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Extending export opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Campbell J, Nguyen Van Hoa, Nguyen Huu Hoang, Rankin M K May 2010 A report prepared for: Hassall and Associates International Campbell J Plant & Food Research, Nelson Nguyen Van Hoa, Nguyen Huu Hoang Southern Horticultural Research Institute, Vietnam Rankin M K Young Professional, CARD, Hanoi, Vietnam SPTS No 4008 PFR Client Report No 25657 PFR Contract No 22663 DISCLAIMER Unless agreed otherwise, The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited does not give any prediction, warranty or assurance in relation to the accuracy of or fitness for any particular use or application of, any information or scientific or other result contained in this report Neither Plant & Food Research nor any of its employees shall be liable for any cost (including legal costs), claim, liability, loss, damage, injury or the like, which may be suffered or incurred as a direct or indirect result of the reliance by any person on any information contained in this report This report has been prepared by The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited (Plant & Food Research), which has its Head Office at 120 Mt Albert Rd, Mt Albert, Auckland This report has been approved by: John Campbell Scientist Date: Louise Malone Science Group Leader, Applied Entomology Date: Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Project Report 0029/07/VIE Extending export opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Expansion of Pilot Model Milestone Due November 2009 Contents Institute Information Executive Summary Introduction & Background Expansion of Pilot Model 4.1 Identification and progress in grower GAP and packhouse compliance in Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An Provinces 4.2 Documentation of fruit volumes, market access and returns to growers for new packhouses and grower groups 4.3 Specific market information 14 15 Implementation & Sustainability Issues 16 5.1 5.2 Implementation Sustainability 16 16 Next Critical Steps 17 Appendix 19 Appendix MARD Certifying Body authority 20 Appendix VietGAP Standard 21 10 Appendix VietGAP Check list 22 11 Appendix Email dated 30 November 2009 23 12 Appendix Email to Mr Long from Dr Hoa 25 13 Appendix Long An Co-op info collected from the meeting on November 2009 26 14 Appendix Dragon fruit farm data survey compliance GlobalGAP Standard in Chau Thanh, Long An 30 15 Appendix Cost of GlobalGAP compliance certification 32 16 Appendix 10 Tien Giang outreach group information 34 17 Appendix 11 Farmer Training Status spreadsheet 37 Glossary BRC CARD CTU DARD EUREPGAP GAP GlobalGAP HAI HCE HCMC LAC MARD MRL P&FR PPD SGS SOFRI UK UKAS USA VIETGAP WTO British Retailers Consortium: Global Standard – FOOD Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development Can Tho University Department of Agricultural Research and Development Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group; Good Agricultural Practice Good Agricultural Practice GLOBAL Good Agricultural Practice Hassall and Associates International Hue College of Economics Ho Chi Min City Lead Auditor Course Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Maximum Residue Level The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Plant Protection Division Société Générale de Surveillance Southern Horticultural Research Institute (formerly Southern Fruit Research Institute) United Kingdom United Kingdom Accreditation Service United States of America VIETnam Good Agricultural Practice World Trade Organisation Institute Information Project Name Extending export opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Vietnamese Institution Southern Horticultural Research Institute (formerly Southern Fruit Research Institute) Vietnamese Project Team Leader Nguyen Van Hoa Australian Organisation The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Australian Personnel John Campbell, Allan Woolf, Leonie Osborne and Marlo Rankin Date commenced February 2008 Completion date (original) February 2010 Completion date (revised) Reporting period Expansion of Pilot Model Contact Officer(s) In Australia: Team Leader John Campbell Name: Project Leader Position: Organisation Plant & Food Research Telephone: Fax: Email: +64 9073602 +64 9073596 john.campbell@plantandfood.co.nz In Australia: Administrative contact Mrs Leonie Osborne Name: Executive Assistant Position: Organisation Plant & Food Research Telephone: Fax: Email: +64 925 7232 +64 925 8626 leonie.osborne@plantandfood.co.nz In Vietnam Dr Nguyen Minh Chau Name: Project Champion Position: Organisation Southern Horticultural Research Institute Telephone: Fax: Email: Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices +84 73 893 129 +84 73 893 122 mch@hcm.vnn.vn Page Executive Summary Expansion of the Binh Thuan dragon fruit project pilot model to the farmers, packers and exporter in the wider Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An Provinces has made significant progress during this project (Output 1.2) Contributing factors to that progress include: • An efficient, GlobalGAP certificated pilot of farmer, packer and exporter as the “model” for replication • A highly proficient national team of quality practitioners to deliver the technology transfer and generic documentation to self motivated groups and to individuals and new groups wishing to develop GAP quality systems for dragon fruit and other crops • The rapid and sustainable expansion in volume of compliant stakeholders • The global need for “Safe, Legal and Quality” produce and the subsequent market driven compliance standards requirement to enable access to those markets • Excellent publicity for the adoption of GAP principle’s and for the practical work being undertaken • A trend within the Vietnam horticultural industry to get behind the GAP programme to receive the benefits of safe food, safer homes/living for the producers, through GAP implementation, accountability and environmental awareness SOFRI and the dragon fruit projects have built a strong foundation for the countrywide GAP initiative in a sustainable way and SOFRI and the country’s horticulture industry are responding to the wider needs of the initiative as expansion momentum grows The dragon fruit project expended considerable energies throughout both projects to encourage farmers and packers to adopt GAP but the decision to implement GAP lies with the individual The project team has been resolute in its drive to implement GAP: many farmers and packers have received training, improved their operations and/or gone on to achieve GlobalGAP or VietGAP certification (Appendix 1) The project has found great difficulty in gathering reliable data necessary to document: fruit volumes; market access; and returns to growers; for existing and new packhouses and grower groups Some marketing information has been included in this report but it has been beyond the resources of the project to accurately determine the impact of the project Introduction & Background Producers of dragon fruit in Vietnam have seen prices for their fruit decline by about 60% since 2000, which can be attributed, in part, to their dependence on local and nearby exports There are about 10 major exporters in Vietnam but a significant portion of the total production is sourced from many small-holder growers During the previous dragon fruit GAP project 037/04VIE, growers were evaluated through a benchmarking Page Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices study to determine the status of the dragon fruit producers against the standards required by high value export markets The project then proceeded to implement documented quality systems, training and mentoring in a “Pilot” of exporter, packer, and large and small-holder dragon fruit farms that met the standards of BRC Global – Food Issue in the packhouse and GlobalGAP on the farms The established “working quality model” is now testing the high value markets of the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA This project, “Extending export opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through good agricultural practices”, is attempting to complete the linkages with the high value markets, consolidate the pilot establishment to ensure sustainability, provide expansion of the pilot operation and establish new commercial dragon fruit operations in the Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An provinces Large and increasing numbers of small-plot growers will have the opportunity to access high monetary value markets for their dragon fruit The project objectives are documented in the periodic progress reports Project outreach delivery Pre-project vision • Completion and maintenance of the Hoang Hau dragon fruit pilot model in Binh Thuan GlobalGAP Certification achieved for the farmer group, packer and exporter • To replicate the first dragon fruit project pilot process in the Tien Giang and Long An Regions • Introduce entrepreneurial exporters to create momentum and market linkages on farmer owning crop to market/exporter on commission basis • To return increased dragon fruit sales revenue back to farmers from high value markets • SOFRI dragon fruit team to migrate from doing complete development of smallholder farmers; to passing the mantle to the exporter/cooperatives leadership; to providing expert support to industry; ultimately charging for services to assist SOFRI to implement the Decree 115 directive • Build up the foundation and capability within SOFRI for consultancy and technical backstopping, based on good science, to the horticultural industry • Utilise the stimulation of increased revenue to the farmers from certificated fruit to high value markets to provide outreach programme expansion momentum Project delivery The most significant dragon fruit project achievements relative to this report are in the areas of human resource and infrastructure development This, and the previous dragon fruit project, has intentionally prioritised the development of the foundation and appropriate infrastructure and skills for Vietnam’s GAP quality horticulture initiative This should ensure it has the best chance of meeting the needs of a market driven export industry, which can improve the livelihoods of small-holder dragon fruit farmers through access to high value markets At the commencement of the dragon fruit project, a very ambitious programme of outreach was planned, particularly for the provinces of Tien Giang and Long An Although good and sustainable progress has been made during this period of reporting, there is a time lag between what was envisaged in the outreach programme and what has been actually achieved During this period, the writers expected to be able to report Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Page that farmers, packers and exporters were taking full responsibility for making the market driven GAP changes thus reducing the demand on the SOFRI dragon fruit team However, although good progress has been achieved, GAP development still requires a considerable effort by SOFRI specialists Progress constraints have been identified and corrective action is being implemented to allow the outreach programme to gather momentum as planned Those constraints include: • Project personnel time and resources committed to the upgrading of operation manuals demanded by the shift from EurepGAP to GlobalGAP and to meet compliance with the new GlobalGAP standard; also the BRC standard upgrade from Issue to Issue Operation Manuals compliant to the upgraded standards have now been completed • Delays caused by farmer reluctance to progress towards GAP implementation owing to possibility of receiving resource support through provincial project funding Provincial GAP project possible resource availability has been communicated but is not yet available A rapid increase in the uptake of GAP by small-holder dragon fruit farmers is expected when resources become available • A significant amount of time is taken by the professional quality practitioners to ensure GAP technology transfer targets only those operators who are serious about meeting their chosen standard requirements National capability and project sustainability achievements of note include • Trained and qualified SOFRI quality practitioner personnel to lead the GAP changes: o New Zealand Organisation for Quality Trained and Certificated Internal Auditor: who subsequently, with the assistance of the project leader, presented the Internal Auditor course to SOFRI science personnel o 35 people were trained and Certificated as Internal Auditors; also 29 received HACCP training and Certification; and 21 received Farm Safety Working and Primary Emergency Aid training and certification by SGS Vietnam to global standards Both SOFRI and private sector personnel received training The lists of people attending the various courses appear in the dragon fruit project Milestone report (Refer to Appendix in this report for Farmer training and DF team involvement) o Two people were trained for the Certificated Lead Auditor Course (LAC) by SGS Vietnam: this requires the completion of practical application to the standard of United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) prior to full certification o Approval by MARD for SOFRI to be a Certifying Body for the VietGAP Standard: using the two LAC operators to undertake external audits and approve certification (Refer to Appendix in this report for signed Vietnam document) o Qualified project personnel provide high quality GAP training to farmers, packers and exporters: VietGAP and GlobalGAP for farmers and GlobalGAP on-farm packing, BRC and specific market standards for packers and exporters o Although the emphasis is on dragon fruit, several other horticultural crops are addressed in the quality initiative using the trained quality practitioners Page Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices 11 Appendix Email dated 30 November 2009 Dear William I hope this email gets through, it may as it is a reply to an existing channel Thank you for your prompt response and I am delighted to read of your intentions There is no doubt that both parties are very busy but this is in a good way especially for the SOFRI team as they have been building their skills and delivering to the GAP initiative in Vietnam There is no doubt that it will take some time before individual roles are defined and this will come together gradually Personally I wish to see a start made to have lots more small-holder dragon fruit farmers improve to market driven GAP standards to enable them to access high value markets I also wish to see the responsibility for the farmer development, which is now with the SOFRI dragon fruit team, to shift to become completely commercial, and supported with research and technology by SOFRI I cannot be on hand in Vietnam to mentor but as always, please let me know if I can assist to make this happen! Kind regards John From: Ticay [mailto:ticay@ticay.com.vn] Sent: Monday, 30 November 2009 7:02 p.m To: 'Hoang Nguyen Huu' Cc: 'HOA NGUYEN VAN'; John Campbell; 'cindylebt' Subject: RE: mail chuyen tiep tu ong John 301109 Dear Mr John , Mr Hoa , Mr Hoang , Thank you for your e-mail I really understood this situation but SOFRI team was very busy during last period At my side , we always need everything is clear with detail schedule in this cooperation It will support us to arrange a right schedule to SOFRI team in working at right position under dragon fruit supply chain system I always cooperate and support with all projects relating to dragon fruit in Vietnam , Japan , EU and USA We will take care of export markets with GlobalGAP and VietGAP certificates from dragon fruit farmers or dragon fruit groups ( Cooperative ) So please not be worry to our cooperation and let me know how many hectares of dragon fruit and famers that we will work together from their thoughts and wishes to this project We should start from the basic things that farmers ‘s wishes and try to satisfy them step by step , it will make a close relationship from farmers to us for long term cooperation OK , please let me know the next steps that we have to join in this project and we always try our best for this Looking forward to hearing your reply soon Note : my cell phone in Rotterdam : + 31 619 773 591 With regards , William From: Hoang Nguyen Huu [mailto:hoangsofri@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, 30 November, 2009 11:26 To: Ticay Subject: mail chuyen tiep tu ong John Anh Long, Ong John mail cho anh khongduoc, bi tra lai, nen ong nho em chuyen mail cho anh, anh vui long mo file kem Dear Mr Long Thank you for taking time to talk to me by phone today Friday 27 November 2009 Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Page 23 I would like to reconfirm our discussion regarding the implementation of the intent of the meeting between yourself; the SOFRI dragon fruit team; Dr Marlo Rankin, and myself during one of my earlier project visits this year whereby you confirmed you and your company would work with the SOFRI dragon fruit team to: • Assist with linking the Tien Giang and Long An dragon fruit farmers with high value markets during transition towards GlobalGAP certification and when Certificated • Provide training assistance to those farmers to ensure they produce dragon fruit that is compliant with the GlobalGAP Standard (or other specific standards), and can manage their small businesses in a sustainable way • Receive assistance to elevate your Binh Thuan packhouse from on-farm packing GlobalGAP compliance to the BRC Standard • Link Binh Thuan small-holder GlobalGAP dragon fruit farmers with high value markets As I indicated during our discussion I am very disappointed that little or no progress has been made for your company to link with the SOFRI dragon fruit project team since our discussions There is so much that could be gained for the small-holder dragon fruit farmer as the contracted supplier and for you as the exporter through the implementation of the meeting discussions I must note that working with SOFRI for this project and to develop a long term association would have significant benefits for your company in the future in the area of technical support to any sustainable horticultural enterprise you may be involved in It appears to me that both parties have been waiting for each other to make the approach and neither has! I would like to point out that the rapidly expanding global trend is for safe, legal and quality fruit, to standards such as GlobalGAP, and it is very important that Vietnam horticulture, particularly dragon fruit, rapidly comply with the trend to enable it to gain an early advantage and be competitive and to attain strong preferred supplier, exporter, and customer relationships You indicated that the SOFRI team should send some information to you to initiate the way forward but I feel this has already been done to the level necessary and to continue this would only delay implementation May I suggest both parties talk to each other and arrange to meet and plan the way forward with the emphasis on delivery from all sides The SOFRI team is extremely busy, especially at this time of the year, as I am sure you are also, so neither party can afford to waste unproductive time May I plead with you to be sincere with facilitating, in conjunction with the SOFRI team, the implementation of our earlier discussions to improve the livelihood of the small-holder dragon fruit farmers of Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An I am very happy to assist via email or phone where needed to make this happen and am planning to make my final visit for the dragon fruit project in March or April 2010 I am very proud of the SOFRI dragon fruit team for their qualifications and achievements in implementing appropriate GAP Standards at any level, for their preparing of the VietGAP Standard, for representing Vietnam on the global horticultural quality arena, for their practical skills in implementing GAP quality systems in the field, for their technical and science capability in establishing the Vietnam horticulture quality infrastructure and industry support You are very fortunate to have such close access to this quality resource I wish you a safe and successful trip to Rotterdam With best regards John Page 24 Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices 12 Appendix Email to Mr Long from Dr Hoa Re: Dragon fruit GAP project 080708 HOA NGUYEN VAN [hoavn2003@gmail.com] Wed 3/06/2009 11:40 AM ticay@ticay.com.vn; tblongtrade@hcm.vnn.vn; jcampbell@hortresearch.co.nz; hoangsofri@yahoo.com; marlo@card.com.vn Dear Anh Long Today we (Marlo, Hoa and Hoang) discuss about Dragon Fruit Project implementation, especially about how to run the project and the role of each stakeholder Some information we would like to inform you and get your involvement if it is possible For Long an Project, we have completed the project document and sent for final approval for about 30 of Dragon Fruit in Chau Thanh district, especially in An Luc Long, Duong Xuan Hoi and Tam vu I will be taking charge for this project (for consultancy), Mrs Dam (Chau Thanh agri leader) will be the leader for the implementing agency The project will be implemented within June, 2009 The fund for the project will be from Department of Science and Technology of Long An, which will be covered the cost for implementing, some support to farmers and consultancy Last two weeks we went to TamVu to meet with the Packer (Năm Thôn) there, he commits to buy more land and build the packhouse (he also said that one day before your men have come and committed somethings to them?) I think it will be good if they can build up the packhouse there, we will help them to establish and build up the packhouse to meet the GlobalGAP standards For Tien Giang project: the Tien Giang DARD has invited SOFRI for consultancy to establish and implement the groups of farmers of about 100 to meet the GlobalGAP standards in late of this year to early of next year Mr Hoang will be in charge However, this project will be different Mr Hoa (Tien Giang DARD) will be the project leader, he also has another project to build the packhouse by themselves (everything they can invest) and let the cooperatives' leaders to decide where and whom the product will be sold, the competition will help the price of the product increasing So for the Longan project, we (project team and your people) can discuss more to see what your Company will be involved and the chance for expand the areas is there if you could make some investment For Tien Giang project, some companies would like to buy their product too, it means the competition is there If you want your company involve and buy their products, we can help in making the appointment with Mr Hoa (Tien Giang DARD) to discuss about how your company's involve and see any requirement from them We will be appreciated if you can inform us your opinion about this Looking forward to hearing from you Best Regards Nguyen Van Hoa Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Page 25 13 Appendix Long An Co-op information collected from the meeting on November 2009 On 3/11/09 a meeting was held with the chairman of the Duong Xuan Hoi Cooperative (Mr Tai), the leader of the An Luc Long group (Mr Trung) and some farmer members The purpose of this meeting was to assess farmer attitudes towards the implementation of GlobalGAP and progress made to date towards achieving GlobalGap standards Duong Xuan packhouse Mr Trung (Leader An Luc Long Group) • He hopes for the group to be certified by 2010 • There are two main reasons why the farmers in his group have chosen to implement GlobalGAP: o They believe it will help them to meet the demand of the market o They know that ensuring the safety of the product they produce is important for themselves and for their farms • They know already that they must implement good hygiene practices on their farm such as building a toilet and separate pesticide storage They also know that record keeping is important but they not have much experience in this yet • When asked about the price they expected to receive for certified fruit, he replied that the price is not so high now, but they heard through many information channels about the need for food safety and know that it is the way to meet the demand for the future • They expect that after certification the price they will receive for fruit will be higher because the costs of implementing GlobalGAP are also higher • They not know how much %increase in price they will need in order to cover the costs of certification but they hope to get a packer to invest some money in the farmers to help with this process • They have already received IPM training and informal discussions about GAP requirements but not GlobalGAP training received yet • All members of the An Luc Long Group have agreed to join the Duong Xuan Hoi Cooperative (must purchase share each worth 1million VND) Mr Tai (Chairman Duong Xuan Hoi Cooperative) • The cooperative was formed in 2004 with 62 members • Membership costs 1000 000VND per share • Not all of these members grow dragon fruit but approximately 90% of members hope to be certified • The main objective of the co-op is to sell safe products that will comply with customer standards (GlobalGAP) • The cooperative also runs a chemical store that sources products directly from suppliers so that they can ensure the quality of the products and also sell to farmers at a lower price • Non-members can also buy from the store at the same price but members have priority access to any technical training and additional support that may be offered to the cooperative under provincial projects etc • Members can also borrow money from the bank Page 26 Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices • • • • • • • • • • Each year 25% of cooperative profit goes to the management board as salary 75% is paid back to members in the form of dividends (unaware of free rider issues, horizon issues etc associated with traditional co-op structure) In general, members sell dragon fruit to three wholesalers — one is a packer who wants to work with the group as she is also a member and has a packhouse facility nearby (Mrs Mai) Main season price 2–5000VND/kg, off season price 7000VND/kg (prices in Long An are lower than in Tien Giang, input costs appear to be lower) Estimated cost of pest and fertiliser application: 1.5million VND/1000m2 during main season; million VND/1000m2 during off-season Combined estimated cost of fertilizer, labour and electricity for two seasons: 15 million VND All fruit is harvested and sold ungraded but collectors will come and look at the orchard and if the farm has a higher % of large fruit then they will increase the price they offer by up to 1000VND/kg The Chairman of the cooperative says he would prefer to sell graded fruit as he knows 70% of his fruit would be classified as Class Estimated income received: 25–30 million VND for 4year old trees So far, the cooperative has completed the baseline survey with SOFRI and small groups have been set for implementation The groups are made up of 9–10 members who live nearby and who can work together The leaders for each group have the responsibility to ensure that all farmers implement the GlobalGAP practices Mr Khanh (Member of Duong Xuan Hoi Cooperative) • Q:What you know about GlobalGAP and what changes have you already made to your farm? • He knows that GlobalGAP is about safe production • He has begun to limit the pesticide applications and to use organic manure He is aware of the holding periods for pesticides and has been trained in plant protection (IPM) • In his opinion, the cost of implementing GlobalGAP (preparing for certification) is around 6–7 millionVND This is not too much money for farmers who have 5000m2 or more than this, however below this it is too expensive for farmers • Q: Do you think record keeping will be difficult for the members to manage? • Not so hard for him as he believes record keeping is very important as you need to know the time for flowering and spraying and the time for holding periods for fruit • Members in this area have good education background and hope to implement GlobalGAP within one year • For the small groups they meet one time per month and 60–65% already have a toilet on the farm For the chemical storage, many members try to keep chemicals stored separately (e.g away from house, from where fruit is harvested) but they it in different ways • Hieu (SOFRI) believes that one of the main difficulties for the Long An group will be record keeping at the cooperative level He said he can teach the farmers to keep records but keeping the documents at a cooperative level can be difficult They will need to train the committee members on how to this They will work with the Agricultural Centre in the district (part of DARD) who has one woman that SOFRI will train to help support farmers in record keeping She is one of the project managers for the Long An project Long An project presentation Facilitator Ms Dam, DARD, 25 November 2009 pm Meeting purpose was training for a Cooperative of 47 members who are just starting to implement GlobalGAP 40 members attended the meeting A joint presentation by Ong Hieu and John Campbell was given where the following notes were elaborated on The presentation was followed by a short PowerPoint presentation by JC incorporating NZ Kiwiberry production, harvesting, grading, packing, market presentation and access and customer driven quality standards Demand for dragon fruit Exotic fruit in the export markets which has appeal for its appearance, colour, flavour and health benefits Countries of high value markets where there is strong demand for dragon fruit include: Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Page 27 UK Europe USA – has seasonal production Japan Asia – near neighbours Australia/New Zealand To access any of these high value markets, dragon fruit must be produced, packed and exported to meet minimum standards to ensure the fruit is safe, legal and of the quality demanded of the market Standards demanded by high value markets include: • GlobalGAP – the basic requirement for any high value market It is applied at the farmer level and can also be applied to on-farm packing • BRC – Applied to the packhouse/exporter and all fruit being supplied to a BRC compliant/certificated packhouse must be produced to the GlobalGAP or similar standard • Other high value markets require higher or specific standards or postharvest treatments which can be determined by the customer’s requirements or market access for phytosanitory reasons and include: o Japan market: fruit must be treated with hot moist air to kill fruit fly eggs and larvae (irradiated fruit is not acceptable to the Japan market) o USA market: fruit must be treated using irradiation to sterilise/kill any fruit fly eggs and larvae (heat treatment is not acceptable for this market) o Some specific high value markets may require elevated standards in areas for environmental, ethical, Fair Trade, etc These high value markets can and reach back through the value chain to the producer to ensure compliance is met in every aspect so they can have confidence that the product being supplied to them is safe, legal and quality The dragon fruit project: In 2005, an AusAID CARD dragon fruit GAP project was developed to provide the capability within Vietnam to enable farmers, packers and exporters to access high value export markets The key drivers for the project included: • Dragon fruit is an exotic fruit with high value in the export market place • Dragon fruit can be produced year round • Dragon fruit is relatively free of pest and disease problems • Production of dragon fruit is increasing rapidly with prices dropping on the domestic market and product becoming increasingly more difficult to sell SOFRI SOFRI is the dragon fruit project implementing agency During the project SOFRI has developed considerable capability to support the quality (GAP) dragon fruit industry being developed in Vietnam The SOFRI capability includes: • Farmer training for all aspects of GAP application • VietGAP expertise • VietGAP Certifying Body facility • GlobalGAP and VietGAP External and Internal Auditor services • BRC and specific industry standards installation, training and development • Technical support in horticultural quality requirements • Technical support in pest and disease control and agrichemical safe use • Technical support in postharvest processes and research • Industry problem solving How does this affect you the dragon fruit farmer of Long An? • You have access to the knowledge and support to improve your dragon fruit production to the standards required by export high value markets • It has been indicated that there is a large relatively untapped market for quality dragon fruit that meets or exceeds the high value export market requirements • The ability of Vietnam to produce dragon fruit all year round means it has a competitive advantage over almost all other global producers of dragon fruit Page 28 Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices GlobalGAP Certification comments: • GlobalGAP facilitates access to high value markets and compliant fruit is sought after by exporters for their high value markets • There is a significant cost to achieving and maintaining GlobalGAP Certification • Encourage larger groups of producers so that certification costs are spread across many farmers and high volumes of fruit (forget your individual differences and work together to produce uniform fruit and to keep costs manageable and to take advantage of size strength) • GAP applied on your farm has the additional benefit of making your farm a safer place for your family to live • You can implement VietGAP as a stepping stone to becoming GlobalGAP compliant – the two standards have many compatible components.” A PowerPoint presentation followed the discussions: Kiwiberry growing highlights covered production, harvesting, grading, packing, presentation, and exporter and export market Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices Page 29 14 Appendix Dragon fruit farm data survey compliance GlobalGAP Standard in Chau Thanh, Long An Sr.No Farmer survey Total Area (ha) % of farmer growing dragon fruit by - Plant supporting post - Cement Total members Percentage of gender - Male (%) - Female (%) Percentage of ages of dragon fruit farmers - Below 30 year old - From 30 to 45 year old - From 46 to 60 year old - Above 60 year old Percentage of family have member working Average of offspring working in family (member/family) Dragon fruit growing experience - From to yrs - Above to 10 yrs - Above 10 to 20 yrs - Up to 20 yrs Education level Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing Means of communication % - Mobile phone, landline phone/ Di động, DT bàn - Fax - Internet, email/ Máy tính, email Dragon fruit growing area (%) - Less than 5.000 m2 - From 5000 to less than 10.000m2 - From 10.000 to less than 20.000m2 - Up to 20.000m2 Livestock activities percentage - Domestic fowls (chicken, duck,…) - Livestock (cow, pig, goat, ) Mode of selling fruit - Collector - Exporter - Local market Who are responsible for fruit harvesting - Owner - Collector - Exporter Where is your dragon fruit sold (according to farmer idea) - Domestic market - Exporting - Unknown Yield record keeping 10 11 12 13 14 15 Page 30 Data analysis Dương An Lục Xuân Hội Long Co-op Group 38.25 9.55 8.11 91.89 37 100 09 94.60 5.40 100 5.40 40.54 45.95 8.11 27.03 0.33 33.33 66.67 22.22 29.73 37.84 24.32 8.11 11.11 88.89 Good Good 100 5.41 16.22 100 0 21.62 43.24 29.73 5.41 66.67 33.33 10.81 5.41 44.44 86.49 13.51 100 91.89 2.7 5.41 100 27.03 73.38 21.62 37.50 75.0 25 Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 - Never - Sometimes - Incomplete - Complete Waste collection - Never - Carton/ basket - Wood/bamboo basket - Plastic basket - Metal basket - Other Percentage of farmers have built toilet and hand washing facilities on their farm - Personal hygiene at farm - Old model toilet - New model toilet - Traditional toilet (fish toilet) Fertilizer storage - No storage - Separate space - Storage along with other tools - Storage along with pesticides - Keep in their house Percentage of farmers who have pesticides storage - Yes - No Pesticide Record keeping - No - Keep some records but little - General records - Complete records Farmers wear safety clothing while spraying pesticides - Boot - Gloves - Safety clothing - Mask - Hat - No Harvesting interval - Less than days - From to 10 days - More than 10 days Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Practices 21.62 18.92 16.22 43.24 55.56 11.11 11.11 22.22 27.03 2.7 16.22 40.54 2.7 10.81 11.11 44.44 11.11 33.33 62.16 38.84 66.67 33.33 48.65 48.65 8.11 8.11 2.7 22.22 44.44 44.44 22.22 45.95 54.05 44.44 55.56 54.05 16.22 13.51 16.22 44.44 22.22 11.11 22.22 32.43 40.54 16.22 78.38 37.84 2.70 44.44 44.44 22.22 55.56 77.78 35.14 59.46 5.40 100 Page 31 15 Appendix Cost of GlobalGAP compliance certification Compliance costs are significant and the project has encouraged each outreach unit being developed to generate as much production area as possible to ensure the cost per tonne of fruit remains manageable The following table provides a comparison of compliance costs per tonne for different grower number; production area; and yield Indicative figures only: Production: Certification Unit Individual or Group Individual grower Small group of growers Large group of small volume growers Small group of large volume growers Comments: Number to be audited CB cost US$ Grower No's Hectares Crop volume - tonnes Compliance cost US$ per tonne 2000 2300 16 30 12 480 192 4.17 11.98 10 2500 100 75 1200 2.08 3000 400 9600 0.31 Square root of the total number of growers covered by the Certificate are externally audited Page 32 Approximate cost for the Certifying Body to undertake verification and certification Based on: 40 tonnes per hectare and: 40% packout for small-holders = 16 tonnes per ha: 60% packout for large producers = 24 tonnes per Extending Export Opportunities to small-plot dragon fruit growers through Good Agricultural Prac 16 Appendix 10 Tien Giang outreach group information Meeting conducted on the farm of Mr Hai and Mr Dang – both members of the Cho Gao Co-op • Cooperative info: • The cooperative was registered in 2006 Share price 2million VND/share • They not have a chemical shop but they help members to buy chemicals direct from suppliers Last year no dividends were paid on shares because they had to pay a land fee for the packing house • The cooperative has an area for packing fruit that they used to pack for members in 2008; however, they had a disagreement with one company that they were supplying so they stopped packing in 2009 They have since decided to focus on getting Global GAP certification • There are 23 members who will try to get GlobalGAP certification as a group Average farm size of a member is 6000 m2 • Mr Hai’s farm 9000 m2 and Mr Dang has 1.7 • It is anticipated that Mr Hai will become the Deputy Chairman of the cooperative but it is not official yet • Farmers have received training in GAP and finance training from a Canadian project and from SOFRI they have received training in IPM, ICM and farm safety • Practices already implemented towards GlobalGAP: o Chemical storage and toilet built for 17 out of the 23 members o All farms have been cleaned o All members have limited the use of pesticides – they are familiar with the requirements for holding periods and record keeping and have made good progress in these areas o For Mr Hai, the cost of building the chemical storage and toilet was 10 million VND but more basic facilities can be built at a lower cost o The group is hoping to be certified by the end of 2009 (lunar year) They have had two internal audits already conducted by Mr Hoang The last audit was Oct 27th, 2009 • On farm input costs and income: o Input costs per 1000m2: million VND during main season, million VND during off season o Yield during main season is tonnes/1000m2 and 1.5tonnes during off season (3.5t/1000m2 per year) o Fruit sold to collectors in classes: o Class (300g+): 5000VND/kg main season; 8000VND/kg off-season (60% higher price) o Class (