Training for Pangasius and Tilapia farmers in Vinh Long and Dong Thap provinces

Aquaculture is a vital component of the social and economic tissue for many provinces in the Mekong Delta. In the riverine provinces of Vinh Long and Dong Thap, where nearly half of the national Pangasius production takes place, sustainable expansion of aquaculture is constrained by several factors. Among those, the lack of appropriate extension approaches, limited technological know-how, and variable input quality are very often stressed by local farmers.

Through the PAP “Powering Aquaculture Progress” project launched in 2013, De Heus together with its implementing partners Fresh Studio, Can Tho University and Wageningen University have envisioned the development a state-of-the-art R&D facility serving as a nexus in the Mekong Delta where innovations could be developed, tested and adapted to local conditions in collaboration with local farmers.

After 4 years of development, 2017 marked a new milestone with the first training sessions held at the facility.

Sessions featured stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds, including more than 100 Pangasius and Tilapia farmers, members of the De Heus’ Research and Sales team, local and international industry experts, and academics from Can Tho University.

Because project partners knew that farmers often find training programs irrelevant to the practicalities of their work, Fresh Studio conducted a field survey of farm practices among nearly 50 farms throughout the rainy season to identify knowledge gaps and understand the difficulties experienced during production.

The results from this survey helped select relevant topics and support trainers prepare adapted materials and methodologies.

Using the research conducted in preparation for the program, sessions led by Dr. Mahmoud Haidar and Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh from the De Heus technical team shed light upon the power of data application, and its potential value added on farm efficiency.

Fresh Studio team interviewing a Tilapia grow out farmer during the survey

Disease management, the topic most often requested by the farmers, was led by the renowned Dr. Tu Thanh Dung from Can Tho University. Dr. Dung emphasized the need for more thorough diagnostic procedures to treat the root causes of a disease. She also discouraged use of chemicals and pharmaceuticals as a primary treatment, describing the importance of preventive measures.

Before the workshop sessions, attendees were given to a tour of De Heus’ state-of- the-art R&D facility. This allowed the R&D team to demonstrate the systems and explain how their research could be applied in practice. Fresh studio was responsible for preparing the sessions and facilitating the workshops and Q&A sessions.

Demonstrating technologies applied during the tour of the R&D facility

Farmers were actively involved in the training by raising many questions during presentations and hour-long exchange sessions. The open speaking platform and small number of attendees at each session (15-25 individuals) gave farmers the opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics. These included vaccination, antibiotic resistance, seed selection, water quality management, and even emerging diseases.

For our partner De Heus, the opening of the R&D farm and the development of its own internal training program are key steps toward proposing services that should help address a wider range of issues facing producers in the region. Through these efforts, De Heus is beginning to establish itself as a major player in the aquafeed market and contributor to the sustainable development of fish farming in Vietnam.

Miss Tu Thanh Dung talking about disease prevention

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

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.

____________________________________________________

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 …

Introducing new standards ASC and GLOBALGAP for pangasius in Tra Vinh

Fresh Studio is contracted by GIZ to develop an ASC & Globalgap certified smallholder pangasius (catfish) farmer group in Tra Vinh Province.

The assignment started with an extensive analysis of the gap between the current fish farming practices and the new standard of ASC for pangasius, as well as the GLOBALGAP standard. While most pangasius fish farms in the Mekong Delta have developed into quite large very intensivebusinesses, the Tra Vinh pangasius smallholders have developed a different but sustainable production system.

The Tra Vinh model is less intensive, fish are healthy, and can be seen as a “cradle to cradle” scheme. Indeed, outlet waters are often use for irrigation of fruits and coconut gardens , and mud for fertilization. We believe that this farming system deserves market for those consumers who care about sustainability and quality, instead of disappearing into a bulk commodity pangasius product.

Based on the gap analysis a detailed plan was made to assist the smallholders to comply with both the ASC and GlobalGAP standard, one of the most important steps in this process was to first screen Vietnamese pangasius processors/exporters and European importers, in order to link the pangasius farming smallholders to those parties who are keen to buy and sell sustainably produced fish. These parties need to be willing to invest into the training of the farmers and to take over the whole extension and Internal Control System (ICS) after the first phase of the project is finished. Various companies were screened and very interested companies were selected to join the program.

On September the 17th and 18th a successful workshop was organized by Fresh Studio in Tra Vinh, where all pangasius small holders, the fisheries association, GIZ, local governmental departments and the selected companies came together and agreed on a detailed work plan, formalized into a MoU. All parties openly shared their hopes and fears and strategies were developed to deal with some of the fears.

The coming six to nine months the fish farmers will go through an intensive training program and a ICS system will be developed.

Fresh studio assists in sourcing of Pangasius for international airlines

CAN THO – Pangasius fish is sustainably farmed in the Mekong delta of Vietnam, and a large part of the production sites are now certified for International farming standard such as GlobalGAP, B.A.P, and lately the ASC standard (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has been introduced.

Pangasius is sold in more than 130 countries, mostly processed into white, skinless, boneless fillets with a neutral taste. It is a nutritious product with a low to moderate fat content and high levels of protein. Pangasius has all the characteristics to be an excellent substitute to the over-fished marine species.

In accordance with its sustainability policy, a leader of the airline catering industry, supplying over 25 million meals to over thirty scheduled carriers has selected Fresh Studio to assist them in the sourcing of their pangasius fillets from Vietnam.

After having advised this catering company during the supplier selection process, Fresh Studio carries out processing supervision, consignment inspection, and product sampling for laboratory analysis, to ensure that the final product matches the required high-end specifications in terms of food safety and quality.

en_GBEN