Tarn Hoa plums (Prunus salicina) in the maize based system in the north west highlands of Vietnam

Tam Hoa plums (Prunus salicina) in the maize-based system in the North-West Highlands of Vietnam L.B Bonney1, O Nicetic2, R Collins2, A `Le Quoc3, H Đặng Thị3, T Hoang Thanh3, A Đào Thế3, T.T.H Nguyen4 and H Pham Van4 1University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia; 2University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; 3Centre for Agrarian Systems Research and Development (CASRAD), Hanoi, Vietnam; 4Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), Hanoi, Vietnam Abstract Tam Hoa plum is one of three hybrids of the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina), originating from southern China, and grown between 700 and1000 m altitude in north-west Vietnam for the domestic market Along with some leguminous crops grown in rotation with maize, plums are an important source of additional income for smallholders The aim of the project was to develop competitive value chains for plums with high levels of smallholder engagement The research design was both structured and adaptive, based on participative action research In addition, sensory evaluation to determine optimum measurable indicators of ripeness (soluble solids and hardness) based on consumer preferences was conducted to adjust time of harvesting The research found that Tam Hoa plum production and marketing is a large, complex system that is interconnected with the marketing of green (immature) plums to China and other substitutable fruit such as lychees, longans and other plums It is a highly opportunistic, low-input system the outputs of which depend on plum prices, the relative production capability of districts and local microclimates The 40to 45-day plum harvest season is highly variable regarding harvesting dates, harvest duration, plum quality and, consequently, market prices It was established that there is sufficient profit margin for all chain participants to establish a sustainable niche value chain based on high-quality sweet plums if reliable and sufficient throughput can be achieved It is recommended that future similar value chain projects pay particular attention to selecting large ‘aggregators’ and ‘distributors’ so as to achieve volume and stable market access Keywords: temperate fruits, value chains, profitability, market interactions INTRODUCTION Vietnam has 53 ethnic minority groups, accounting for 12.6% of the total population, who for the greater part inhabit the mountainous areas in the north-west and north-east regions and the Central Highlands In 2006, 52% of ethnic minority people were reported to live in poverty, in comparison with 10% of the Kinh majority group The main reasons for this disparity have been summarised as differences in assets, capacity and voice (van de Fliert et al., 2010) The North-West Highlands provinces are among the poorest in Vietnam, with a regional poverty ratio of 28% compared with an average of 10% across the country, and rural poverty increased in the period 2008-2012 (ILRI, 2014) Lack of market integration, inappropriate and unsustainable land management and limited ability of poor smallholders to absorb risk have resulted in continued poverty within the region The ethnic minority people, who dominate the North-West Highlands, are increasingly disengaged from the benefits of a rapidly developing Vietnamese economy, and approximately 75% remain below the international poverty line, contributing to their persistent poverty (United Nations, 2002; United Nations Development Programme, 2013) In the North-West Highlands, the dominant agricultural system is based on maize production, with temperate fruit being a smaller but important part of the system Maize and temperate fruit production are complementary, because they provide local smallholders     Acta Hortic 1128 ISHS 2016 DOI 10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1128.14 XXIX IHC - Proc Int Symp on Horticulture in Developing Countries and World Food Production Eds.: A Gracie, M Taguchi and G Rogers 103 with options to spread production and marketing risk for household income Temperate fruit production provides 62% of smallholders’ annual income in some areas; however, the temperate fruit industry is also characterised by poor market engagement, low yields, high post-harvest losses (25-40%) and low profitability, which result in low incentives for farmer investment in improving production and marketing practices One of those temperate fruits, Tam Hoa plums (Prunus salicina), is a significant crop in Mộc Châu District in Sơn La Province in north-west Vietnam, with a total production of 17,000-25,000 t from 1719 (Mộc Châu Extension Centre) The Tam Hoa plum is one of three hybrids of the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina), originating from southern China, that are grown between 700-1000 m altitude, mainly for the domestic market, in Vietnam In 1995, 1000 certified disease-free plum rootstock seeds were planted in 11 provinces The original plantings of about 32,400 expanded to approximately 100,000 over the last 15 years Sơn La Province, with approximately 12,000 ha, is now the second-largest growing area (Cao-Van and Chau, 1999) During the early 2000s, many trees were removed as a result of a major fall in demand; however, the Mộc Châu Extension Centre (Son La) estimates 1719 is presently in production Due to the rapid market transformations currently underway in agriculture and their potential impact on smallholder livelihoods, temperate fruit production was investigated, focusing on the potential for both technical production and marketing practice changes This paper describes the temperate fruit component of ACIAR Project ‘AGB/2008/002 Improved market engagement for sustainable upland production systems in the North West Highlands of Vietnam’ METHODS The research design for the temperate fruit component was both structured and adaptive to the emerging research questions and findings It was a participative action research design (Heron and Reason, 2001) incorporating a cycle of learning, reflection and improvement However, other appropriate methods (e.g., sensory testing, householder analysis and biophysical testing of ripeness) were also incorporated to build understanding of the variables operating on this system The aim of the project was to increase smallholder engagement in competitive value chains associated with maize- and temperate fruit-based farming systems Three villages investigated in this component were in the Mộc Châu District, Pieng Sang, a Dao minority community, Co Do (Kinh, Thai and Hmong) and Ban On (Kinh and Thai) In all villages, farmers cultivate crops in small fields, many on slopes The average size of agricultural landholdings in villages in Son La province is 2.71 A rapid supply chain analysis (Collins and Dunne, 2008) was undertaken in Mộc Châu and Mai Sơn Districts of Son La Province to map the market mechanisms, constraints and opportunities for more profitable farming systems for smallholders This analysis identified that China frequently provides a large market outlet for green Tam Hoa plums, so plum traders in western Jiangxi Province, P.R China, were interviewed at a wholesale market close to the border between Vietnam and China (25 km) This was followed by a 2-day visit to the wholesale market and supermarkets in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China Supermarket and speciality fruit retail interviews were undertaken in Hà Nội (Hanoi) to identify and validate the market potential, followed by consumer sensory testing and surveys correlated with objective testing of plum characteristics (size, colour, firmness and sugar content) to determine plum value attributes In 2011, a full value chain analysis (VCA) was undertaken, involving more extensive, confirmatory sensory evaluation with consumers Value-chain-building workshops were conducted before the plum season (May-June) with smallholders and supply chain members to link market opportunities with current capacity These were followed by annual collaborative value-chain planning meetings to review progress and emergent problems During the short plum season, continuous monitoring and advising on harvesting, packing and transporting, along with monitoring of prices in the Hà Nội markets and at the various 104 stages of the chain to smallholder farmers, was conducted as part of an assessment of the project’s impact on chain benefits RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Tam Hoa plum production and marketing is an activity carried out by many thousands of households across Moc Chau District and is a much larger, more complex system than originally envisaged, being interconnected with the marketing of green plums to China and the market for other substitutable temperate fruit such as lychees, longans and other cultivars of plum It is a highly opportunistic, low-input system the results of which depend on plum prices, the relative production capability of communes and local microclimates (earliness and quality) The plum harvest season is highly variable for date and duration, but usually extends over 40-45 days, with a mid-season of 20-25 days and a premium price period of 7-10 days at the beginning of the season In Pieng Sang Village and, to some extent, Co Do Village, low-quality fruit are a major constraint to more profitable marketing of plums However, recent access to the Chinese green plum market has increased the demand significantly and stabilised the average price at a level that is profitable for farmers The lack of capital and market information was identified as the major non-natural resource constraint for future growth of agricultural enterprises in the village Ban On was recognised as having the best-quality plums, but, to achieve high quality attributes, harvesting is delayed by 10 and 15 days compared with Pieng Sang and Co Do, respectively This creates a tension for the Project (Hi-Q) Plum Chain because of the pricequality balance Earliness is a key value attribute for consumers, and there is some willingness by farmers to trade ripeness to achieve the earliness and premium prices that are associated with the first 7-10 days of the season In the latter stages of the season, ripe plums are in abundance in the wet markets and not command premium prices Hence, farmers from Ban On are keen to get to market as early as possible with fruit that, whilst it is higher in quality than Pieng Sang and Co Do plums, may compromise the standards required by the project’s Hi-Q Plum Chain marketing protocols Mộc Châu has two main channels for marketing its Tam Hoa plums: the green plum channels into China and the ripe plum channels to both north and south Vietnam, with Hà Nội being the dominant destination market (Figure 1) Figure Mộc Châu Tam Hoa plum value chains with typical relative product volume flows Source: interviews with collectors in Mộc Châu, 2010-2013 Relative volumes are estimates No official records are available 105 Consumer value analysis indicated that consumers valued colour, sweetness, size, firmness and freedom from blemishes The creation of these value attributes occurred largely on the farm (sweetness, size and colour) and at the local collector (level 1) (grading for colour, size, blemish and packing to preserve quality) VCA also highlighted the absence of market information and feedback and the lack of relationships between the upstream and downstream partners in plum chains Sensory evaluation established that perception of sweetness is closely related to colour and that, once 11 °Brix is reached, consumer preferences are not correlated to the objectively measured sugar content This finding indicates that the balance between quality and being early enough in the market to capitalise on higher prices may be achieved by harvesting at 11 °Brix, providing fruit has changed colour from dominantly green to deep red (Tables and 2) Table Relative contribution of objective consumer value attributes to the preference and purchase decision (2011) Attribute Sweetness (°Brix) Hardness (kg cm-2) Colour of skin (0 yellow-green, purple-red) Influence decision to buy in early season Adjusted R2=0.216 S Adjusted β S P=0.452 0.101 P=0.279 P=0.010 -0.067 P=0.481 P=0.002 0.374 P=0.001 Overall preference Adjusted R2=0.272 Adjusted β 0.041 -0.239 0.334 Influence decision to buy in main season Adjusted R2=0.238 Adjusted β S -0.067 P=0.466 -0.205 P=0.029 0.392 P