Project description

Title: Promotion of Potato Production
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)
Overall term: July 2003 to June 2009

Context

Vietnam is a country still characterised by agricultural production and a resulting deficit in development. At 27.5%, rural poverty is much higher than urban poverty (10.8%) with highest poverty rates in the northern regions. In principle, the cultivation of potatoes, which occurs mainly in Northern Vietnam, lends itself to the improvement of small farmers’ food security and income: potatoes have the advantage of growing during the winter seasons, which is the time when rice cannot be cultivated. Once certified, the planting stock is released for sale.

The main problem for increasing the productivity and profitability of potato production is a lack of productive, disease-free, quality seed potato stock at an acceptable price. To date, seed potatoes are mainly imported from China where the price is affordable but the quality is poor, or from Europe wherethe quality is good but the price is too high.

Objective

Small farmers in selected areas in northern Vietnam increase their income through intensive potato production.

Approach

The project develops and applies methods of the WTO’s regulations for plantlets propagation and expands it nationwide. The quality control and certification of the seeds are undertaken by the National Centre for Variety Evaluation and Seed Certification. ... In order to respond better to the market demand as well as better manage potato production and marketing and assure the income improvement of farmers, the Vietnam Potato Association (VPA) is being developed. The VPA will act as the bridge between farmers, researchers, traders and decision makers.

Results achieved so far

The project currently cooperates with 12 institutions and companies to expand the distribution of potato seeds. In 2005 this measure reached more than 12,000 small farm households. By the end of 2007 the number had risen to about 26,000.

The quality of available potato seeds is improving year on year. In individual cases this has lead to a noticeable increase in the income of small-households.Services that contribute to the inspection and monitoring of seed stock quality have significantly improved their efficiency.

Initially, the provision of potato planting material was mainly in the hands of public institutions. In the course of the project more and more private firms have taken over. Working together with foreign companies, especially in Europe and China, they have started importing high-quality planting stock at favourable prices to carry out multiplication within the country itself.