A new technique machine pilotted in Can Tho city (Photo: VnSAT Project)Hanoi (VNA) – The World Bank-fundedproject “Vietnam Sustainable Agriculture Transformation” (VnSAT) has qualityover quantity in farming since it started two years ago.
The project aims to improve farmingpractices and value chains in rice and coffee farming in the Mekong Delta andthe Central Highlands, the two major good commercial production areas inVietnam and promote institutional strengthening of public agencies to helpimplement the country’s agricultural restructuring plan.
After two years of implementation, theproject has established a complete organisational structure from central tograssroots levels and carried out a range of tasks.
By May 2017, the VnSAT had assessed 75 farmerorganisations with a total of 2,785 households growing rice and 776 othersplanting coffee that were provided with training on new cultivation techniques– “three reductions, three gains (3R3G)” and “one must, five reductions (1M5R)”a year ago.
3R3G refers to reductions in seed,chemicals, and water and gains in productivity, quality, and economicefficiency while 1M5R means using registered seeds and reductions in seed,chemical fertiliser, pesticide, water use and post-harvest losses.
The results show that some 36 organisations,or 48 percent, have more than 50 percent of their households or growing areasusing the practices.
The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, andthe Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Lam Dong led the way with all oftheir farmer organisations achieving positive results.
The majority of organisations in MekongDelta provinces have seen lower prevalence of the new techniques due to localtradition of sowing by hand that did not allow peasants to effectively controlthe number of seedlings planted on each hectare. As a result, the number wasusually above the project’s requirements.
In the Central Highlands, most organisationshave not met criteria in terms of shade tree, organic fertiliser and productionrecording.
The VnSAT also evaluated the capability ofthe organisations to measure their needs of investment in warehouses, dryingyards, pumping stations and roads.
The workshop to review the implementation ofthe project during the first half of 2017 proposed the organisations buy sowingmachines and teach farmers how to use them effectively.
Sergiy Zorgya, a senior agriculturaleconomist from the World Bank, said to effectively carry out the project, it isnecessary to learn from the real demand of farmers to design effective supportfor them. -VNA
The project aims to improve farmingpractices and value chains in rice and coffee farming in the Mekong Delta andthe Central Highlands, the two major good commercial production areas inVietnam and promote institutional strengthening of public agencies to helpimplement the country’s agricultural restructuring plan.
After two years of implementation, theproject has established a complete organisational structure from central tograssroots levels and carried out a range of tasks.
By May 2017, the VnSAT had assessed 75 farmerorganisations with a total of 2,785 households growing rice and 776 othersplanting coffee that were provided with training on new cultivation techniques– “three reductions, three gains (3R3G)” and “one must, five reductions (1M5R)”a year ago.
3R3G refers to reductions in seed,chemicals, and water and gains in productivity, quality, and economicefficiency while 1M5R means using registered seeds and reductions in seed,chemical fertiliser, pesticide, water use and post-harvest losses.
The results show that some 36 organisations,or 48 percent, have more than 50 percent of their households or growing areasusing the practices.
The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, andthe Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Lam Dong led the way with all oftheir farmer organisations achieving positive results.
The majority of organisations in MekongDelta provinces have seen lower prevalence of the new techniques due to localtradition of sowing by hand that did not allow peasants to effectively controlthe number of seedlings planted on each hectare. As a result, the number wasusually above the project’s requirements.
In the Central Highlands, most organisationshave not met criteria in terms of shade tree, organic fertiliser and productionrecording.
The VnSAT also evaluated the capability ofthe organisations to measure their needs of investment in warehouses, dryingyards, pumping stations and roads.
The workshop to review the implementation ofthe project during the first half of 2017 proposed the organisations buy sowingmachines and teach farmers how to use them effectively.
Sergiy Zorgya, a senior agriculturaleconomist from the World Bank, said to effectively carry out the project, it isnecessary to learn from the real demand of farmers to design effective supportfor them. -VNA
VNA
