Report of household farmer survey
In the Nghe province, Viet Nam (2010)
Mr. Pham Hung Cuong
Biomedical Building (ATP)
University of Sydney NSW, 2006, Australia
Phone 02 8627 1010 (Int: +61 2 8627 1040)
Fax 02 9544 3782 (Int: +61 2 9544 3782)
Email:

Website: www.ahr.com.au

KEYWORDS Country/ Region: Nghe An, Vietnam
Crops: Vegetables: Brassica, cucurbits
Subject: Baseline survey about status of vegetable production
after 3 years of the project in Nghe An province 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I like to thank my Vietnamese colleagues and local staff in Nghe An province who assisted the
surveyed team and in the completion of this survey. I would also like to thank Dr. Gordon
Rogers, Dr. Jenny Jobling, University of Sydney NSW, Australia.
Survey team members:
Mr. Ho Ngoc Giap, Le Thi Huong, Nguyen Hong Quyen, Tran Thi Nga, Nguyen Van Thang.

INTRODUCTION
Nghe An province is located in the Coastal region of North Central Vietnam. It borders East Sea
to the East, Lao to the West, Ha Tinh province to the South, Thanh Hoa province to the North.
Nghe An is a large province with an area of 1,648,729 ha. The total vegetable production area in
Nghe An is 15,137 ha and this province is planning 1,100 hectare of safe vegetable production in

kohlrabi) and cucurbits.

Nghe An province is located in the central part of Vietnam and there are many vegetables
cultivated in the region. These include: cabbage, kohlrabi, leaf vegetables (Chinese mustard,
mustard, garland, salad), cucurbits, cucumber, snap bean, onion, chili, tomato, young radish.

The survey data shows leafy vegetables, brassicas, carrots and onions are those most frequently
planted by farmers. In comparison with 2007, the consumption of vegetables in these groups has
increased significantly compared to other vegetables. However, the most diverse group is still
leaf vegetables during period 2007-2009 (13 varieties in 2007, and 10 varieties in 2009),
followed by brassica vegetable group. There was no change in production season (Table 1).

In Nghe An province, one famer householder usually owns between 2 and 5 plots, and the area
of each plot is from 300 – 1,000 m
2
. The soil types for vegetable production are not
homogeneous and this is a problem for some sensitive crop such as melons.

Table 1: Diversity of vegetables in survey areas in Nghe An province in 2010 year.
Number of
varieties
No. of farmer
households
No Crop name
2007 2010 2007 2010
Production season
1 Cabbage 4 3 8/56 13/59 8 months; Sep - Apr
2 Leaf vegetables (Chinese
mustard, Mustard, Garland,
Salad)

69% up 80% of new varieties. Kohlrabi and Brassica vegetables are now planted with increasing
percentage of new varieties (See Table 2 for more detail). The data shows that three years after
the implantation of the project, awareness of the farmers about use of new varieties have been
improved, and many have used improved varieties. Seed sources and methods of propagation have
not changed. Table 2: Seed supply system in vegetable production region in Nghe An province.

Percentage of
improved varieties
(%)
No Crop name
2007 2009
Seed
Source
Seedling source
1 Cabbage 50 100 Seed shop/
Seed agency
Nursery/ Farmers doing by
themselves
2 Leaf vegetables (Chinese
mustard, Mustard,
Garland, Salad)
69 80 Seed
agency,
project or
farmer’s
seed
Nursery/ Farmers doing by


There were significant differences in fertilizer use from 2007-2009. In 2007 vegetable growers
used only single inorganic fertilizer, but by 2009 farmers used compost and applications of
synthetic NPK. There were also improvements in the method of fertilizer application used
between 2007 and 2009, with a clear trend to more GAP-complaint methods. The harvest period
also been isolated long enough to ensure safety for consumers from more than 10 days.

Table 3: Vegetable cultivated practice in Nghe An province.

Fertilizer dressing in 2007 Fertilizer dressing in 2009
No Crop name
Fertilizer
type
Dressing
method
Last dressing
time
Fertilizer
type
Dressing
method
Last
dressing
time
1 Cabbage Manure, single
N,P,K, and
foliaceous
fertilizer
1 Basal and
2 top

at least 5-10
days
Same 2007,
plus compost
and synthetic
NPK
traditional Before
harvest at
least 7-10
days
3 Cucurbitaceae
(gourd, green
pumpkin,
cucumber,
watermelons )
Manure, single
N,P,K, and
foliaceous
fertilizer
Basal and
top dressing
5 days before
harvesting
Same 2007,
plus compost
and synthetic
NPK
GAP
principle
and

rot, downy
mildew,
striped flea
beetle,
aphids,
leafhoppers
Ridomil,
Daconil,
Ferang,
Tango, Zineb,
Sec Sai Gon,
Dipterex,
Methaxin,
Regent,
pentac,
cypermethrin,
Match, Tan
g
o,
cypenran,
Midan,
Angun,
sinh học,
Sec Sài
Gòn,
Dyrumin,
Zineb,
Pazan,
Sat trung
song

Daconil,
Ferang,
Tango, zinep,
Sec Sai Gon.
Sinh học,
Dilan,
Depgan,
Rigan,
Angun,
Apatin,
Midan,
Sec Sài
Gòn
Periodic
(weekly)
or when
need.
IPM
apply
Sometime
hi
g
her than
on label
Follow
instruction
on label
Usually not
guaranteed
More

days
4 watermelons Shriveled
leaf, striped
flea beetle,
tip burn
Anvil, Ridomil,
by hand
Sinh học,
Dilan,
Depgan,
Rigan,
Ridolmin,
Topxin,
Dyrumin,
G45,
Midan,
Secor

Scout or
when
need.
IPM
apply
Sometime
hi
g
her than
on label
Follow
instruction

advanced order
2 Kohlrabi 25 24 2200 2500 Collector At field, at harvest time and
local price market
3 watermelons 30 38 2000 3500 By farmer,
cooperatives
At field, at harvest time and
local price market, there is
advanced order
4 Leaf
vegetables
26 - 1800 2000 By farmer,
Collector,
cooperatives
At field, at harvest time and
local price market 6. Status of harvest handling for vegetables in Nghe An province

Most agro-production in rural areas of Vietnam is from small farmer households and they don’t
produce large quantities of produce at harvest time. As a result, farmers are generally are not
very interested in improving their post harvest handling methods.

Comparing with survey results in 2007, The processing and storage after harvest of the farmers
has improved significantly. Vegetable producers now know how to apply modern processing,
preservation and packaging methods. They often harvested and sold directly to collectors;
supermarket or brought produce to local market for sale.

Table 6: Status of harvest handling for vegetables in surveyed sites.


green pumpkin,
cucumber, watermelons )
No No preliminary processing
remove outer leaves and
cool water
3-5 days Keep 3 extra
days
4 Other vegetable Sometime Keep
in a cool place
No preliminary processing
remove outer leaves and
cool water
Within 48 hours Keep some
extra days

9
CONCLUSION

Vegetables in the local survey show a diversity of species and varieties. The most diverse groups
are the leafy and Brassica vegetables. Prior to the start of the project, farmers generally used only
traditional practices for vegetable production. Many vegetable crops were grown from local
varieties, which produced low yields. These weaknesses have been improved through the support
of the project over three years, and now farmers are using new and improved vegetable varieties,
and when coupled with improved agronomic practices are resulting in high yield and good
quality.

There have been positive changes in the safe use of pesticides and chemicals, and increasing use
of bio-pesticides with isolation times long enough for consumer safety. Postharvest handling has
been interest in many households because they are aware of product quality is most important to
maintain credibility with customers and get higher income.

The survey of the pesticides use and residues in vegetables was conducted in vegetable
growing areas of Nghe An province, Quynh Luong commune and the surrounding
communes of Quynh Minh and Dien Xuan.

According to the Table 1, most pesticides were used on leafy vegetables and cabbage
was ranked the second highest for pesticide use.

In the interview, questions were raised about quality assurance management. Most
farmers were aware of the process of safe vegetable production under GAP principles,
they keep all records of the use of pesticides, fertilizer, irrigation and harvesting. The
vegetable growers have adopted new advanced technics such as new varieties and
methods of pest and disease prevention by use of IPM and use more bio-pesticides.

Since the 021/06VIE project commenced in 2007, vegetable growers have been
practicing and undertaken training in good agricultural practices (GAP), they were
improved their awareness and they began keeping records of their production process.
This survey report quantifies the positive effects of the project on the awareness of
farmers about producing safe vegetables and its contribution to providing more safe
vegetables for consumers on local markets and on retail markets in Hanoi. Table 1: The change by time of use of pesticides in vegetables for the production in Quynh Luong, Nghe An province

No
Crop
name
Pest and disease Pesticides applied Application method Dosage/rate
Isolation time
Sat trung song
Periodic
(weekly)
or when
need.
Applying
IPM
Sometime
higher
than on
label
Follow the
instructions
on the
labels
Usually
not
guaranteed
7 days
before
harvest
2 Cabbage Diamondback
moth, green
moth, black rot,
yellow cabbage,
downy mildew,
striped flea
beetle, aphids
Ridomin, Daconil,
Ferang, Tango,

Periodic
(weekly)
or when
need.
Applying
IPM
Sometime
higher
than on
label
Follow the
instructions
on the
labels
not sure 7-10 days
before
harvest
4 Watermel
on
Shriveled leaf,
striped flea
beetle, tip burn
Anvil, Ridomil, by
hand
Bio-pesticide,
Dilan, Depgan,
Rigan,
Ridolmin,
Topxin,
Dyrumin, G45,

pesticide residues below the allowed limit. Table 2: Results of testing pesticides residues on maturity vegetables in production at the project areas in Nghe An.
- Sampling times: Before harvesting five days from the start of harvest season to end, on January 20, 2009 to 15/2/10.
Active ingredients
No Sample ID
Locatio
n
Vegetable
Chlorothalonil
(ppm)
Fenitrothion
(ppm)
Cypermethrin
(ppm)
Fipronil (ppm)
Hexaconazole
(ppm)
1 CBHH-1 QL Cabbage 0,07 - - - -
2 CBHH-2 QL Cabbage 0,05 - - - -
3 CB-HD-3 HĐ Cabbage - - - - -
4 H1-1 HĐ Rau khác 0,55 - - - -
5 H1-2 HĐ Rau khác 0,48 - - - -
6 CB1 QL Cabbage - - 0,13 0,01 0,01
7 CB2 QL Cabbage - - 0,17 0,01 -
8 CB3 QL Cabbage - - 0,09 - -
9 CB4 QL Cabbage - - 0,13 0,01 0,01
10 CB5 QL Cabbage - - 0,18 0,01 -
11 CB6 QL Cabbage - - 0,09 - -