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

MS6: THIRD SIX-MONTHLY REPORT 1
Institute Information

th
November 2007 (to take into account delay in
signing of contracts)
Reporting period
3
rd
Six monthly report

Contact Officer(s)
In Australia: Team Leader
Name:
Dr Suzie Newman
Telephone:
+61 2 4348 1934
Position:
Research Horticulturist
Fax:
+61 2 4348 1910
Organisation
NSW Department of
Primary Industries
Email:
[email protected]

In Australia: Administrative contact
Name:
Graham
Denney
Telephone:


1. Project Abstract 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 continued
to address these objectives through: 1) research demonstration trials in Hanoi, Lam Dong and Hue to
identify the most suitable media and production system for greenhouse cucumber and tomato
production; 2) capacity building of Vietnamese project personnel through an intensive training period
in Australia during July 2006 and 3) research undertaken in Australia on the suitability of Vietnamese

3-4 May. It is intended that these workshops will have greater participation of
farmers and other supply chain participants and that there will be additional
informal training activities either side of the workshop.

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• The successful continuation of research demonstration trials in Hanoi, Hue and
Lam Dong Province investigating the effect of different growing media on
plant growth and development for tomato and cucumber.
• The continuation of research at Gosford Horticultural Institute examining the
chemical and physical properties of Vietnamese cocopeat and determining the
water usage of different media (including coir) for greenhouse cucumber and
ornamental production.
3. Introduction & Background
Protected cropping systems provide vegetable farmers with the opportunity to produce
high yielding, good quality crops with reduced pesticide inputs. Our previous
AusAID-CARD project (0016) focussed on development of a low-tech greenhouse
system to enhance the productivity and sustainability of the Vietnamese vegetable
industry. The nethouse with run-to-waste cocopeat system was shown to be an
effective and cost effective model, however further optimisation and extension of this
technology is required to facilitate successful adoption. This project focuses on
providing the tools for optimising vegetable production in low-medium technology
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:

October in Vietnam, following on from travel
undertaken for an ACIAR project in Cambodia. During this time she travelled to Lam
Dong Province to interview Mr Phong (tomato seedling producer) regarding his
nursery and growing operations. Whilst there she also took the opportunity to visit
the Metro collection point and discuss their operations in Dalat. What emerged from
this discussion and later discussions with Metro management staff (Stephane Maulin,
Division Manager, Fresh Food; Thai Hong Xuan Nguyet, Supply Chain Manager and
Le Thi Minh Trang, Quality Assurance Manager) was that Metro is still having
difficulty sourcing sufficient quantities of product that meets their quality
specifications. They are also still in the process of implementing best practice in their
supply chains and all staff were realistic that it would take a considerable amount of
time to achieve their quality and supply goals. Metro staff expressed an interest in
working with the project team to improve quality outturn. They were keen to link in
with any postharvest/quality assurance training that we would be undertaking and to
work with groups of farmers. Opportunities for developing future links will be
explored in 2007.

Intensive training for 3 Vietnamese scientists in Australia
In July 2006, 3 Vietnamese scientists
• Mrs Nguyen Thi An (FAVRI, formerly RIFAV)
• Mr Ngo Minh Dung (IAS)
• Mr Nguyen Dinh Thi (HUAF)
undertook a 4 week training course in Australia. The course program is included in
Appendix 1. A copy of the travel report can also be obtained from Dr Newman or
Assoc Prof Dr Thi. Training focused on both field and greenhouse vegetable
production, postharvest and supply chain management and implementing Good
Agricultural Practice (GAP). Field visits to low tech (Sydney Basin) and high tech
(Yanco, Gosford) greenhouses and farms also encouraged training participants to
consider how they could adapt such technology to Vietnamese conditions. In addition
to visiting numerous farms, training participants also visited Sydney Wholesale

Hanoi
A trial was carried out at the Research Institute of Fruit and Vegetables (RIFAV),
comparing the productivity of 8 cucumber varieties (Q9, Q16, Q19, Tohoku, Khassib,
Status III, Deena and Ajax) grown in a Vietnamese cocopeat media. The design was
a randomized block design with 4 replicates.
The trials were sown in September and harvested from October to November, 2006.
Fruit size ranged from 117-126g for standard varieties and 5.9g for the cocktail
variety. Marketable yield ranged from 14 t/ha for Khassib to 56 t/ha for Deena, whilst
the cocktail variety yielded 3.2 t/ha Levels of fruit set varied significantly between
varieties ranging from 15-47% and considerably between replicates. The best
performing variety was Deena, producing high yields of well sized fruit.
Hue
Tomato and cucumber trials were carried out in a specifically constructed net house at
HUAF. The cucumber trial compared the productivity of 5 cucumber varieties (Chua
Young Sheng, Status Natu 3, Tohoku, Khassib and Deena) using a Vietnamese
cocopeat mix. In this trial the most productive variety was Tuhoku with the highest
marketable yield of 49 t/ha. This variety also produced large sized fruit 274g and had
lower levels of pest and disease damage.
The tomato trial examined the suitability of using drip irrigation with a cocopeat
media for off-season tomato production in a net house. The trial compared a planting
layout of 1 plant/bag with one dripper (standard practice) with 2 plants/bag (2
drippers). The trial was conducted from August-November 2006. Whilst there was
little difference in total yield between the two systems, marketable yield was
substantially higher in the 1 plant/bag treatment (58% compared with 42% for 2
plant/bag treatment). Pest and disease damage was also lower in this treatment.
Four winter/spring trials are also underway and will be reported on in the July
milestone.

Cocopeat Research (Dr Sophie Parks and Dr Ross Worrall)


• Daily solar radiation and temperature will be monitored using sensors and
related to water use (providing a predictive model).

The autopot experiment for cucumber grown in two substrate types was successful in
the collection of data on production and water use over the course of the crop. The
autopot system, a subirrigation system with independent tanks for each cucumber
plant, proved useful for this purpose. This was a simple measurement of the volume
required to refill the tank as water was used by the crop. However, the similar autopot
experiment for flannel flowers was not successful as their slow growth did not permit
accurate measurement of water over short periods.

The two mixes were not significantly different in terms of cucumber production
(shoot dry weight and total fruit fresh weight) or water use. Mix 1 consisted of 25%
sand 25% perlite 25% pine bark 25% coir. Mix 2 consisted of 25% sand 25% perlite
50% pine bark. The relationship between the total amount of water used over the crop
and shoot dry weight was linear, and was similar for both mixes (Fig. 1).

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0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000

Mix 2
Poly. (Mix 1)
Poly. (Mix 2)

Figure 2: Cucumber total water use over time in either mix 1 or mix 2.

Autopots are a useful and simple tool for measuring cucumber crop water use and
could be used by growers for monitoring water use on a daily basis. They could also

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be effectively used for demonstration purposes in Vietnam to illustrate crop water use
to farmers, research and extension personnel. The two substrates that differed in their
components did not affect the water used or the growth performance of cucumber
plants.

4.2 Smallholder Benefits
The workshops in Dalat and Can Tho and the informal training opportunities provided
alongside these events will provide training opportunities for farmers and other supply
chain participants. Linkages with these farmers will be fostered throughout the life of
the project to facilitate rapid adoption of project outputs.
4.3 Capacity Building
Capacity building has been the focus of much of the project activities during the last
six months. Activities undertaken include: preparing for the in-country workshops in
Dalat and Can Tho and delivering the intensive training program for Vietnamese
scientists in Australia. As detailed earlier, the workshops delivered in-country in
April/May will cater for an increased number of farmers and other supply chain
participants and we hope that this enable more rapid uptake of project results.

4.4 Publicity
Several publicity items are planned for the next reporting period.

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.

5.2 Gender and Social Issues
This CARD project will continue to address gender and social issues as they
arise throughout the project.
6. Implementation & Sustainability Issues
6.1 Issues and Constraints
The structure of this project is such that a large number of project milestones and
payments have been placed in the last 8 months of the project. This is difficult for two
reasons:
• Limited travel (one trip) for Australian staff in the second year of the project
make it difficult to co-ordinate activities and ensure that the project remains
on-track.
• Budget management – having a large number of milestones and
corresponding payments in the second half of the project make budget
management difficult for NSW DPI with the Australian Institution having to
carry over large negative budgets to ensure the Vietnamese project partners
receive the funds they require for carrying out project activities.

The new Australian project manager (Dr Newman) believes that some of the project
performance indications are too ambitious given the short term nature (2 years) of the
project and the geographic spread of project partners. The project will achieve
significant project outcomes however given the project focuses mainly on capacity
building rather than direct intervention it is likely that the performance indicators will
take longer to achieve.
6.2 Options
During our visit in April/May we will visit each of our project collaborators to
ensure that the project remains on-track to meet its project milestones. Part of

Highlights from the last six months include:
• A successful visit by research personnel from each of the partner
Vietnamese institutes for training on vegetable production, postharvest
and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP)
• Continuation of the research demonstration trials in Hanoi, Lam Dong and
Hue looking at improved production systems of cucumber and tomato
• Continuation of the research undertaken at GHI on characterising the
chemical and physical properties of Vietnamese cocopeat and its
suitability for crop production.

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

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