Unstainable shallot production practices.
Short storage period with high losses of consumption shallot and seed shallot.
Losing market share in the domestic market due to strong competition from cheap and year-round available Indian shallots.
Consumers like the Vinh Chau shallot, but are not aware about the heritage of Vinh Chau shallots and can only buy them a few months per year.

Based on the findings of the value chain analysis, a detailed action plan will be made to develop the shallot sector. Read more about our Soc Trang value chain analysis below or contact us for further information about this project.

Download the report impression Download

Minister Koenders opens Dutch embassy in Myanmar

Posted on October 28, 2016November 7, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

On Wednesday (12 October) Minister Koenders (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands) opened the Dutch embassy in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). An unique moment because everywhere else in the world the Dutch embassies are closing down or at least decreasing the number of staff. But in Myanmar a new Dutch embassy is being established.

Furthermore, this was the first Dutch political mission to the new Myanmar government. The last political elections in November 2015 were the first elections in 60 years in which the leading party (NLD: National League of Democracy) was democratically chosen by a majority of votes. After 60 years of military rule, and hardly any focus on the development of the country and the people, the current government has a very challenging task but certainly shows the mentality to succeed.

Only two months ago the first Dutch ambassador arrived in Yangon. This changed the economic mission of the Netherlands in Myanmar into a more ambitious mission which results in having a Dutch embassy present in Myanmar. Surely this indicates the potential of Myanmar in general, and specifically in trade and the water and agro-food sector.

During his 3-day visit to Myanmar Minister Koenders had meetings with the private sector in order to stimulate and strengthen the economic relationships between the Netherlands and Myanmar. This is also something he stressed several times during his speech at the opening of the embassy.

For SAPA, these are encouraging and beneficial developments: the establishment of the Dutch embassy in Myanmar; the continuous strengthening of the economic relationships between the Netherlands and Myanmar; and finally the focus on developing and improving the agriculture of the new government.

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

Posted on October 20, 2016November 7, 2022 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

First milestones achieved for the development of a modern greenhouse sector

Posted on September 15, 2015November 9, 2022 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 …

First Small-Scale Pangasius Farmers Achieve GLOBAL G.A.P. Aquaculture Group Certificate

Posted on September 9, 2014November 9, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

GLOBALG.A.P. is proud to announce the first aquaculture group certification for small-scale pangasius farmers in Vietnam. This major step is part of the Public Private Partnership – Sustainable Pangasius Supply Chain Program (PPP-SPSP) in Tra Vinh province. Fresh Studio was contracted by GIZ and IDH to develop a GLOBALG.A.P. certified smallholder pangasius farmer group in Tra Vinh Province.

At the GLOBALG.A.P. workshop that took place at Vietfish on 6 August 2014, Mr. Truong The Van, the Vice Chairman of the Tra Vinh Fisheries Association, shared the challenges and benefits for small-scale producers of GLOBALG.A.P. Certification in general, and GLOBALG.A.P. Group Certification in particular. He specifically highlighted the cooperation promotion between farms. He also outlined how raising producer awareness of Good Aquaculture Practices and environmental protection benefits the aquaculture sector as a whole and consumers worldwide.

An added advantage of GLOBALG.A.P. Group Certification for small-scale producers in Vietnam in particular is that they immediately comply with the national government’s decree requiring all pangasius farming activities to be certified against sustainable certification systems by 31 December 2015.

This is a milestone in GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Group Certification and a major step forward in the aquaculture sector. Small-scale aquaculture producers organized in groups with a shared Quality Management System can now reap the benefits of a long established and successful form of GLOBALG.A.P. Certification, one that GLOBALG.A.P. certified Fruit & Vegetable producers have benefited from for years.

“I congratulate the Tra Vinh Cooperative for pioneering GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Group Certification in Vietnam and around the world,” said Kristian Moeller, GLOBALG.A.P. CEO. “ Almost 100,000 fruit & vegetable farmers, that’s more than 70 percent of our GLOBALG.A.P. certified producers worldwide, are organized in groups and covered under GLOBALG.A.P. Group Certification. The first group small-scale farmer certificate in aquaculture confirms that achieving our high integrity requirements for food safety and sustainability systems on farm via a group generates benefits to small-scale producers that can also be enjoyed by the aquaculture sector. The European retail markets have a particular interest in connecting to smaller producers to secure their sourcing. I am pleased to announce that the majority of our German retailers are introducing and implementing policies that require GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Certification as a food safety baseline for their entire aquaculture range.”

— Kristian Moeller, GLOBALG.A.P. CEO.

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Source: GlobalGAP.com

Publication date: August 2014

This development is a result of the collaboration with project:

GLOBALG.A.P. group certification for small scale Pangasius farmers in Tra Vinh

Fresh Studio was contracted to develop a Globalgap certified smallholder pangasius farmer group in Tra Vinh Province …

Sustainable dairy zone project breaks ground in Ha Nam

Posted on July 21, 2014November 9, 2022 by Ngô Khoa

A groundbreaking ceremony marked an important milestone and is considered a first encouraging step for the development of sustainable dairy zones in Vietnam, the company said in a press statement.

This project is a partnership between FrieslandCampina, De Heus, Wageningen UR, Friesian Agro Consultancy B.V, Fresh Studio, Ha Nam authorities and the Dutch Government within the Facility for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Food Security (FDOV) for the 2014-2018 period.

It is expected in the project that by 2018, three dairy zones will be established, with each zone having about 50 dairy farms, to produce at least 7,000 tons of fresh milk per year and create approximately 350 jobs.

After five years of participation in the project, each dairy farm is expected to have a herd of 50 to 80 head of cattle. In addition, the project aims to develop and implement training programs, set up a dairy cattle feed supply chain, and provide financial services for farmers participating in the project.

As the main partner in the project, FrieslandCampina undertakes the roles of management, execution and direct investment, and will establish three specialized dairy zones in Vietnam with two pilot dairy farms in each zone.

The company will help farmers gain access to preferential loans; provide training and supply technical advice for farmers; and develop and establish procurement and control systems to ensure good milk quality as well as the consumption of fresh milk at competitive prices.

The dairy zone in Ha Nam is considered a model of public-private partnership in close collaboration with national and provincial government agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture, the provincial government of Ha Nam, and Ha Nam’s Department of Agriculture.

FrieslandCampina has been in Vietnam for over 18 years, with more than 1.5 billion high-quality milk units supplied a year and with many favorite brands such as Dutch Lady, Friso, Yomost, and Fristi.