The first visit to Binh Thuan Province for networking and resource-mobilization puprposes
Dragon fruit is currently planted in many provinces nationwide, but strongly developed into large-scale specialized cultivation areas concentrated in Binh Thuan province. As part of the IUC project, sub-project 5 focuses on the risk assessment and management models for the dragon fruits supply chain in this province. Therefore, in order to preliminarily assess the current status of dragon fruit production and create an effective partnership between Quy Nhon University (QNU) and sub-project 5’s stakeholders, the QNU’s delegation, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Trung – The Head of the Research Affairs and International Relations Office, paid a working visit to Binh Thuan province between May 15th to 17th, 2022.
The meeting between sub-project 5 and Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
The delegation had two meetings with representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Provincial Farmers’ Association, respectively. Meetings were held in a warmly roundtable discussion to generate open communications of the issues in sub-project 5. During the meetings, the QNU’s delegation had chances to present sub-project objectives, expected outcomes and proposed activities to the local authorities. The core members of sub-project 5 discussed openly with local authority representatives about the current supply chain of dragon fruits, risks and difficulties local dragon fruits famers faced, local government’s support for the sub-project in the near future.
The meeting between sub-project 5 and the Provincial Farmers’ Association
According to local authority representatives, one of the biggest problems that dragon fruit producers in Binh Thuan province are facing is the high dependence on the Chinese market. Most dragon fruits were consumed through cross-border trade with Chinese traders or via middle-enterprises, which increased various potential risks in business transactions. In addition, fast expanding acreage implies risks such as overproduction, unsustainable use of inputs, increasing threats of pests and diseases resulting in poor quality of dragon fruits. Recognizing the mentioned risks, local authority representatives became enthusiastic about sub-project 5 and hoped that these issues could be taken into account during the sub-project execution.
Within the field trip framework, the delegation also visited Thuan Tien and Hoa Le Dragon Fruit Co-operatives in Ham Thuan Bac and Ham Thuan Nam districts. In-depth discussions were conducted with local dragon fruit famers so as to comprehend the dragon fruits cultivation. A local famer said that they cut down thousands of trees and switched to other crops after suffering heavy losses due to low price of dragon fruits while input prices were relatively exorbitant. However, there were also some solutions implemented by the cooperatives in the difficult context. Hoa Le co-operative was a good case in point. In order to increase the value of dragon fruits, Hoa Le co-operative introduced various products from organic dragon fruits, such as: dragon fruit wine, white and red fermented dragon fruit juice, cream, jam, dragon fruit juice…
The field trip to a dragon fruit farm in Binh Thuan province
It is expected that the connection and information in this business trip will contribute to the successful implementation of sub-project 5 within the framework of the IUC-QNU Phase 1.
