Destinations of first trip to Central Highlands on establishing partnerships with stakeholders in three IUC projects.
As part of the elaboration of the Extended Concept North, a week trip (24/02-29/02/2020) to three provinces (Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong) in the Central Highlands of VietNam was organized and led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Trung. The aim of the trip was to visit potential key stakeholders of three proposed projects (as indicated hereafter) and to create effective initial partnerships between Quy Nhon University (QNU) and their stakeholders.
During the time in Central Highland provinces, the QNU’s delegation had chances to present to local authorities including provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Departments of Science and Technology (DST) about IUC program, a collaborative effort from QNU leaders and researchers across different departments. Meetings were held in warmly roundtable discussions to generate open communications of the issues in each proposed project. In particular, the team of project 2 titled “Enhancing the performance of solar-assisted drying system and biogas productions by using novel nanomaterials and technical solutions” reached agreements on improving technical directions with supports of nanomaterials in solar dryers and understandings in technological transfers between QNU and Gia Lai DARD and DST. Also, during meetings core members of the two projects namely” Improving the safety and quality of avocado and durian by management of pre-harvest factors” (project 3) and “Research on post-harvest preservation using natural bioactive compounds to improve the value of local fruits”(project 4) presented their project objectives, expected outcomes as well as enabled the audience to learn more about local contexts. In other words, the project 3 will focus on solving problems on fruit (avocado and durian) production by using sustainable means of good agricultural practices and applied agriculture order to improve soil health, tree performance and fruit quality while project 4 is intended for fruit preservation using natural compounds so as to reduce postharvest losses and increase fruit shelf life. Helpful comments together with positive and practical suggestions from the participants in Gia Lai, DakLak and DakNong DARDs were put forward and indeed came up with MOUs.
The QNU delegation meeting with provincial DARDs and DSTs
In addition to the meetings, QNU group also made journeys to visit Farmers Unions in each province to discuss and together analyze the difficulties in fruit production and preservation processes. Some farmers from centralized production areas (i.e. representatives of local farmers) who had been informed in advance had informal interviews by sharing their stories and reported stronger desires in finding cost-cutting solutions in farming practices and fruit postharvest technologies. Subsequent events were orchard tours and field trips to some local cooperatives where some interesting talks about essential components on nutrient, pest and disease management included overview tours to common fruit diseases on avocado and durian.
Assoc.Prof Vo Minh Thu (middle, project 3’s member) and Dr. Nguyen Le Tuan (left-hand side, project 4’s member) meeting local farmers in Daklak province
QNU team on a durian orchard tour in Daklak province
The trip offered valuable insights and motivation to the QNU team. The information after the trip was brought back to QNU and developed in a successful proposal of the IUC program at QNU.
