Australian Embassy
Vietnam

Media Release - 16/9/2014

North West Fruits – Access to More Profitable Markets

 

HANOI, VIETNAM (16/09/2014) - Smallholder farmers from the North Western provinces will have good opportunities to improve their net income by selling temperate fruits to more profitable fruit markets. This is the overall aim of a new project funded by the Australian government that was launched at the Inception Workshop held at 8 Chu Van An Street, Hanoi on 16th and 17th Sept, 2014.

The project “Improving smallholder incomes in the North-western highlands of Vietnam by increasing access and competitiveness in regional temperate and subtropical fruit markets - AGB/2012/60”, will be implemented over 4 years (2014-2018) with a budget of nearly 1.4 million AUD, provided by the Australian Centre for International Agriculture research (ACIAR). Major objectives of the project are:

1. Evaluate consumer and market dynamics and opportunities at the local, provincial, national and regional levels.
2. Support Government-led planning, coordination and development of the temperate fruit industry across North Western provinces.
3. Overcome barriers to adoption of improved varieties and cultivation techniques currently constraining development of the temperate fruit industry in NW Vietnam.
4. Develop competitive consumer-driven marketing and value chain models for engagement with more profitable markets

How to link smallholders to more profitable markets remains one of the main challenges for the North West Highland provinces. Due to suitable natural conditions in NW Vietnam the Vietnamese Government invested considerable effort and resources over past 25 years in the development of temperate fruit industry that includes production of plums persimmons, pears and peaches. His Excellency Dr. Le Quoc Doanh, Vice Minister of The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development shared that the temperate fruit industry will help poverty alleviation. However, “after decades of limited success, new approaches are needed” – he highlighted.

Therefore, the project will apply an innovative interdisciplinary approach to facilitate dialogue and information exchange between researchers involved in horticultural, anthropological, market, consumer and value chain research, and Government institutions from local to central levels; private sector actors and farmers with the aim to develop a market- driven temperate fruit industry.

Speaking at the Inception Workshop, His Excellency Mr Hugh Borrowman, Australian Ambassador in Vietnam focused on the importance of a strong collaboration mechanism, facilitating the process of applying research outcomes to farmers’ conditions to improve their life. He confirmed the alignment of project objectives and implementation with the new foreign economic strategy of the Australian Government. He stated “….the project aims at increasing farmers’ income especially for women and farmers coming from different ethnic minorities thanks to better involvement of the private sector”.

The Inception Workshop clearly demonstrates this strong collaboration through involvement of all main stakeholders involved in research and development of the temperate fruit industry including Vietnamese and Australian researchers from leading institutes and universities and distinguished representatives of Son La, Lai Chau, Lao Cai local government, Departments of agriculture and rural development, and representatives from private sector involved in production and marketing of temperate fruit.

For more information, please visit http://aciar.gov.au/country/vietnam

Or contact:

Ms Nguyễn Lan Phương
ACIAR Office, Australian Embassy
T: 04-37740265, M: 0903441519
Email: [email protected]

Or

Ms Lê Thị Hằng Nga
AGB2012-060 Project Field coordinator
Mob: (84) 0983 681 450
Email: [email protected]