Agricultural officials, experts, farmers, and business executives onSeptember 30 discussed the state of the cocoa industry and theopportunities to develop it in Binh Phuoc and the south-eastern regionat a seminar held in the province.
Organised by the "Cooperationfor enhancing sustainable cocoa development" project (also known as PPPCocoa) in collaboration with the Binh Phuoc Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, it sought to help agriculture managers and policymakers come up with a more efficient production paradigm to deliverbenefits to farmers and the agricultural sector in the region.
LeThi Phi Van, a researcher at the Institute of Policy and Strategy forAgriculture and Rural Development, said a study done in Binh Phuoc inJuly underlined the great potential of the cocoa industry.
"Theclimatic conditions and soil and the very large area under cashew(around 140,000 ha) are ideal for developing an intensive cocoa-cashewfarming model there," she said.
Nguyen Van Hoa, Deputy Directorof the Department of Crop Production, said the cocoa-cashew model was,if enough water was available, a suitable intercropping solution forcashew growing areas, helping increase the productivity and quality ofboth crops.
There were many successful instances of this model inthe province which have delivered more efficiency for farmers andincreased the value of each unit of land, he said.
Le Xuan Phien,a farmer in Thong Nhat commune in the province's Bu Dang district, saidthat he planted 600 cocoa trees on one hectare of cashew and coffee,annually harvesting around one tonne of dry cocoa beans, two tonnes ofcashew, and 1.2 tonnes of coffee to earn more than 100 million VND(4,760 USD). "Since we intensively farm cocoa-cashew, my family's incomehas increased by 40-60 million VND (1,900-2,850 USD) a year."
NguyenVinh Thanh, director of the cocoa sector at Cargill Vietnam, said,"When planting 500 additional cocoa trees on one hectare of cashew andintensively farm both, farmers can double their income to around 80million VND (3,800 USD) per hectare at current prices."
In thedomestic market, fermented cocoa bean prices have been stable since thebeginning of the year at 55,000-59,000 VND (2.6-2.8 USD) per kilogram(excluding the premium), a significant increase from the 45,000 VND (2.1USD) prevailing at the end of last year.
When farmers apply proper farming practices and suitable fertilisers, cocoa trees offer high yields and profits.
BinhPhuoc has been implementing policies to enable farmers to grow cocoa ina sustainable manner, and targets increasing the area under intensivecocoa-cashew farming to 20-30 thousand hectares by 2020.
PhanVan Don, Deputy Director of the Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture andRural Development, said, "The model of intensive cocoa-cashew farmingin the province has brought about greater efficiencies and saving oflands compared to monoculture crops, contributing to a shift towardscrop diversification and the province's poverty reduction programme."
Withits potential and advantages, the province was expected to become oneof the major cocoa-growing regions in Vietnam, contributing greatly tosocio-economic development at the local and national levels, he said.
Thecocoa sector in the province also receives great support from theprivate sector. The PPP Cocoa project, for instance, aligns the publicefforts with those by Mars, Cargill, Grand Place Puratos, the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development, the Dutch Government, RabobankFoundation, and IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative.
PPPCocoa aims to achieve sustainable development in Vietnam by supportingthe development of quality seeds, technical transfer through trainingand creation of model fields, lending fertilisers, and making acommitment to buy cocoa.
The cocoa industry sees newopportunities thanks to the growing global demand, which is expected tocause a shortage of one million tonnes in 2020, according to experts.The demand is rising significantly in populous emerging countries likeChina, India, and Indonesia, which are also Vietnam's markets.
Vietnam has suitable climate and soil for the crop, and its cocoa products are considered among the world's best.-VNA
Organised by the "Cooperationfor enhancing sustainable cocoa development" project (also known as PPPCocoa) in collaboration with the Binh Phuoc Department of Agricultureand Rural Development, it sought to help agriculture managers and policymakers come up with a more efficient production paradigm to deliverbenefits to farmers and the agricultural sector in the region.
LeThi Phi Van, a researcher at the Institute of Policy and Strategy forAgriculture and Rural Development, said a study done in Binh Phuoc inJuly underlined the great potential of the cocoa industry.
"Theclimatic conditions and soil and the very large area under cashew(around 140,000 ha) are ideal for developing an intensive cocoa-cashewfarming model there," she said.
Nguyen Van Hoa, Deputy Directorof the Department of Crop Production, said the cocoa-cashew model was,if enough water was available, a suitable intercropping solution forcashew growing areas, helping increase the productivity and quality ofboth crops.
There were many successful instances of this model inthe province which have delivered more efficiency for farmers andincreased the value of each unit of land, he said.
Le Xuan Phien,a farmer in Thong Nhat commune in the province's Bu Dang district, saidthat he planted 600 cocoa trees on one hectare of cashew and coffee,annually harvesting around one tonne of dry cocoa beans, two tonnes ofcashew, and 1.2 tonnes of coffee to earn more than 100 million VND(4,760 USD). "Since we intensively farm cocoa-cashew, my family's incomehas increased by 40-60 million VND (1,900-2,850 USD) a year."
NguyenVinh Thanh, director of the cocoa sector at Cargill Vietnam, said,"When planting 500 additional cocoa trees on one hectare of cashew andintensively farm both, farmers can double their income to around 80million VND (3,800 USD) per hectare at current prices."
In thedomestic market, fermented cocoa bean prices have been stable since thebeginning of the year at 55,000-59,000 VND (2.6-2.8 USD) per kilogram(excluding the premium), a significant increase from the 45,000 VND (2.1USD) prevailing at the end of last year.
When farmers apply proper farming practices and suitable fertilisers, cocoa trees offer high yields and profits.
BinhPhuoc has been implementing policies to enable farmers to grow cocoa ina sustainable manner, and targets increasing the area under intensivecocoa-cashew farming to 20-30 thousand hectares by 2020.
PhanVan Don, Deputy Director of the Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture andRural Development, said, "The model of intensive cocoa-cashew farmingin the province has brought about greater efficiencies and saving oflands compared to monoculture crops, contributing to a shift towardscrop diversification and the province's poverty reduction programme."
Withits potential and advantages, the province was expected to become oneof the major cocoa-growing regions in Vietnam, contributing greatly tosocio-economic development at the local and national levels, he said.
Thecocoa sector in the province also receives great support from theprivate sector. The PPP Cocoa project, for instance, aligns the publicefforts with those by Mars, Cargill, Grand Place Puratos, the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development, the Dutch Government, RabobankFoundation, and IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative.
PPPCocoa aims to achieve sustainable development in Vietnam by supportingthe development of quality seeds, technical transfer through trainingand creation of model fields, lending fertilisers, and making acommitment to buy cocoa.
The cocoa industry sees newopportunities thanks to the growing global demand, which is expected tocause a shortage of one million tonnes in 2020, according to experts.The demand is rising significantly in populous emerging countries likeChina, India, and Indonesia, which are also Vietnam's markets.
Vietnam has suitable climate and soil for the crop, and its cocoa products are considered among the world's best.-VNA
