Results

"Coffee can bring better income to me and my family than any other crops!" These are the words of Mr. Duong Ngoc Khanh, one of the key farmers in Gia Lai. He has cultivated coffee for over twenty years and moved to Gia Lai in 2000 to buy a 2.5 ha farm and continued his coffee business, even though he was lacking proper cultivation techniques.

As a key farmer he has been trained on Participatory Agricultural Extension Methodology (PAEM) and participated in Training of Trainers programmes on technical coffee cultivation to become a trainer himself. "It´s like a dream come true," he says and continues, “Presently many non project farmers in my commune often come to my house at night time to ask me about technical aspects of cultivation; of course I share with them all I have learned in the project because I am glad that I can participate in it and also want to help other farmers to produce good quality coffee.” His goal is to join forces to highlight the Vietnamese coffee on the world market this creating better access for coffee farmers.

Challenge

Mr. Khanh used to be one of the many farmers in Vietnam who, despite many years of experience and sometimes even participation in several farmers' trainings, did not clearly understand how to apply proper cultivation techniques. Most of them did not record how much they invested in their farms during the year and were not in a position to judge if they were able to make any profit. What´s more, the farmers tend to over-fertilize their fields and make excessive use of pesticides incurring unnecessary costs as well as being detrimental to the environment and even leading to a decrease in yield.

Actions Taken

When the project started in 2007 Mr. Khanh and many of his colleagues signed up immediately. They were very eager to learn how to improve their agricultural practices and manage their farms professionally. They were trained in basic accounting for improved farm management, sustainable production practices (GAP), e.g. improved irrigation and fertilizer management, pruning and improved post harvest management with the objective of raising economic efficiency, reducing environmental threats and ensuring a better coffee quality. The project's main goal was to give the farmers access to internationally recognized certification such as Utz Certified. About 500 farmers have participated in the certification process so far.