Đề tài Developing Good Agricultural Practice systems for dragon fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces

Developing Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) systems for dragon fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces Campbell J, Nguyen Van Hoa, Nguyen Huu Hoang December 2007 Final report to Hassall and Associates International HortResearch Client Report No. HortResearch Contract No. 20027 Campbell J The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd HortResearch Nelson Region PO Box 220 Motueka 7143; NEW ZEALAND Tel: +64-3-528 9106; Fax: +64-3-528 7813 Nguyen Van Hoa Nguyen Huu.Hoang Southern Fruit Research Institute PO Box 203 My Tho Long Dinh - Chau Thanh - Tien Giang, VIETNAM Tel: +84 73 834 699 DISCLAIMER The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand has exercised reasonable skill, care and diligence in preparing the information described in this report but shall not be liable for the commercial performance of any products or any losses arising from the use of the information contained herein. This report has been prepared by The Horticulture & Food Research Institute of NZ Ltd (HortResearch), which has its Head Office at Mt Albert Research Centre, Private Bag 92 169, Auckland. Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Completion Report 037/04VIE Developing GAP systems for dragon fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces. December 2007 Table of Contents 1. Institute Information ____________________________________________________ 1 2. Project Abstract________________________________________________________ 2 3. Executive Summary ____________________________________________________ 2 4. Introduction & Background ______________________________________________ 4 5. Progress to Date _______________________________________________________ 5 5.1 Implementation Highlights ___________________________________________ 5 5.2 Smallholder Benefits_______________________________________________ 10 5.3 Capacity Building _________________________________________________ 14 5.4 Publicity ________________________________________________________ 21 5.5 Project Management _______________________________________________ 21 6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues __________________________________________ 22 6.1 Environment _____________________________________________________ 22 6.2 Gender and Social Issues ___________________________________________ 22 7. Implementation & Sustainability Issues ____________________________________ 23 7.1 Issues and Constraints______________________________________________ 23 7.2 Options _________________________________________________________ 23 7.3 Sustainability_____________________________________________________ 24 8. Next Critical Steps ____________________________________________________ 24 9. Conclusion __________________________________________________________ 25 10. Statutory Declaration _________________________Error! Bookmark not defined. 11. Appendix 1. Certificates of training _____________________________________ 33 12. Appendix 2. QNEWZ, October 2007 ____________________________________ 38 Abbreviations: BRC British Retailers Consortium: Global Standard - FOOD CARD Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development DGP Dragon fruit GAP Project EoI Expression of Interest EUREPGAP Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group; Good Agricultural Practice FAQ Frequently Asked Questions GAP Good Agricultural Practice GLOBALGAP Global Good Agricultural Practice GPS Global Positioning System IMO Institute for Marketecology MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MOU Memorandum of Understanding NZOQ New Zealand Organisation for Quality QDPI&F Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SIPPO Swiss Import Promotion Programme SOFRI Southern Fruit Research Institute VinaFruit Vietnam Fruit Association VNCI Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative 1 1. Institute Information Project Name Developing GAP systems for dragon fruit producers and exporters in Binh Thuan and Tien Giang provinces Vietnamese Institution Southern Fruit Research Institute Vietnamese Project Team Leader Nguyen Van Hoa Vietnamese Project Operations Leader Nguyen Huu Hoang Australian Organisation The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Australian Personnel John Campbell, Leonie Osborne Date commenced 30 June 2005 Completion date (original) September 2007 Completion date (revised) Reporting period Project final report Contact Officer(s) In Australia: Team Leader Name: John Campbell Telephone: +64 3 528 9106 Position: Project Leader Fax: +64 3 528 7813 Organisation HortResearch Email: jcampbell@hortresearch.co.nz In Australia: Administrative contact Name: Mrs Leonie Osborne Telephone: +64 9 815 8819 Position: PA, Bioprotection Group Leader Fax: +64 9 815 4202 Organisation HortResearch Email: losborne@hortresearch.co.nz In Vietnam Name: Dr Nguyen Minh Chau Telephone: +84 73 893 129 Position: Project Champion Fax: +84 73 893 122 Organisation SOFRI Email: mch@hcm.vnn.vn 1 2. Project Abstract 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 export markets. There are about ten major dragon fruit exporters in Vietnam but a significant proportion of the total production is sourced from many small farmers. Returns from dragon fruit could be significantly improved if small growers and exporters can gain access to new high value markets in Europe and North America. Unfortunately, regulatory requirements and recent consumer concerns over food safety and security mean that Vietnamese growers can now only export to these high value markets if they have Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) programmes in place. The project has established a private sector working pilot of exporter packer and supplying dragon fruit growers in which the European high value market driven standards of BRC at the packer and EUREPGAP at the farmer level have been implemented. High value markets have been identified and are due to be tested following certification of the pilot. Training of national personnel within the project team and in the private sector has seen practical GAP proficiency developed to a high level which will ensure the continued development of the pilot and the subsequent distribution of the model to many more small-holder dragon fruit producers. 3. Executive Summary This is the completion report for the Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) project 037/04VIE and covers the period 1 March 2007 to December 2007 and the reporting of issues that have either not been reported in other progress reports or have changed during implementation of the project. The HortResearch project leader has made two visits to Vietnam during this reporting period as scheduled: 6th - 18th May and 19th August - 7th September 2007. T f t ), M d R h c e i e c T f a n H s u f t d B F t r b H here have been no changes to project personnel during the reporting period. Mentoring o he Vietnam project team has been ongoing. The Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI inistry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Department of Agriculture an ural Development (DARD) and commercial personnel are included in the training whic overs all facets of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) at the various levels of th nternational standards. Enhancement of the national capability of people and infrastructur ontinued to be given high priority by the project for ultimate sustainability obligations. he “Introduction to Internal Auditor Training Course’s” delivered to selected SOFRI staf nd to the pilot packhouse key personnel and particularly the skills attained by Mr Nguye uu Hoang reported on previously have been of great assistance to the stakeholder nderstanding of GAP quality systems especially when undertaking the final internal audit o he pilot prior to the Certifying Body assessment for Pilot Certification to EUREPGAP an RC Standards. ield observations for the farmers’ benchmarking survey were completed in the firs eporting period. The data were subsequently translated into English, entered into a web ased database and analysed. The benchmarking survey report was prepared by ortResearch personnel and delivered as a PowerPoint® presentation by the project leader to 2 SOFRI personnel, packers, farmers, MARD and DARD personnel of Binh Thuan during March - April 2007. Selection of a packer/exporter and farmer group for the project pilot to receive project input, confirmed during the September 2006 visit, was formalised. Training of the pilot members for improvement towards British Retailers Consortium: Global Standard – Food (BRC) for the packer and EUREPGAP for the farmers continued, to enable them to reach compliance in all areas. The training involved quality systems, health and safety, technical, product traceability and environmental issues. A component of the field visits by the project leader had been to observe the current practices of the dragon fruit farmers and packers. These findings formed the basis for the quality manual preparation. The dragon fruit quality manuals for the farmer and packer were developed in a way that closely related to the current practices, including appropriate improvements to enable the farmer and packer to meet compliance with the EUREPGAP and BRC standards, and are user friendly. Translation of the Manual into Vietnamese has been completed and copies distributed to the project donor HAI/CARD, the pilot (full manual) supplying farmers (EUREPGAP “C” section) and to other packers and farmers progressing GAP production, packing and export. The manual issued to the pilot packer and supplying farmers is the documented quality system of the pilot and has been used as a training tool when developing the pilot to meet the Standards. The standards being implemented incorporate all issues identified in the project objectives. However, small-holder farmers, even with continuous training exposure throughout the project have generally failed to respond to GAP to the level whereby the project could have them exposed to certifying body inspection and certification. Constraints to small-holder participation have been identified during the project and will be overcome during the future development of the project pilot. Constraint mitigation employed by the pilot will form a practical demonstration for replication to any new dragon fruit, or other crop, quality unit being established in the future. During the project leaders December 2006 and May 2007 visit, extensive training was provided to the pilot packhouse senior staff and farmers, which involved all the physical changes to facilities, quality systems establishment, personnel training, compliance issues and auditing requirements as documented in the Dragon fruit Quality Manual for the pilot to reach compliance with BRC and EUREPGAP Standards. The intensive training of pilot personnel was progressed to include internal auditing of the pilot to identify any issues of non-compliance and corrective action requirements and to demonstrate process “control” and sustainability. The final internal audit for the pilot was completed in August/September 2007 to confirm readiness for Certification Body inspection. The external audit was completed during September by the certifying body ‘SGS Vietnam’. Corrective actions for non-conformity issues were completed and a follow-up external audit was completed on 8 November 2007 with full compliance with the EUREPGAP standard being confirmed. The BRC external audit is scheduled to be undertaken by the certifying body in late 2007. High value markets are being identified and evaluated for dragon fruit to be exported from Vietnam, both for fruit when certified and for the project-improved fruit exported during the transition period towards certification. A financial incentive is paid by the packer for qualifying fruit during the transition period. 3 Utopia UK, who import fruit to the United Kingdom for TESCO’s, have expressed a strong desire to access GAP certified dragon fruit from the pilot. They have already implemented a third party ethical audit of the pilot, and have indicated they will assist the project team with the dragon fruit value chain analysis and achieving high prices for the safe, legal and quality dragon fruit exported from the project pilot. Inputs identified in the project document had been purchased in year 1 as documented in the 2nd Progress report, February 2006. The CARD dragon fruit project continued to be well publicised in the local and national newspapers and television during this reporting period. The projects achievements are being held in high regard by the donor, MARD and the private sector. HAI/CARD requested the project to submit an Expression of Interest for a new two year project to expand the initiative. During the project leaders May 2007 visit stakeholder meetings were held and an EoI prepared and submitted. The new dragon fruit project EoI was short listed by the CARD Programme Coordinating Committee at its meeting of 11 July 2007. Subsequently a full project proposal for the new project was submitted to HAI in Hanoi on 27 August 2007 and was subsequently selected for funding. 4. Introduction & Background Objective 1 To increase small holders’ competitiveness and capacity to supply dragon fruit to high-value international markets, introducing new concepts of food safety, environmental responsibility, sustainability and worker safety into their production practices. Objective 2 To provide technical support and training for Vietnamese extension/researchers to improve their capacity in group training procedures for GAP implementation in dragon fruit. The outputs expected include adoption of new practices that are required for entry into the European market, and empowerment of small farmers to negotiate improved supply arrangements. Vietnamese personnel from SOFRI, DARD and the private sector will be trained in the field in Vietnam and two SOFRI members will undertake a study tour to observe GAP systems in the fruit industry in New Zealand. It is intended that the development of the Vietnamese personnel, both in the public and private sectors, will be through the practical application of: ¾ Establishing the current status of the dragon fruit industry against EUREPGAP standards through a benchmarking survey ¾ Improving the current understanding of dragon fruit agronomy within SOFRI and establishment of systems for constant improvement and problem solving ¾ The development of pilot models of EUREPGAP-compliant Exporter/Packer/Farmer group in the field ¾ Establishing manuals, Codes of Practice and the development of training material that is appropriate, user friendly, developed by the Vietnamese extensionists, and appropriate to the dragon fruit industry for transfer to subsequent “models” and ultimately other crops 4 ¾ Establishing the required quality systems for the dragon fruit industry to adopt and obtain proof of the system robustness, by obtaining EUREPGAP certification for the pilot model ¾ Maximising the impact of current initiatives to develop GAP in the dragon fruit industry through full participation in the Dragon fruit GAP Project. 5. Progress to Date 5.1 Implementation Highlights 5.1.1 Benchmarking The field portion of the benchmarking survey was completed by the SOFRI team in late July 2005. Some 124 farmers from Binh Thuan and 30 farmers from the Tien Giang Province were questioned. The SOFRI team recorded farmer information for the formal EUREPGAP oriented questionnaire (Inception Report: August 2005 Appendix 2) and also recorded additional current agronomic and technical information relating to the surveyed farmers dragon fruit production practices. The benchmarking survey data were analysed at HortResearch by Dr Jim Walker and Patrick Connolly who also prepared a PowerPoint® presentation (3rd Progress Report, August 2006, Appendices 1 and 2) for delivery during the scheduled March 2006 visit. It was originally planned for Dr Walker to travel to Vietnam to make the PowerPoint® presentations, but this was not possible because of his other work commitments. As a consequence, the benchmarking PowerPoint® presentations were delivered by the project leader during his March/April 2006 visit, initially to the staff of SOFRI then to DARD and some industry personnel in Binh Thuan. The presentation has subsequently been used as a training tool for the farmers and packers of the area. During the PowerPoint® presentations, care was taken to emphasise the standards observed in the survey and to relate those conditions to the standards required to meet the high value customer-driven demands as detailed in the EUREPGAP and BRC Standards. The PowerPoint® presentation and other information contained in the benchmarking survey database are being used by the SOFRI scientists during their research work. 5.1.2 GAP Manual Development The Dragon fruit Quality Manual has been completed in English and now translated into Vietnamese. This manual was to be completed by the end of March 2006 (milestone #4) in the draft form but had been delayed because of time constraints and the clarification of copyright issues. The manual has been developed specifically to meet the needs of the quality systems of the project pilot, at the farmer level to the EUREPGAP Standard and in the packhouse to the BRC Standard and apart from being a living document, has been completed in the final form. Future use and adaptation of the manual to other dragon fruit packhouse/farmer groups (and other crops) will have the advantage of a manual that is the 5 actual documented quality systems of a working model. The HACCP report for the quality manual was not included in the printed manual as this is of specific application to the pilot packhouse quality system. The Vietnamese and English version of the HACCP report is provided electronically. Full verification of the appropriateness of the Dragon fruit Quality Manual to address the specific standards of BRC and EUREPGAP and the requirements of the customer, the pilot packer and farmers are in the process of being confirmed by the independent certifying body, SGS Vietnam. Compliance assessment by the certifying body was planned to take place during December 2006 however the pilot was not ready and significant modifications were planned/being implemented for the pilot packhouse to better comply with the standards. 5.1.3 Develop Implementation Plan – Completed: First Progress Report 5.1.4 Establish pilot GAP programme for year one As documented in the 2nd Progress Report, February 2006 report, Mr Hiep’s packhouse was identified to be the project’s pilot for packing dragon fruit. Subsequently project personnel negotiated with Mr Hiep to define the level of commitment to and cooperation with the project for the development of his packhouse to meet the BRC Standards and project expectations. During the July 2006 visit by the project leader, a contract between Mr Hiep and Dr Chau as Project Champion was generated and signed. Agreement to work together with the pilot is based on the memorandum of understanding that was under discussion as described in the February 2006 report. Indeed many of t