Báo cáo khoa học: Commercial and High Quality Cultivars of Root and Tuber Crops for Processing Purpose in the Northern and Central Vietnam

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Commercial and High Quality Cultivars of Root and Tuber Crops for Processing Purpose in the Northern and Central Vietnam (Project No. 008/07VIE) Baseline Study (Milestone 2) Date: 22 July 2008 TABLE OF CONTENT Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………… 3 I. Background ……………………………………………………………………………….. 4 II. Survey objectives…………………………………………………………………………… 4 III. Survey Methodology ……………………………………………………………………… 4 IV. Research results ………………………………………………………………………….. 5 ATTACHMENT A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE …………………………………………. 21 2 AusAID CARD Project 008/07VIE Food Crops Research Institute, Vietnam and University of Sydney, Australia Baseline survey on the current production and consumption of sweet potato in Quangtri, Thanhhoa and Bacgiang provinces of Vietnam Collaborating organizations: - Food Crop Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Vietnam - University of Sydney, Australia Project leaders: - Vietnamese Project Leader: A/Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Tuat - Australian Project Leader: Prof. Les Copeland Haiduong, Vietnam, May 2008 Executive Summary A survey of current practices for sweet potato cultivation and use was conducted by local extension officers in Thanhoa, Bacgiang and Quangtri Provinces. The survey involved a questionnaire (designed by FCRI in conjunction with the USyd partners; Attachment A) and interviews in each of three communes in three districts in the three selected provinces, and addressed issues including: source of planting materials; cultivation methods; planting and harvest times; inputs; area planted, yield and dry matter content of tubers; use of sweet potato tubers, leaves and stems. A brief, initial review of the sweet potato literature was also conducted, which will be updated progressively during the project. The following were among the conclusions of the survey: • Farmers in the three provinces have been planting sweet potato for a long time and it has brought considerable economic return for farmers in all three investigated provinces. Sweet potato cultivation is been considered irreplaceable in the cropping systems. • Sweet potato is planted in as a spring crop in Quangtri, mainly as a winter crop in Thanhhoa and as a winter and spring crop in Bacgiang. • Farmers in all investigated localities needed new, high yielding varieties with good quality, and an accompanying advanced technical package on planting materials, cultivation, maintenance techniques, processing, and storage. The cultivation techniques in all investigated localities were based on the experience of farmers and were very backward. • Sweet potato processed products were still very simple and poor. The stems and leaves were mainly used for animal feed. Tubers were partly used for animal feed, for food and for other purposes. Nevertheless, the processing products such as starch, chips and wines had not been produced and considered important. • Sweet potato products had been commercialized, and mainly traded at home and local markets. However, the price was still low and not stable, while the production cost was still high. 3 I. Background The project "Development and Selection of Commercial and High Quality Cultivars of Root and Tuber Crops for Processing Purpose in the Northern and Central Vietnam" has as its objectives: 1. Choose a small number of sweet potato cultivars from those designated by FCRI as potentially suitable for cultivating in locations in northern and central Vietnam and conduct field trials in selected locations to evaluate these cultivars according to yield and dry matter content for value-adding purposes 2. Development and evaluation of processing methods for sweet potato, for example production of flour and starch for food processing and industrial applications, sweet potato chips, sweet potato wine 3. Develop methods that can be used by small-holder farmers for fermenting leaves and stems of sweet potatoes into a silage-type product for animal feeding 4. With the assistance of Australian experts, improve the science capacity of Vietnamese researchers and extension workers in modern techniques for plant improvement, storage and food processing technology, analysis of food quality 5. Improve of knowledge and skills of farmers for cultivation of sweet potato as part of a sustainable farming system 6. Establish model sites to display advanced cultivation techniques, and organize field day meetings to spread knowledge to farmers. To fulfill these objectives, the review on current production and consumption of sweet potato is an important first step, after which the design of the operational aspects of project will be fine tuned. The questionnaire used to obtain information from the farmers is in Appendix A. II. Survey objectives - To evaluate the current production of sweet potato in the three provinces selected: Quangtri, Thanhhoa and Bacgiang. - To examine the current cultivation techniques for intensive sweet potato production - To evaluate the status of consumption and processing of sweet potato III. Survey Methodology 3.1 Methods 3.1.1. The survey locations Three provinces selected were Quangtri, Thanhhoa and Bacgiang. Thanh Hoa, in Central VN, is the largest province in VN in size and population. It is mostly flat with large areas of poor sandy soils suitable for sweet potato cultivation. Bac Giang in North East VN, is located in a dry region with many sloping areas and much potential area for upland crops. The soils are poor and degraded. Quang Tri in central VN 550 km from Hanoi, is located at boundary between northern and southern VN in a different climatic region from other sites, but suitable for upland crops. The soils are heavier and marginal. 3.1.2 Methods for doing the survey Method for choosing sample: In each province, three districts were selected, and in each district, 3 communes were selected. In summary, 27 survey points (communes) were selected. In each survey points, farmers were randomly selected for getting information. Method for getting information: Interviewing method was used for getting information. Besides of that the Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) and questionnaire were also used for getting the information. The interviewed people were explained and trained before interviewed. The data were statically analyzed by using EXCEL program. 4 3.1.3 The data collection and analysis methods Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) was used for collecting data. The investigator used questionnaire to get information from the leader of communes and farmers through directly interviewing them. The data were then statically analysed. 3.2 Investigation contents 3.2.1. Investigation of the current situation of sweet potato production The data were collected as follows - Area (ha) - Yields (tonnes/ha) - Total production (tonnes) - Crop system formula of sweet potato - Varieties - The application of intensive cultivation techniques 3.2.2. The usage and consumption of sweet potato - For human food - For animal feed - Sale in market - Processing IV. Research results 4.1. The situation of sweet potato production in the survey area 4.1.1. Land resources and the current situation of land usage at communes in the three provinces The results of survey in Table 1 show that the average population per commune ranged from 2708-8126 people. Quangxuong district of Thanhhoa province had the lowest population per commune (2708.8). On the other hand Tinhgia district of Thanhhoa had the highest population per commune (8126), followed by Hiephoa district of Bacgiang (7690) and Hailang district of Quangtri (5049). The average cultivated land per commune was various with districts and provinces, and it ranged from 169.8-439.4 ha. Vietyen district of Bacgiang province had the largest average cultivated land area per commune (666.9 ha), and Vinhlinh district of Quangtri had the lowest land area per commune (169,8 ha). The average sweet potato area per commune ranged from 10-61.3 ha. Dongson district of Thanhhoa province had the lowest average sweet potato area per commune (10.0 ha). On the other hand, Tinhgia district of Thanhhoa had the highest average sweet potato area per commune (75 ha), followed by Tanyen district of Bacgiang province (61.3 ha), Quangxuong district of Thanhhoa (54.7 ha) and Giolinh district of Quangtri province (47.6 ha). Table 1: Population, main labor, the average cultivated land and sweet potato land area per commune in 9 districts of 3 provinces Province/ districts Parameters Quangtri GL VL HL Thanhhoa TG QX DS Bacgiang TY VY HH Population 3947.7 3367.0 5049.7 8126.3 2708.8 3611.7 4223.1 5638 7690 5 ... - tailieumienphi.vn