Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development CARD Project Progress Report

004/04VIE: Improving the safety and quality of
Vietnamese vegetables through research and capacity
building in quality assurance, postharvest management
and high technology protected cropping systems

MS3: SECOND SIX-MONTHLY REPORT

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1. Institute Information
Project Name
Improving the safety and quality of Vietnamese vegetables through
research and capacity building in quality assurance, postharvest
management and high technology protected cropping systems.
Vietnamese Institution
Research Institute of Fruits and Vegetables (RIFAV)
Trau Quy, Gia Lam, HANOI
VN Project Team Leader

Telephone:
+61 2 4348 1927
+61 2 4348 1934
Position:
Special Research
Horticulturist
Fax:
+61 2 4348 1910
Organisation
NSW Department of
Primary Industries
Email:
In Australia: Administrative contact
Name:
Graham Denney
Telephone:

Position:
Administrative officer
Fax:

Organisation
NSW Department of
Primary Industries
Email: Chemical residues left by fungicides and insecticides are among the major problems causing
contamination of vegetables in Vietnam. The development of safe food production methods was
fostered by the previous NSW Department of Primary Industries project (CARD-0016; 2001-2003)
but this can only be realised with further research and development. This project addresses the issues
of food safety and food quality from production to market to encourage the economic viability and
sustainability of the Vietnamese vegetable industry. This project seeks to: 1) Facilitate the wider
implementation and adoption of protected cropping systems of low to medium technology that require
fewer chemical inputs through targeted research and extension activities 2) Examine current supply
chain constraints and utilise quality assurance principles to implement targeted system improvements
and 3) Enhance Vietnamese research, development and extension capacity in the areas of protected
cropping systems, postharvest management and quality assurance systems. This project has begun to
address these objectives through: 1) research demonstration trials in Hanoi and Lam Dong to identify
the most suitable media for greenhouse cucumber and tomato production; 2) training workshops in
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh attracting 150+ researchers, extension officers, growers and supply chain
partners; and 3) providing advice to greenhouse high technology facilities in Hanoi and Hai Phong.
3. Executive Summary
Protected cropping provides vegetable growers with an opportunity to enhance
product quality and improve food safety. The overall objective of this project is to
provide Vietnamese scientists and extension specialists with the training and tools to
implement and foster regionally feasible improvements to current vegetable
production practices and supply chains. The project is led by the Research Institute of
Fruit and Vegetables with Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry and the
Institute of Agricultural Sciences for South Vietnam as the Vietnamese project
partners. NSW Department of Primary Industries is the Australian partner.
Key achievements during this 2

greenhouses and delivering high quality product to market. This will be achieved
through formal and informal training initiatives including in-country workshops,
intensive Australian based training programs for research and extension staff and a
series of research demonstration trials. This project uses a participatory research approach
to foster uptake by both Vietnamese institutions and key stakeholders (farmers, extension
agents, supply chain partners). The objectives of this project are to:
1. Facilitate the wider implementation and adoption of protected cropping
systems of low to medium technology (greenhouses/nethouses) that require
fewer chemical inputs through targeted research and extension activities;
2. Examine current supply chain constraints and utilise quality assurance
principles to implement targeted system improvements;
3. Enhance Vietnamese R&D capacity in the areas of protected cropping
systems, postharvest management and quality assurance systems.
4. Fostering links between growers, wholesalers, traders and researchers to
increase the productivity and competitiveness of Vietnamese smallholder
agriculture and related rural enterprises

5. Progress to Date
5.1 Implementation Highlights
Training workshops and visits by Australian project partners
Two visits have been undertaken by Australian staff during this reporting period. The
first visit took place in February 2006 with Drs Nguyen, Newman and Parks and Mr
Ekman visiting project partners in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi and collaborators in Lam
Dong province and Hai Phong. Highlights from this visit included:

1. Organising and delivering two workshops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. These
workshops entitled “Improving the Safety & Quality of Vietnamese

cucumber (Status) production. The design was a randomized block design with 5
replicates. The 4 media were:
• Media 1 - Sugar cane waste & peanut husk & soybean
• Media 2 - Sugar cane waste & peanut husk & peat
• Media 3 - Sugar cane waste & peat & volcanic rock
• Media 4 - Cocopeat
The trials were sown in November (tomato) and December (cucumber). During the
workshop in Hanoi participants were invited to inspect the trial and this provided an
opportunity for more informal discussion on protected cropping systems.

Ho Chi Minh
This trial was organized on a farmers property in Don Duong, Lam Dong province
where tomato is the major vegetable crop. Tomatoes (ManilLa and 386) and
cucumbers were sown in November 2005 on 4 different media:
• Media 1 – Cocopeat and sand and cow manure
• Media 2 – Cocopeat
• Media 3 – Coffee bean husk and cow manure
• Media 4 – Peat and cow manure and NPK
The trial was set-up as a randomised complete block design with 3 replicates. 5
Data from both these trials are currently being prepared for analysis.

Cocopeat Research (Dr Sophie Parks and Dr Ross Worrall)

Characterising cocopeat
Work has also commenced at Gosford Horticultural Institute comparing the physical
and chemical characteristics of Vietnamese sourced coir with other products on the
market.

fed by an individual tank. As the plant uses water the level in the tank drops and can
be measured. Pots without plants have been included to allow estimation of the
evapotranspiration of units.

Two substrate mix types, one including coir will be compared.

Mix 1: 25% sand 25% perlite 25% pine bark 25% coir
Mix 2: 25% sand 25% perlite 50% pine bark

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The inclusion of coir is expected to increase the wicking ability of mix 1. The effect
of the two mixes on plant growth and water use will be determined.

Measurements:
• Physical and chemical characteristics of mixes before and after the experiment
• Daily water use
• Leaf area (at weeks 3,6,9 & 12)
• Flannel flower number
• Cucumber fruit number/weight
• Plant dry weight
• Daily solar radiation and temperature will be monitored using sensors and
related to water use (providing a predictive model).

5.2 Smallholder Benefits
The workshops in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi provided a training opportunity for the 15
farmers that participated. Linkages with these farmers will be fostered throughout the
life of the project to facilitate rapid adoption of project outputs.

5.3 Capacity Building

Media 3
Hanoi 21
st
and 22
nd

February
Research Institutes
and Universities
33
Provincial 57

7
Agricultural Officers
Consultants and
growers
12
Media 5
Other 2

Workshop proceedings were produced for each workshop and provided to
participants. The workshop program featured presentations from Vietnamese and
Australian scientists and Metro supermarkets. A copy of the program for each
workshop is attached in Appendix 1. The discussion forum provided the opportunity
for workshop participants and speakers to discuss and exchange ideas GAP systems,
supply chain management, postharvest technology and protected cropping systems. It
is recommended that next two workshops in Hue and Can Tho provide more
opportunities for round table group discussion. The field trip at the Ho Chi Minh
workshop to the central market (Thu Duc) and Metro supermarkets also enabled more
informal discussion to take place on supply chain management and quality assurance.


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7 April 2007 July 2007
8 July 2007 September 2007
9 September 2007 November 2007

Despite the delayed start date the project remains on-track, however some activities
have had to be compressed into a shorter period of time.

In September 2007, there will be a change in Australian team leader when Dr Vong
Nguyen retires. Dr Suzie Newman will take over as Australian team leader but Dr
Nguyen will continue to be involved with the project and participate in the workshops
next year.

6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
6.1 Environment
The training workshops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh focused on GAP (Good
Agricultural Practices), providing participants with some insight into what is
required under the various GAP systems. This is timely given the imminent
release of the ASEAN GAP guidelines. At the present time the Vietnamese
vegetable industry falls short of the environmental requirements under many
GAP systems with use of non-composted farm manure, unregistered chemicals
and inadequate with-holding periods. Providing plant protection officers and
extension specialists with knowledge on GAP systems and how they are
implemented should assist Vietnam with the uptake of these systems over the
next few years.

Greenhouse production provides farmers with the opportunity to use less
fertilizer and pesticides, which ultimately is better for the environment.
However to achieve this requires a high level of management and maintenance

uptake of results by farmers. The comparison of field and greenhouse production
should clearly demonstrate whether or not greenhouse production is economically
viable in each region.
8. Next Critical Steps
The following activities will take place in the next six months:
• Intensive training period for 3 Vietnamese project personnel at Gosford
Horticultural Institute.
• Planning and development of workshops in Hue and Can Tho
• Design and implementation of further research demonstration trials in
Hanoi, Hue and Lam Dong
• Continued research on cocopeat at GHI
9. Conclusion
Highlights from the last six months include:
• Holding 2 workshops on ‘Improving the safety and quality of Vietnamese
vegetables’ in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
• Completing phase 1 of the research demonstration trials in Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh
• Commencing work at GHI on characterising the chemical and physical
properties of Vietnamese cocopeat.

The project is currently on-track and so far there have been no major constraints
to project implementation.

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