A technical officer of the Youth Volunteer Team 10 inspected the Japanese garlic variety before sowing the new crop in a previous season.
On April 14-16, 2022, ABJD joined the delegation of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to have a working session and field survey at the growing area of Japanese garlic for export in Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district.
Mrs. Vo Thi Nhung - Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development speaking at the meeting.
A. Project objective: Diversifying livelihoods for ethnic minorities and ensuring national security
Ky Son district is one of the poorest districts in the country, shares a long border with Laos, and is difficult to navigate. This place has Nam Can border gate.
Due to the mountainous terrain of the district, people lack space to develop livestock and farming. The application of science and technology is still limited, people mainly produce according to traditional methods, so the productivity is low.
Therefore, Ky Son district hopes that through this project of growing garlic for export to Japan, it can help local people learn modern farming knowledge and increase income thanks to the investment of Japanese companies. The garlic crop will be planted after the rice crop.
B. Project progress:
The pilot project of growing Japanese varieties of garlic has been carried out since 2017, and by this year, the Youth Volunteer Team 10 of Ky Son district will expand the pilot area to check the quality of commercial products. Cultivation will be carried out on rice fields to consider the possibility of commercial cultivation in the future. The district is preparing to welcome the Japan Farmers Cooperative Union to plant crops, expected in June 2022. The Japan Farmers Cooperative Union is urgently working with the Youth Volunteer Team 10 on a list of necessary equipment to prepare for farming on terraced fields.
Location to grow garlic
C. Role of JICA and ABJD
JICA is working with Vietnam Academy of Agriculture to implement a project to develop human resources for agriculture. Within the framework of this project, the Academy is trying to establish a strategic recruitment system and an effective education program to promote Vietnam's agriculture. This project aims to provide opportunities for those returning from Japan, so that they can apply what they have learned to Vietnam. ABJD will support JICA's agricultural projects in Vietnam.
D. Next opportunity: Ginger, persimmon, and kiwi
AMPF (Agricultural Forum) of Nghe An province expressed its wish to receive support from JICA so that local people can pilot planting more ginger, persimmon and kiwi.
Ginger:
Ky Son is a district with a large ginger production and accounts for a large proportion of the local agricultural output. However, the market is not stable and has not been officially exported. The planting area is about 800 hectares, the output of ginger reaches 5000 - 6000 tons/year. It is known that the Japanese market regularly consumes a very large amount of ginger. If there are Japanese businesses interested in Vietnamese ginger, Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development wishes to connect. Or if the Japanese market requires other ginger varieties, Nghe An proposes JICA experts to advise and deploy trial production in the district.
Persimmons and kiwis:
Ky Son district has a number of sub-regions with a cool climate all year round, similar to the climate of some localities in Japan where persimmon and kiwi trees are grown. Therefore, in addition to ginger, Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development hopes that the JICA mission will consider creating conditions for the locality to experiment with growing both persimmon and Japanese-like kiwi.
For more information on the field trip, please refer to the article on AMPF Nghe An website.