This project has allowed the commencement of FFS training in citrus with 98 trainers attending Master Training classes during April and May 2005 and these trainers subsequently leading 2
Trang 1
Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development
_
CARD Project Progress Report
036/04VIE
Assessing the effectiveness of Farmer Field Schools for Implementation of Citrus IPM
in Viet Nam
MS4: SECOND SIX-MONTHLY REPORT
Trang 21 Institute Information
Field Schools for Implementation of Citrus IPM in Viet Nam
Vietnamese Institution Plant Protection Department
Vietnamese Project Team Leader Mr Ho Van Chien
Australian Organisation University of Western Sydney
Australian Personnel Debbie Rae, Oleg Nicetic, Robert
Spooner-Hart
Completion date (revised)
Contact Officer(s)
In Australia: Team Leader
Position: Research Program
Coordinator
Organisation University of Western Sydney Email: d.rae@uws.edu.au
In Australia: Administrative contact
Position: Director, Research Services Fax: +6124736 0905
Organisation University of Western
Sydney
Email: g.jones@uws.edu.au
In Vietnam
Organisation Southern Regional Plant
Protection Centre
Email: hvchien@vnn.vn
Trang 31 Project Abstract
Citrus is an important fruit crop in Viet Nam but productivity and production is impeded
by a range of pests and diseases Integrated pest management (IPM) is widely recognised
as an effective and sustainable method of pest and disease control Viet Nam has a well-developed National IPM program of farmer participatory training and research using Farmer Field Schools (FFS) which has trained more than 500,000 farmers in IPM technologies for rice, vegetable, cotton, tea, soybean, peanut, and sweet potato crops This project has allowed the commencement of FFS training in citrus with 98 trainers attending Master Training classes during April and May 2005 and these trainers subsequently leading 24 FFS across 12 provinces in the Mekong Delta and the Central Coast regions of Viet Nam Farmers attended FFS weekly for 21 weeks and also participated in teaching demonstration trials Funding from outside the project budget allowed study tours for farmers in the Mekong Delta to neighbouring provinces and project review workshops in
3 locations with representatives from all 12 provinces involved Feedback from project participants has resulted in modifications to the training programs for 2006 which will improve their relevance and effectiveness
2 Executive Summary
Viet Nam has a well-developed National IPM program that has resulted in more than 500,000 farmers being trained in IPM technologies for rice, vegetable, cotton, tea, soybean, peanut, and sweet potato crops Prior to this project no IPM training had been conducted in citrus, despite it being an important fruit crop in Viet Nam In the first year of this project efficient planning and sustained efforts by all project personnel has resulted in 98 master trainers being trained by 10 key scientists, and these trainers successfully conducting 24 FFS in 12 provinces in the Mekong Delta and Central Coast regions of Viet Nam FFS involved weekly farmer meetings and were conducted over 21 weeks Trainers developed a schedule of activities during the master training program and these activities were conducted simultaneously at all FFS Teaching demonstration trials were also implemented in 16 FFS A farmer practice baseline study was conducted at 15 locations and all farmers participating in FFS completed a 52-question pre- and post-intervention survey Results from the 727 pre-intervention surveys and 694 post-intervention surveys have now been analysed All components of the project logframe for 2005 have been completed Two major additional outputs to the project logframe have also been achieved and these will significantly enhance the relevance of the project to both trainers and citrus farmers Study tours that allowed farmers to visit FFS in nearby provinces were funded by the Australian Organisation and three review workshops that allowed very important feedback about the training program in 2005 from participants were sponsored by Bayer Viet Nam and SK Corporation Korea At the project review workshops it was agreed that the training program for 2006 should be modified to improve the effectiveness and relevance of the training Modifications include TOT being held earlier in the year with more practical sessions and FFS starting earlier and finishing later with less frequent sessions to allow all phenological stages of citrus from flowering to harvest to be included in the program
Trang 43 Introduction & Background
Citrus fruit is one of the major fruit crops in Vietnam (MARD 2004) and citrus production is an important source of income for many Vietnamese farmers However, productivity and production of citrus in Vietnam is considerably lower than in Australia and major citrus producing countries of the world such as Brazil and the USA It has been stated by MARD that “in general, citrus cultivation has not been significantly developed over the past few years, largely because of the serious damage
of pests and diseases, especially greening disease (officially known as huanglongbing) and therefore studies on their control methods, in combination with managing citrus plantations and using advanced and intensive technology is a vital necessity” (MARD 2004)
The objectives of this project are to conduct Training of Trainers (TOT) for Master Trainers in citrus IPM, for Master Trainers to conduct FFSs in their local region and
to assess the effectiveness of the FFS model in increasing farmer knowledge and optimising pesticide use in citriculture These objectives will contribute to the empowerment of citrus farmers by enhancing their ability to make better-informed decisions about pest and disease management through the adoption of IPM strategies
in citrus production in Viet Nam Once a network of citrus IPM Master Trainers is established and these trainers have gained essential practical experience in citrus IPM training by holding at least one season long FFSs in citrus, Viet Nam should have a significantly enhanced capacity to develop citrus IPM programs
Multiple outputs from IPM training have been demonstrated in other cropping systems These include: farmer empowerment through increased knowledge of the agro-ecosystem; the conservation of biodiversity and protection of the environment through reduced pesticide application as a result of improved knowledge of pests and diseases and more effective control measures; increased food security through enhanced production; and protection of the health of farming communities and consumers of fruit through reduced pesticide use in fruit production
The key methodologies adopted in this project are participatory based learning and action based research The objective of both techniques is to fully engage participants and allow them to direct the learning and research to best meet their needs
4 Progress to Date
Implementation Highlights
Successful implementation of the program for 2005 has resulted in 98 trainers being effectively trained and these trainers conducting FFS at 24 locations in 8 provinces in the Mekong Delta and 4 provinces in the Central Coast region of Viet Nam (Table 1) Two additional FFS were held in Tien Giang province using local government funding, and 2 more have been pledged for 2006 This is a very significant
Trang 5endorsement of the relevance and usefulness of the training and it is expected that as
awareness of the FFS program in citrus increases, more locally FFS will be held
Table 1 Location of FFS
MEKONG DELTA
CENTRAL COAST
* Funded by local government
FFS commenced in June and ran for 21 consecutive weeks using a schedule of
activities refined by the trainers during the master training program (see First 6-month
report) Key project scientists attended the opening of 16 FFS and during these visits a
farmer practice baseline study was conducted and teaching demonstration trials
implemented Major findings from the farmer practice baseline study were:
¾ there are marked differences in the agro-ecological systems and citrus growing
practices used in the Mekong Delta and the Central Coast region (including
Nghe An province)
¾ farmers need to acquire more skills in recognising pests and diseases and
connecting these pests and diseases to the phenology of citrus trees
¾ spray application is mainly based on the use of knapsack sprayers
¾ the current economic situation and the impractical nature of the pest and
disease control strategies developed as part of ACIAR project CS2/2000/043
(high volume mineral oil sprays) and of a CIRAD project (imidicloprid
painted onto trunks) resulted in a new strategy being adopted that combines
elements of both strategies and current farmer practice (1 application of
imidicloprid followed by 2 mineral oil sprays per flush)
Details of the farmer practice baseline study and findings are provided in Annex 1
In September the Australian Organisation agreed to financially support farmer study
tours in the Mekong Delta from sources other than the project budget, and a total of
$2494 was transferred to Viet Nam (Annex 2) Farmer study tours were conducted
from the 24-29th October with a total of 540 farmers from 18 FFS in 8 provinces in
the Mekong Delta visiting a FFS in another province Farmers from seven provinces
visited Lai Vung district in Dong Thap province and farmers from Lai Vung visited
Cai Bei district in Tien Giang province
Trang 6The second additional objective of conducting review workshops in Can Tho, My Tho and Vinh was achieved in November, with sponsorship from Bayer At these meetings the results of demonstration trials were reported by trainers, TOT and FFS training programs were evaluated, feedback provided and revisions to the TOT and FFS curriculum were agreed on (Annex 3)
Capacity Building
The institutional capacity of the PPD to facilitate farmer participatory training is high and this project is further enhancing that capacity by addressing capability gaps in relation to specific knowledge about citrus IPM During the first year of this project it has become clear that most of the necessary skills and expertise are available within Vietnamese Universities and research institutions, but limited funds within local institutions for travel result in poor access to this expertise This project has provided some funds to allow travel for Vietnamese personnel, but this is not sufficient and it is recommended that more funds be allocated for travel within Vietnam in future projects The Australian Institution provided additional travel funds for Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Cuc from Can Tho University to visit the Central Coast region of Vietnam as described in the first 6-monthly report
Forming linkages is also a critical component of capacity building and all efforts are being made to build linkages between this project and other related projects As part
of the farmer practice baseline study it was observed that phytophthora occurred in every region and province visited and it appears that it could be as serious a problem
as Huanglongbing However, farmers were generally unaware of the problem and only a small component of the training included in the TOT related to phytophthora in
2005 As another CARD project 052/04VIE “Management of phytophthora diseases
in Vietnamese horticulture” is currently underway, UWS staff visited Professor David Guest, the Australian project leader of the phytophthora project, to discuss the problem of phytophthora in citrus Professor Guest provided very useful information
on phytophthora and also lists of Vietnamese personnel involved in the phytophthora project (Annex 4) and these were forwarded to the project leader, Mr Ho Van Chien who facilitated linkages between the projects Mr Duong Minh from Can Tho University has now attended two of the three review meetings for this project held in December 2005, and he will participate in TOT in 2006
Training Programs
Training is a major component of this project and it has been conducted at two levels during 2005 A total of 98 experienced PPD personnel received training in citrus IPM and these trainers then facilitated a total of 24 FFSs in their local regions In addition
to the FFS funded by the project, Tien Giang province conducted an additional 2 FFS funded by the local government Details of the training programs are discussed in the
“Implementation Highlights” section of this report
Trang 7Publicity
A finding of the pre-intervention survey was that the best way to disseminate information to farmers through the media is by television as more than 90% of all
farmers have a television set in their own home Every province in Vietnam has a
local television station and as 70% of the population live in rural areas, the level of
content relating to agricultural matters is high Television reporters have been invited
to all major project events such as meetings and the opening and closing of FFS
Numerous television reports about the project were broadcast in 2005, and details of
reports broadcast on National TV (VTV), Can Tho TV (CVTV) and Vinh Long TV
(VLTV) are provided in table 2 In July and September Tien Giang TV also hosted 60
minute sessions on the program “Farmers’ Bridge” where farmers called the TV
station with questions about the use of new technologies in citrus orchards and scientists answered
Table 2 Details of television programs reporting on project activities
length (mins)
Broadcast date
TV channel
“IPM” a new technology on
fruits commodity production
Specialist topics of Horticulture
Technologies for good taking
care of Citrus orchards at the
end of rainy season (use of
organic-fertilizer with
Trichoderma and quick
drainage)
Specialist topics of Horticulture
Citrus IPM - Experiences to
manage Citrus orchards by
pruning during rainy season
Specialist topics of Horticulture
Citrus IPM as the new method
to take care and manage quality
production of “Hong mandarin”
orchards pre-post havest for
“Marketing-oriented” in Tet
holiday
Farmers’
Bridge
IPM-The technology methods
applied in practice to reduce
costs (low inputs) of Citrus
production in Mekong Delta
Farmers’
Bridge
Developing and using organic
fertilizer in sustainable
agriculture production
Farmers’
Bridge
Prevention and treatment water
flooding for Citrus orchards Horticultural Practices
Trang 8IPM - Enhancing effect of
productivity and improve
quality of citrus fruits by PSO
using
Farmers’
Bridge
IPM on Citrus program in Vinh
Long of PPD and WSU
Agriculture- Rural Report
Greening disease attacked on
King orange and need to have
IPM extension to prevent it
Agriculture- Rural Report
IPM - good control of root rot
diseases caused Fusarium
solani and stem root gummy
disease caused Phytophthora
spp
Growth technology report
IPM as a advance method for
Greening disease control on
King orange in Tra On
district-Vinh Long province
The abstract of a paper entitled “Resilience of the Vietnamese citrus industry: Vietnamese farmers learn to live with Huanglongbing” has been submitted to the 27th International Horticultural Congress to be held in Seoul, Korea from August 13-19,
2006 (see Annex 5)
Project Management
The Vietnamese Project Team Leader has demonstrated exceptional project management skills and great resourcefulness In addition to coordinating the training
of 98 trainers and successful completion of 24 FFS across 12 provinces in 2005, Mr
Ho Van Chien has initiated a range of activities outside the original scope of the project These include provision of hand lenses to all FFS, arrangement of study tours allowing farmers in the Mekong Delta to visit citrus farms in different provinces to their own, and the organisation of three review workshops in November 2006 Funding for all these activities has come from outside the project budget The Southern Fruit Research Institute has also contributed greatly to the training program providing 3 lecturers for the TOT program in 2005 This was not envisioned in the project document and as such their time is not included as part of the in kind contribution The expertise of SOFRI researchers has greatly strengthened the scope
of training provided to trainers The Australian Organisation has demonstrated great commitment to the project and has facilitated training activities in Vietnam by forwarding funds to the Vietnamese Institution before they have been received from the funding organisation The Australian Organisation has also provided additional funds outside the budget to allow study tours for FFS participants in the Mekong Delta However, provision of additional funds is not sustainable given the difficult economic situation that all Australian Universities are currently faced with Oleg Nicetic has contributed additional time to this project in Viet Nam when he travelled
to conduct research on a related SK Corporation funded project All travel costs were paid from the SK project
Trang 95 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
Environment
The focus of FFS is to increase the farmers understanding of the ecosystem and the impact of human influences on it This approach has the potential to reduce the
detrimental impacts of human activities on the environment Farmers in the Mekong Delta are reporting that IPM strategies they learned in FFS and have adopted on their own farms have made it possible for them to raise fish in the canals between the citrus trees This is clear evidence of improved ecosystem health
Gender and Social Issues
In the training of master trainers a total of 69 males and 29 females have been trained This proportion of males and females is reflective of the overall PPD trainer gender balance In the central coast region, the ratio of male to female farmers participating
in the FFS is similar to that of the trainers However, in the Mekong Delta region the proportion of females participating in FFS is lower This may be related to traditional roles of women in the delta being more oriented to animal husbandry
Representatives from VACVINA, the Women’s Union and the Farmers Union are always invited to project planning meetings and more input is being sought from them
in relation to project gender and social issues
6 Implementation Issues
Issues and Constraints
An important constraint of the project is limited local resources available to Vietnamese scientists, researchers and trainers to allow them to travel outside their local region in order to seek or provide expertise and exchange information While there are some inherent barriers to the exchange of information between regions, such
as use of different dialects of Vietnamese, these are relatively minor Major constraints are the very small local budgets for travel between institutions, and even for telephone calls within Viet Nam Travel by local bus and train is relatively cheap compared to air travel, but poor roads and frequent stopping make such travel time-consuming and physically taxing The provision of additional funds for Vietnamese project personnel to undertake air travel between regions would greatly facilitate the establishment of professional relationships which could then be maintained using communication by email
Exchange of information between farmers except on a very local scale is also limited Farmer study tours were funded from outside the project budget to facilitate exchange
of information between farmers from different provinces The study tours were greatly appreciated by farmers, and trainers attending the review meetings reported that farmers wanted more study tours Additional sources of funding are being investigated, but at this stage the likelihood of obtaining funding is not known
Trang 10Options
At the review meetings the option of increasing the number of FFS by 50% (from 24
to 36) from 2005 to 2006 rather than an increase of 100% (from 24 to 48) as planned,
in order to increase the resources available for each FFS, was suggested This was not considered a viable option, because of the extremely high demand for FFS Additional sources of funding to supplement project activities will continue to be sought
Feedback from the review workshops held in November consistently indicated the need to modify the training programs Participants requested more practical components to the TOT and for the FFS to run for longer to allow all phenological stages of citrus from flowering to harvest to be included in the program Key scientists involved in the delivery of TOT will be asked to restructure their teaching program to include a lecture session on the morning and a practical session in the field in the afternoon The agreed strategy to extend the FFS program from flowering to harvest was to retain 21 teaching sessions as in 2005, but for these sessions to be held less frequently and concentrated around the important phenological stages of the citrus trees and their pests and diseases
7 Conclusion
High levels of enthusiasm for this project, efficient planning, open communication between project personnel and sustained efforts have resulted in all components of the project logframe for 2005 being completed Additional objectives were also achieved using funding from outside the project budget Review meetings provided invaluable feedback from project participants and training programs will be modified in 2006 to improve their relevance and effectiveness
List of Annexes
Annex 1 Farmer practice baseline study
Annex 2 Costs and funds provided for farmer study tours in the Mekong Delta
Annex 3 Review workshop outcomes
Annex 4 Phytophthora project participants
Annex 5 Abstract of paper to be presented at the 27th International Horticultural Congress in Seoul, Korea