ACIARin Vietnam August Thaùng 8 2011

<aciar.gov.au>

News

Priorities for future co-operation in fisheries research (P.2)

World congress on conservation agriculture (P.4)

Vietnamese agriculturalists recognised by the Crawford Fund (P.6)

New projects in 2011(P.8)

Interview with a farmer on cattle production (P.12)

Project updates

Lobster culture experiment (P.14)

Preferences and promotion of indigenous vegetables in Lao Cai province (P.16)

First efforts for upland conservation in north-western Vietnam (P.20)

Market chain research aiming to add value for south central coastal farmers (P.22)

Rapid changes ahead for agriculture (P.26)

Vietnamese receive training in Australia on persimmon products (P.28)

Training corner

Program for young leader development (P.32)

My trip to Australia (P.34)

Tin töùc

Caùc öu tieân hôïp taùc nghieân cöùu thuyû saûn trong töông lai (Tr.3)

Hoäi nghò theá giôùi veà Baûo toàn noâng nghieäp (Tr.5)

Crawford Fund vinh danh caùc nhaø noâng nghieäp Vieät Nam (Tr.7)

Caùc döï aùn môùi trong naêm 2011 (Tr.9)

Phoûng vaán noâng daân chaên nuoâi boø (Tr.13)

Caäp nhaät töø döï aùn

Thí nghieäm nuoâi toâm huøm (Tr.15)

Nghieân cöùu sôû thích ngöôøi tieâu duøng vaø quaûng baù cho caùc loaïi rau baûn ñòa ôû tænh Laøo Cai (Tr.17)

Nhöõng noã löïc ban ñaàu nhaèm baûo toàn ñaát doác ôû Taây Baéc Vieät Nam (Tr.21)

Chuù troïng chuoãi thò tröôøng nhaèm taêng giaù trò noâng saûn vuøng duyeân haûi Nam Trung Boä (Tr.23)

Ngaønh noâng nghieäp - nhöõng thay ñoåi nhanh choùng phía tröôùc (Tr.27)

Chuyeán thaêm quan hoïc taäp kyõ thuaät saûn xuaát vaø thu hoaïch hoàng gioøn taïi Australia (Tr.29)

Tin ñaøo taïo

Chöông trình phaùt trieån daønh cho caùc laõnh ñaïo treû (Tr.33)

Chuyeán coâng taùc cuûa toâi tôùi nöôùc UÙc (Tr.35)

Training farmers on composting, one of the activities under AGB/2006/112 projectTaäp huaán noâng daân laøm phaân uû, moät trong nhöõng hoaït ñoäng cuûa döï aùn AGB/2006/112

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Priorities for future co-operation in fisheries research

On 2 March the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a Fisheries Consultation meeting to determine priorities for co-operation in the fisheries research between Vietnam and Australia. Aquaculture is an important sector in Vietnam and has been a significant part of ACIAR’s program. Total seafood production in Vietnam in 2010 was 5.1 Mt (7th in world) with aquaculture production 2.706 Mt (53%) up 5.29% from 2009. Main species are shrimp—400,000 t, (3rd in world) and Pangasius catfish (tra, marketed as basa in Australia—1.35 Mt (1st in world). There are more than 520 seafood industrial processing plants, 323 accredited by the EU.

The consultation was co-organised by MARD led by Vice-Minister Dr Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, with the participation of more than 20 representatives of research agencies and stakeholders. In attendance from ACIAR was Dr Chris Barlow, Research Program Manager for Fisheries, Dr Geoff Allan, ACIAR Aquaculture Consultant, and Dr Gamini Keerthisinghe, Regional Co-ordinator for Mekong countries and country office staff.

This consultation with Australia followed three days of meetings immediately prior by Vietnamese officials from different agencies to help identify priorities for R&D to assist aquaculture development. The consultation with ACIAR was specific to identify strengths and focus of Australian co-operation.

Key species groups for future development in Vietnam are marine shrimp (black tiger and white-leg shrimp), pangasius catfish, tilapia, molluscs (clams, oysters, abalone and babylon), marine species (barramundi, cobia, grouper, pompano). Other less important species include sea cucumber, eels, aquarium species. The potential for fisheries development in large reservoirs and the development of cost-effective recirculation systems are also priorities.

Fundamental priorities across species are breeding and genetics (including initiation of breeding programs for stock improvement), animal health and environmental management, nutrition and feeding, and post-harvest (including processing).

Priorities that match existing capacity in Australia were identified:

+ Development of tools for genetic-based breeding programs (macrobrachium, mud crab, swimmer crab, catfish, marine species and molluscs);

+ Improved hatchery practices (crabs, molluscs, grouper, sea cucumbers) and sterility (e.g. polyploidy for molluscs);

+ Improved diagnosis of aquatic animal diseases, better understanding of immunology and capacity building for epidemiology (shrimp, catfish, tilapia, molluscs, marine fish), initiation of research for vaccine development for bacterial diseases for catfish;

+ Improved understanding of nutritional requirements and development of cost-effective feeds and feeding strategies for growout (catfish, tilapia, marine fish), broodstock (shrimp, marine fish) and improved live feeds for larval molluscs and marine fish;

+ Development and management of fisheries in large reservoirs.

Opportunities for commercial linkages that might assist Vietnamese technology development were: lobster hatchery; abalone hatchery; shrimp breeding programs; oyster growout; recirculation; feed companies - e.g. for broodstock diets, lower-cost barramundi diets.

Training, capacity building and extension needs where ACIAR might be able to assist include: Recirculation technology; epidemiological studies; surveillance for

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Australia, host for the 5th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (WCCA) and 3rd Farming Systems Design (FSD) Conference, welcomes scientists and practitioners to Brisbane to discuss current and future developments of sustainable agriculture.

The co-location of WCCA and FSD provides a great opportunity to explore the application of conservation agriculture practices and principles in a systems context. The common objective is the design of more productive, economic, and sustainable farming systems to meet the challenges of expanding population, global change, and environmental degradation.

World congress on conservation agriculture

disease and environmental problems; immunological systems; diagnosis technologies (bacterial and viral); tools for genetic breeding programs; nutrition and feeding (feed ingredient evaluation—digestibility determination; broodstock diet development); genome bioinformatics. Masterclasses with Crawford Fund for aquatic animal health (including epidemiology) and nutrition are priorities.

To help summarise priorities, participants at the meeting were all asked where they would allocate research dollars from a finite budget of $100. Priorities (highest values) were for shrimp (breeding and genetics), catfish (nutrition and environmental management) and marine fish (breeding and genetics, nutrition). Across all topic areas, highest priorities were for breeding and genetics, nutrition and aquatic animal health.

Overall the key priorities are for:

+ Improved hatchery practices and breeding programs;

+ Cost-effective feeds and feeding strategies;

+ Improved understanding of aquatic animal health;

+ Profitable and environmentally responsible grow-out technologies.

An approach discussed for development of future fisheries projects will be to develop proposals with co-funding from the Vietnamese Government. This is a new way of developing projects where some research operating expenses will also be funded by the Government of Vietnam. We hope this approach will add further value to ACIAR funding for Vietnam and will assist partner organisations benefit more from Australian and International Technical expertise. Pipeline projects to be developed during the Australian Financial year 2011–2012 for commencement in the late 2012 are further oyster research with a focus on environmental health and diseases, and a second project in the Mekong Delta on adaptation to Climate Change in Rice-Shrimp farming systems.

<http://wcca2011.org/news/Issue6.html>

Foundation Sponsors: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and Grains Research and Development Corporation.

Conference program options and tours will cater for different interest groups, and take advantage of Brisbane’s proximity to intensive, extensive and sub-tropical farming, as well as to world leading research groups and facilities.

We look forward to meeting you in Australia!

26–29 September 2011, Brisbane, Australia

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Seven leading Vietnamese agriculturalists have received medals from the Crawford Fund in March this year in recognition of their significant

contribution to capacity development in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

The seven awardees are: Professor Le Viet Ly, former Vice Director of the National Institute for Animal Sciences; Professor Ha Minh Trung, Vice-President of the Vietnam Gardening Association, former Director of the Plant Protection Research Institute; Professor Cu Xuan Dan, former Rector of Hanoi Agriculture University; Professor Le Dinh Kha, former Director of the Research Centre for Forest Tree Improvement, the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam; Madame Dao Thi Minh Chau, Head of Department for Ethnics and Religions, The Vietnam Women’s Union; Dr Le Thanh Luu, Director of Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1; and Dr Nguyen Van Bo, President of Vietnam Academy for Agricultural Sciences.

Working in different areas, all of them are long-term and key contributors to the agricultural sector of Vietnam. The awards acknowledged not only their role in development of agricultural research and capacity building, but also marked the long-term cooperation between Australia and Vietnam in the cause of sustainable development of agriculture.

The awards were presented by H.E. Mr Allaster Cox, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam. Witnessing the ceremony were nine Australian agriculturalists from the Crawford Fund, many of whom have worked in Vietnam, representatives of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Australian Embassy, and representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, leaders of the related Vietnamese organisations and family members of the seven awardees.

Congratulations to the seven awardees! We hope to see more Vietnamese agriculturalists awarded in the future!

Vietnamese agriculturalists recognised by the Crawford Fund

(L-R) Prof Burgess (Crawford Fund’s member) and the seven awardees: Dr Bo, Prof Ly, Prof Kha, Prof Trung, Mme Chau, Prof Dan, and Dr Luu(Traùi-phaûi) GS Burgess (thaønh vieân cuûa Crawford Fund) vaø 7 ngöôøi nhaän giaûi thöôûng: TS Nguyeãn Vaên Boä, GS Leâ Vieát Ly, GS Leâ Ñình Khaû, GS Haø Minh Trung, Baø Ñaøo Thò Minh Chaâu, GS Cuø Xuaân Daàn vaø TS Leâ Thanh Löïu

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ACIAR is launching five new projects in Vietnam in 2011, mostly four-

year projects (2011–2015) with a total budget of about A$9.0 million. The largest is the Mekong Delta Rice and Climate Change project which is led by the International Rice Research Institute—IRRI, accounting for about A$4 million. The four other projects have fundings of A$1–1.6 million each.

ProjeCTs CommeNCed iN The FirsT halF oF 2011

smCN/2009/021 ‘Climate change affecting land use in the mekong delta: adaptation of rice-based cropping systems’ (ClUes) Partners: IRRI (International leading agency), Can Tho University (Vietnamese leading agency), Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Vietnam, Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, and Southern Institute for Water Resource Planning, Yanko Agricultural Institute, NSW; and Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation—CSIRO.

The project is designed to increase the adaptive capacity of rice production systems in the Mekong Delta Region (MDR), and its overarching objective is to provide farmers and management agencies with technologies and knowledge that will improve food security in the Mekong Delta. This will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) improve salinity and submergence resilience of locally adapted rice varieties and elite lines; 2) build capacity for quantification of soil nutrient cycling (including the emissions of greenhouse gases) from rice fields; 3) develop integrated soil, crop, nutrient and water management options; 4) identify biophysical, social and economic factors determining the capacity of farmers to adapt to climate change; and 5) undertake in-depth analysis for land-use planning in coastal areas.Project sites: An Giang, Can Tho and Bac Lieu provinces

< aciar.gov.au/project/SMCN/2009/021>

New projects in 2011

BAC LIEU

AN GIANG

DAK LAK

BINH

DINH

CAN THO

SON LA

YEN BAI

DIEN BIEN

HA NOI

SMCN/2009/021

AGB/2009/053

FST/2010/034

LPS/2008/049

aGB/2009/053 ‘improved market engagement for counter-seasonal vegetable producers in north-western Vietnam’Partners: Australian Applied Horticultural Research (Australian leading agency), Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute —NOMAFSI (Vietnamese leading agency), Hanoi University of Agriculture —HUA, Centre for Agrarian Systems Research and Development—CASRAD, Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute—FAVRI, and French Centre for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development —CIRAD.

FST/2008/039

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The project seeks to analyse consumer demand and alternative marketing channels to develop smallholder-based vegetable systems. The suitability of production environments in Son La will also optimise vegetable quality and yield. In this way, the project will strengthen the linkages, awareness and capacities of public and private stakeholders. The achievement of these objectives aims to create an effective and sustainable link between vegetable suppliers in northern Vietnam and modern retailers. The project forecasts that should the sector be successfully developed, regions in Son La could supply 50% of total consumption during the six-month supply window. This will also achieve gains in consumer welfare, income generation and poverty alleviation for smallholder farmers in the province. Project sites: several sites in Son La province

< aciar.gov.au/project/AGB/2009/053>

lPs/2008/049 ‘overcoming technical and market con-straints to the emergence of profitable beef enterprises in the north-western highlands of Vietnam’Partners: University of Tasmania (Australian leading agency), National Institute of Animal Sciences (Vietnamese leading agency), Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, CASRAD, Field Crops Research Institute —FCRI, and CIRAD.

The overall aim of the project is to develop, evaluate and implement new technical and market strategies to improve smallholder incomes from beef cattle in the north-western highlands of Vietnam. This will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing beef value chains and the profitability and sustainability of the value chain for smallholder cattle producers; 2) Quantify the biophysical and socio-economic characteristics of the smallholder farming systems involving cattle production; and 3) Develop and test viable management strategies for capitalising on market opportunities and minimising the impact of the cold dry season and other important cattle production constraints.

Project sites: Dien Bien and Son La provinces

< aciar.gov.au/project/LPS/2008/049>

ProjeCTs dUe To CommeNCe iN The seCoNd halF oF 2011

FsT/2008/039 ‘enhancement of veneer products from acacia and eucalypt plantations in Vietnam and australia’Partners: Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation —DEEDI of Queensland (Australian leading agency), The University of Melbourne,

Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (Vietnamese leading agency), Vietnam Forestry University, The Prosperity Initiative, and GTZ Forestry Programme.

The project aims to promote higher value utilisation of Vietnam’s eucalypt and acacia plantations by optimising veneer production from this resource. This will be achieved through the following objectives: 1) analyse existing resource, supply chain and wood processing methodologies, and to support a market focusing on both veneer and veneer-based products; 2) investigate and optimise current processes: development of optimal processing methods according to quality and sizes of plantation logs of Acacia and Eucalyptus; 3) test and develop new processing methods and products from veneer: new techniques will be tested in order to increase the recovery and the quality as well as to improve product added value produced from Acacia and Eucalyptus; 4) monitor and analyse economic impact of improvements and innovations introduced to small-medium enterprises (SMEs) during the project, and to investigate new value creation; and 5) implement education and training related to veneer production and use in manufacturing. Project sites: Hanoi, Dak Lak and Binh Dinh provinces

< aciar.gov.au/project/FST/2008/039>

FsT/2010/034 ‘agroforestry for livelihoods of smallholder farmers in north-western Vietnam’Partners: The project will be led by ICRAF (The World Agro-Forestry Centre) in partnership with the North-West Centre for Forestry Sciences and Production (NWCFSP, a regional station of the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam), North-West University (NWU), North-West Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI), National Institute for Animal Sciences (NIAS), and provincial offices of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

The overall aim is to improve the performance of smallholder farming systems in north-western Vietnam through agroforestry. The project seeks to increase the productivity of associated crop and livestock systems, leading to more diverse and sustainable production systems and better income from tree products. The specific objectives and activities are: 1) develop best-practice agroforestry systems for three agro-ecological zones; 2) improve the availability of high-quality germplasm to enable the expansion of agroforestry systems; 3) enhance market access for, and opportunities for adding value to, agroforestry products; and 4) improve extension methods and policy dialogues for successful dissemination of agroforestry systems.

Project sites: Son La, Dien Bien and Yen Bai provinces

< aciar.gov.au/project/FST/2010/034>

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interview with a farmer on cattle production

Could you please tell us about the cattle production of your family?

Apart from rice and banana as our main crops, we have been raising cattle for more than 10 years. At the beginning we kept local cattle, mostly for bull fattening. Two years ago we shifted into breeding cattle. Now we have a mother cow, a reserved breeding bull and two calves. Before I had to take cattle for grazing two times every day. Now with grasses available around the house it is not too hard to have enough feed for them, I have more time for other crops and for house work.

how are you involved in the grass trials of this project?

I have had about 500 m2 of local King Grass around my house for two years. Last year they came and explained about new grass varieties, how good they were for my cattle and benefits of joining the trials so I decided to try. There are six different varieties in a trial. The practices such as fertilizing and watering I should follow instructions from the project staff. At the same time, I also observe and select the fastest grown grasses and the most preferable grasses for my cattle, which I have multiplied on my land. After about a year of the experiment, I like three varieties: VA06, TD58 and Mulato. These varieties grow very fast and my cattle like them, so I am going to plant more of these grasses to replace my existing one.

are there any of your neighbours interested in these grasses?

Yes! They sometimes come to have a look, asking about this and that variety. Some also want to involve in the trial to have forage for their cattle. Some are interested in a drought tolerant variety to plant in their upland farm, because it may survive in the rain-fed area through the hot season.

Will you have more cattle in the future? is there any challenge for selling your calves?

Now I feel satisfied about grasses, having one or two more heads of cattle is not too hard for us, so my husband and I are thinking to have one more mother cow. As we have already one mother cow and one reserved Laisin breeding bull, we can select a potential mother cow in the future.

In the past, when I sold beef cattle, I felt under big pressure from traders on selling price. Now I mainly sell breeding calves, which is much easier in terms of marketing. When I want to sell, I just need to call a trader nearby, although I also check around, mostly I can decide on the price. I get about 10 million dong/ cattle /year. If I don’t have any special events to pay for, I will convert it into gold and save it for my children.

Thank you and wish you have a good mother cow soon!

The cattle farmers in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Ninh Thuan provinces see clear benefits from the new grass varieties after a year participating in the ‘best bet’ forage trails under the SMCN/2007/109

project. Grasses from home gardens provide better nutrient forages for cattle, at the same time, save at least 3 - 4 hours of labour time per day from grazing, cutting and carrying from the wild. With direct involvement in taking care of the trials, farmers can observe, experience and select by themselves the best suited grass for their cattle. Below are ideas of Mrs Truong Thi Ly - one of the cattle farmers in Phu Thanh village, An Chan commune, Tuy An district, Phu Yen province.

Photo: Mrs Truong Thi Ly and her little son

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PROJECT UPDATES

lobster culture experiment(Project: SMAR/2008/021)

sea-CaGe loBsTer CUlTUre(By the project team from Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography)

Replacement of trash fish used as feed for tropical spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus) culture is one of the main approaches to sustain the lobster culture industry in Vietnam. An experiment at commercial scale was conducted at Bay lagoon, Nha Trang bay to compare the efficacy of manufactured feed and traditional trash fish on production of tropical spiny lobster in terms of growth, survival and environmental impact. Nine hundred and sixty lobster seeds were reared in a period of three months starting from June 2010 before the commencement of the experiment. Four cultured sites named A, B, C and D were chosen based on the environmental characteristics to set up the floating cage. Juvenile lobsters were stocked at the density of 5 inds./m2 into 4 cages (3.5 mW x 3.5 mL x 5 mD) at each site. Lobster’s at site A and B were fed by manufactured pellet feed (Lucky Star lobster feed, Taiwan Hung Kuo Industrial Co., Ltd. Taiwan) and trash fish was used as food for lobsters at site C and D, starting from September, 2010. The primary results show that survival was not significantly different between the lobsters fed by trash fish and by pellet feed, however, the trash-fish-fed

lobster obtained higher growth after 6 months. In addition, food conversation ratio (FCR) of the lobster was much lower for manufactured pellet compared to trash fish. Most of the monitored environmental parameters showed seasonal variability, except for organic materials including organic carbon and nitrogen compounds which were higher in the sediment in the cages where lobsters were fed trash fish compared to the cage fed pellet feed cages.

Mortality of the lobsters during the culture period could be related to low salinity; unusual low temperature in early 2011 and lobster ‘milky disease’ during the culture period. Detailed comparisons of the efficacy of using pellet feed and trash fish as food for lobster will be performed when the experiment is completed at the end of this year with the expectation that using manufactured pellet’s would benefit the lobster aquaculture industry through enhancing the lobster survival, reducing the production cost and minimizing the impacts on the environment.

laNd-Based loBsTer CUlTUreTwo experiments with Panulirus ornatus juveniles were carried out.

Table 1: Lobster growth parameters

Location Site A Site B Site C Site D

Treatment Pellet feed, degraded area

Pellet feed, pristine area

Trash fish feed,pristine area

Trash fish feed, degraded area

Initial weight (g) 47g/individual

95-day weight (g) 151.2±23.6 132.5 ± 26.0 175.5 ± 32.2 169.5 ± 30.8

189-day weight (g) 277.5 ± 4.6 261.0 ± 12.3 317.5 ± 7.2 322.7 ± 24.8

SGR (g) 1.29 ± 0.02 1.15 ± 0.02 1.46 ± 0.03 1.39 ± 0.09

Survival (%) 69.4 ± 4.05 69.8 ± 1.64 72.4 ± 7.35 60.3 ± 6.17

Organic carbon (mg/g) 7.1 7.1 13.6 14.5

Organic nitrogen (mg/g) 0.5 0.5 0.8 1.0

By Le Lan Huong, Huynh Minh Sang and Le Anh Tuan Photo: Lobster growth monitoringTheo doõi taêng tröôûng cuûa toâm huøm

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PROJECT UPDATES

experiment 1

A 12-week experiment was carried out to examine the effect of shelter and stocking density on the growth and survival of tropical spiny lobster. The seed (23 ± 2.9 g) were stocked at two densities of 3 and 6 individuals per square meter with or without shelters into cages (2 mW x 2 mL x 1 mD) placed in a 6000 m2 lined pond (1.5 mD). Each treatment had five replicates. All experimental lobsters were fed with Lucky Star pelleted feeds (from Taiwan Hung Kuo Industrial Co., Ltd.).

There was no significant differences in weight gain, specific growth rate and survival between the lobsters in cages with and without shelter provision. Stocking density of 3 inds./m2 showed an improved FCR and survival comparing to the stocking density of 6 inds./m2. In addition, at the same stocking density, the ‘without shelter’ treatment resulted in lower FCR, especially in the case of higher stocking density. This could be due to the presence of barnacles in the cages with shelter provision that affected the cultured lobster.

experiment 2

The lobster juveniles were stocked in an area of 100 m2 inside a 500 m2 shrimp pond. There were two diet treatments including fresh diet and the Lucky Star pelleted diet. Each diet treatment was applied into one pond (two

ponds and 516 lobster juveniles). The lobster initial weight was about 16.0 g/ind. The planned culture period could have been two years, but due to a heavy flood in the wet season, we had to harvest the lobsters at the end of the 12th week.

During the period of the experiment, heavy rains in the rainy season (lasting from October - December) caused a fresh water reservoir to collapse resulting in flooding and reducing the salinity (<20 ppt) at the experimental site. Moreover, temperature was recorded to be low during this period. These factors resulted in a 50% loss of the stock.

Preferences and promotion of indigenous vegetables in lao Cai provinceProject: AGB/2006/112)

Marketing is one of the key themes of the indigenous vegetables project (AGB/2006/112). Our stakeholder workshop in August 2010 identified the following research priorities: 1) understanding consumer preferences; 2) building local and regional markets and 3) developing group marketing approaches. These areas will be the focus of the marketing team’s research activities for the remainder of the project.

In the past six months, the marketing team has focused on building a public profile for indigenous vegetables

by evaluating consumer preferences and commencing a promotional strategy to increase interest in the vegetables. To finish off a busy year and end on a high note, two successive events were held in Lao Cai province in December 2010: a consumer tasting day and a restaurant cooking challenge.

CoNsUmer TasTiNG day

To kick off a busy week the tasting day was held near Nguyen Du Market in Lao Cai city on 28 December. The

For further information, please contact:Clive Jones, DEEDI Queensland, Australia

Email: Clive.jones@deedi.qld.gov.auOr Le Lan Huong, IO, Vietnam

Email: lelanhuongio@gmail.com

By Rebecca McBride, Australian Youth Ambassador for Development

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PROJECT UPDATES

aim of the event was to determine consumer’s preference for different samples of Cai Meo, while also promoting the vegetable to local consumers. One of the unique and favoured characteristics of Cai Meo is its bitterness and peppery flavour, however within the market there is little understanding as to the preference of this flavour profile for different groups of consumers. The team hoped to discover if consumers preferred a strong flavour, a more subtle flavour or if it varied depending on the use it is intended for. The team has held this kind of event before and was keen to apply new techniques learnt from the experience.

To test the taste profile, a local restaurant provided three chefs who prepared the Cai Meo samples in a very professional manner ensuring integrity in the test. The project team members were kept busy attracting consumers and facilitating the tasting. Consumers were asked to judge the taste of three samples of stir-fried Cai Meo and the appearance of three uncooked samples. As a small token of our appreciation the consumers were given Cai Meo and beef rolls after completing the survey, which were very popular and demonstrated the strong consumer preference for Cai Meo. The event was well attended with over 100 consumers participating in the surveys.

As anticipated the results indicated that the flavour profile of Cai Meo changes with plant age, with consumers able to clearly discern these differences. The younger samples (15/100 and 23/100) were found to be less bitter than older samples (52/100, P<0.001). However it seemed to be a matter of personal preference as to which sample was favoured as all samples were relatively equal in the best flavour scores. The results were different for the fresh samples though, indicating a clear preference for the colour and appearance of the older Cai Meo. The results show that there is potential for two market orientations - the more mild young Cai Meo for use as a fresh vegetable and the older Cai Meo with stronger flavours for cooked dishes.

resTaUraNT CookiNG ChalleNGe

After a successful tasting day the team couldn’t relax for long, as we needed to get ready for our second event to

be held two days later. This event was something new for the group as we were holding a cooking challenge. The task given to the local restaurants was to use Bap Cai Xoe, Cai Meo and Khoi Tu to prepare innovative and unique dishes. These dishes were tasted by invited guests and members of the public, who then voted for their favourites in a number of categories.

Six local restaurants (Quang Minh, Sapa Views, Viet Discovery, Asimo, Hoa Sua and North Star Hotel) took on this challenge and came up with many different delicious

dishes that looked spectacular. The winning restaurants were Viet Discovery with four prizes and Asimo, North Star Hotel and Hoa Sua with one prize each. Viet Discovery won prizes for best dish description, best display and the best dishes for Bap Cai Xoe and Khoi Tu. Asimo won the prize for the best Cai Meo dish, while North Star won the prize for best presentation. Hoa Sua created very different dishes with more of an international taste and received the prize for most creative dish. Quang Minh and Sapa Views also created some great food and were congratulated for their efforts. The event also attracted local media and gave us a great opportunity to increase the exposure of competition. A big thank you to all the restaurants and consumers, who took part in the event and made it a fun and successful day.

The whole project team put in a lot of work and after two very successful events it was definitely worth it. Thank you to all involved.

Since these events the team has been utilising the recipes from the cooking challenge to develop promotional materials including recipe cards. We enlisted the help of a professional photographer to provide some good photos to use in both the recipe cards and other future promotional materials. We also hope to submit recipes to the ACIAR cookbook to represent our project and Vietnam. The team is also busy developing the materials for the Farmer Business School modules. Modules are being developed for all aspects of a farmers business including new production techniques and better planning and budgeting skills.

For further information, please contact:Suzie Newman, NSW DPI, Australia

Email: suzie.newman@industry.nsw.gov.auOr Phan Thuy Hien, VAAS, Vietnam

Email: phanthuyhien@yahoo.com

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PROJECT UPDATES

First efforts for the upland conservation in the north-western Vietnam(Project: AGB/2008/002)

The first round of the project’s field trials was conducted in 2010 by NOMAFSI in collaboration with Tay Bac University and local extension service

staff. Teams of field researchers and farmers implemented a total of 19 experiments in the maize based cropping system: six in Lai Chau province, nine in Son La province and four at NOMAFSI North West Research Centre.

The overall objectives of these trials were to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of mini terraces and mulch in land erosion prevention and the influence they have on maize growth and yield and; 2) evaluate the suitability of a range of legume crops for intercropping with maize.

All the experiments were conducted on-farm in a participatory manner with the farmers’ involvement in their planning, establishment, maintenance and evaluation. However, the implementation of the experiments cannot be considered fully participatory as farmers did not have influence in agronomical decisions relating to sowing time or fertilizer use, and they were not adequately involved in data collection and assessment. Nevertheless, participatory evaluation sessions of the trials conducted after the harvest provided opportunities for farmers to have a significant contribution in interpretation and analysis of the experimental results, and also in planning of the 2011 experiments.

The most important findings of the experiments conducted in 2010 are:

+ The use of mulch increased maize yield in both cases, on mini-terraces or without mini-terraces, and this can be mainly attributed to the higher moisture of mulched soil. The average increase in yield over the seven experiments was 0.7 t/ha when mulch was used without mini-terraces and 0.9 t/ha when mulch was used on mini-terraces.

+ The legumes (including black bean, rice bean, soy bean and peanut) intercropped with maize although due to the

pest and disease problems did not have significant yield themselves, had a positive impact on maize growth and yield. The average increase of yield of maize over the six experiments was 0.8 t/ha.

Based on the results from the 2010 experiments, the project team in consultation with farmers developed the research agenda for 2011. Aiming at better and more persuasive results, they reduced the number of experiments while increasing the area and scale of each experiment. Also, more rigorous scientific designs of experiments and more precise measurements of soil erosion have been adopted.

Project staff have been trained to facilitate farmer engagement, and they will put much more effort to

improve farmer participation in the future.

This year, in total, nine experiments have been set up, including two at NOMAFSI North West Research Centre, two in Tam Duong district of Lai Chau province, and two

in Mai Son and three in Moc Chau districts of Son La province. In all these experiments

mulch (either plant residues or live mulch-intercrops) is used as the main land conservation measure. In addition to mulch, in two experiments with land erosion measurement stations, mini-terraces and no-tillage are also being trialed.

At the present all the experiments have been well established. With lessons learnt from the 2010 experiments and with great efforts of the project’s team we can expect not only good scientific results but also more active participation of farmers and local cadres. This will have a great contribution to the project’s planned rollout in 2012 –2013.

For further information, please contact:Elske van de Fliert, UQ, Australia

Email: e.vandefliert@uq.edu.auOr Le Quoc Doanh, NOMAFSI, Vietnam

Email: doanhlq@yahoo.com

By Pham Thi Sen

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ACIAR’s support for agriculture in the south central coast region of Vietnam is about enabling collaborative research and development between Vietnamese and Australian scientists to develop more profitable and sustainable farming systems for small landholders farming on sandy soils.

This four-year multidisciplinary project (SMCN/2007/109) officially commenced in January 2010 and is entitled ‘Sustainable and profitable crop and livestock systems for south central coastal Vietnam’. This farming systems project has three main discipline areas (components) which are: 1) Value chain analysis for sustainable and profitable farming systems on the south central coast; 2) Sustainable cropping systems for sandy soils; and 3) Better integration of beef cattle production with crop production. The overall project is coordinated jointly by the Agricultural Science Institute for Southern Central Coast of Vietnam (ASISOV) in Vietnam and the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA).

A recently completed New South Wales DPI/ASISOV led project (SMCN/2003/035) aimed to improve water

management for perennial crops in the south central coast. Much of the field work for this project was on cashews and a significant profit improvement was demonstrated by combining well timed irrigation with good fertiliser management. Project collaborators agree that there is still much work to be done to understand the capacity for sustainable irrigation development on sandy soils in the south central coast.

This article provides an outline of the value chain component of the project. For this market driven component, staff from five Vietnamese institutes, DARDs and DAFWA are collaborating (Table 1).

The aim of this component is to help south central coast farmers gain an understanding of the whole supply chain and market opportunities for a range of potentially profitable enterprises suited to farms with sandy soils. Good market and product knowledge is critical in the path to raising profitability and sustainability for farmers.

Knowledge and tools are also needed to help farmers with important questions such as how a new enterprise or

Table 1. Key value chain component activities to date

Component activity Leading partner institute Key people

Cashew value chain Sub-Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Postharvest Technology (SIAEP)

Nguyen Duy Duc San Tram Anh

Cassava and Beef cattle

Institute of Agricultural Sciences for Southern Vietnam (IAS)

Ho Cao VietHuynh Tran Quoc (retired May 2011)

Sesame Agricultural Science Institute for Southern Central Coast of Vietnam (ASISOV) Nguyen Thanh Phuong

Peanuts and other grain legumes Nong Lam University (NLU) Phan Thi Giac Tam

Mango Southern Horticultural Research Institute (SOFRI) Luong Ngoc Trung Lap

Assisting role and farm economic modelling

Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) and Nong Lam University

Allan McKay Peter Gartrell Phan Thi Giac Tam

Assisting and technical advice Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)

DARD staff from Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Ninh Thuan provinces

By Allan McKay and the value chain team

market chain research aiming to add value for the south central coastal farmers(Project: SMCN/2007/109)

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PROJECT UPDATES

management approach can be applied to an individual farm in terms of risk management, access to and use of capital, labour and land and water resources. There is a synergy with the other project components in providing a market focus to crop and cattle research activities while receiving feedback about possible productivity improvements from application of improved farming practices such as good crop nutrition and growing new fodder species for cattle feed.

The market analysis work has focussed on conducting and reporting value chain analyses for key agricultural products within the focus provinces of Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh. In order to consolidate and standardise the methodology used for the project value chain analyses, a value chain training workshop was held for component 1 staff and key DARD staff in Ho Chi Minh City in August 2010.

In mid 2010, following requests from DARD and ASISOV management, a value chain analysis of sesame was added to the project. Sesame is a high value product with strong market demand and can potentially complement grain legume cropping on sandy soils in Vietnam. A second part of the component will consider other enterprises that may fit well into farming systems on sandy soils. Initial survey work has identified a large number of cropping enterprises with good market opportunities for south central coast farmers.

Value chain analyses have been completed for cashew, cassava, beef cattle, peanut and mango and reports have been circulated seeking feedback from DARD’s and presented to project partners at a project Annual Review meeting in February 2011.

Further work is still required to develop detailed value chain improvement strategies based on the findings of the value chain analyses and discussions with DARD and project staff. Comparisons are also being made of existing cattle and mango value chains in other regions of Vietnam to identify how competitive advantages might be realised by South Central Coast farmers. This is a precursor to developing wider partnerships to see some positive changes implemented during the second half of the project.

A speadsheet-based farm economic model is being developed to allow the simple economic comparison of farm enterprises and farming systems economic performance. Data collected in a detailed farm economic survey of a small number of smallholders in the three focus provinces has been used to frame the model. The beta-version of the model is expected to be completed soon. This is intended as a simple tool for reviewing potential financial and labour utilisation outcomes from value chain improvements and changes to on-farm cropping/livestock activities.

One thing that project researchers have learned is that the possibilities for improving market outcomes for farmers in the South Central Coast are as numerous as the farming systems found in the region, and these are tremendously diverse!

For further information, please contact:Allan McKay, DAFWA, Australia

Email: allan.mckay@agric.wa.gov.auOr Nguyen Duy Duc, SIAEP, Vietnam

Email: ducnguyenduy2003@yahoo.comMango farmer in Binh Dinh provinceNoâng daân troàng xoaøi ôû Bình Ñònh

Interviewing farmer in Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh provincePhoûng vaán noâng hoä ôû huyeän Phuø Caùt, tænh Bình Ñònh

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As a result of trade liberalisation and numerous domestic reforms, Vietnam has undergone significant structural changes in its economy in the past two decades and has achieved remarkable economic growth. While this growth is very beneficial, a consequence is that the agriculture sector, which currently employs 67% of the population and is responsible for 23% of national output, now faces strong competition for its land and labour resources. For example, one concern is the loss of prime agricultural land to industrialization. Another is a shortage of labour. The agricultural sector also faces strong pressures for change on the marketing side. Strong growth in incomes has fuelled increased demand for meat and this has resulted in a rapid rise in livestock production.

The recent global price spikes in 2008 and again in 2011 have raised concerns about domestic food prices, food security and related agricultural policy. As a member of ASEAN, Vietnam is party to several free trade agreements, for example with China, and the effects of regional integration are likely to have a stronger influence on other parts of the Vietnamese economy, fuelling stronger growth in non-agriculture sectors and creating additional structural adjustment pressure in agriculture.

The ACIAR funded project ‘Structural adjustment implications of trade liberalisation in Vietnam’ is designed to develop capacity in the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development (IPSARD), under the Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development, to undertake quantitative analysis of structural adjustment issues and to provide policy advice on these issues. The methodology involves developing a medium term projection model. So far a baseline dataset that represents the farming systems in agro-ecological regions has been developed. The baseline depicts the characteristics of small scale, semi-intensive and intensive livestock production. A supply side model was developed from budget data using positive mathematical programming. Demand response to price changes for food and drink were estimated using an Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) framework. The analysis is based on expenditure data from the Vietnamese Living Standards Surveys of 2002, 2004 and 2006. This approach

rapid changes ahead for agriculture (Project: AGB/2005/113)

provides a means of identifying vulnerable groups and industries and of assessing domestic policy options to help adjustment.

The medium term projection model is supplemented by a global trade model which can be used to assess the impact of Vietnam’s free trade agreements on domestic resource prices and agricultural trade opportunities. As a member of ASEAN, Vietnam’s free trade agreement with China is a concern to many as Vietnam is obliged to reduce its tariffs on imports from China. Tariffs on agricultural imports from China are currently around 40% and these need to be reduced considerably, although Vietnam can claim 150 exemptions for highly sensitive products, such as sugar, tobacco and rubber. The most significant tariff changes are for rice and fruit and vegetables of various kinds. Modelling suggests that Vietnam will benefit from these changes. On the export side Vietnam should be able to increase exports of vegetable oils and fats, forestry, vegetables and fruit, and non-ruminant meat. Imports will increase across a range of agricultural products.

Results of the research have been presented at international conferences in Australia (2010 and 2011) and Italy (2011).

Several training courses for IPSARD staff have been held in Hanoi. Staff have also attended a course on general equilibrium modelling in Queensland.

IPSARD staff working on the project include Pham Thi Ngoc Linh, Nguyen Ngoc Que, Nguyen Le Hoa and Do Lien Huong. Until recently, the project has been led by Donna Brennan from The University of Western Australia. Unfortunately, Donna passed way in December 2010, and will be sadly missed by the many people who knew and worked with her at IPSARD. Her position has been taken over by David Vanzetti from Australian National University. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2011.

For further information, please contact:David Vanzetti, ANU, Australia

Email: david.vanzetti@anu.edu.auOr Pham Ngoc Linh, CAP, IPSARD, Vietnam

Email: linh.pham@cap.gov.vn

David Vanzetti and Pham Thi Ngoc Linh Photo: Discussing outputs of the project modelling Trao ñoåi veà keát quaû chaïy moâ hình döï aùn

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A group of six Vietnamese travelled to the Maroochy Research Station on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia from the 27 April to 7

May 2011 for training in new persimmon production and postharvest handling techniques as part of the ACIAR project AGB/2006/066 ‘Improving productivity and fruit quality of sweet persimmon in Vietnam and Australia’. The group consisted of three project team members from the Plant Protection Research Institute (PPRI), two from the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute (FAVRI) and one from Son La Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

This group received training at the Maroochy Research Station and visited persimmon farms within the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions. The training consisted of pre-harvest management aspects on: orchard establishment, tree architecture, pruning and training systems, and tree planting. Inspecting the new training system developed at Maroochy Research Station one trainee said ‘can we grow persimmon to this size in Vietnam and keep trees small’

The trees they were inspecting were trained to two metres high on the Maroochy V Trellis system and producing 20 kilograms of fruit per tree, with fruit ranging in size from 280 –450 grams. The group also received training on aspects of nutrition, fertilising, irrigation, pests and diseases, pre-harvest management systems and harvesting.

The group visited several persimmon growers, one grower at Wilson’s Pocket 30 km east and another grower at Amamoor 40 km south west of the city of Gympie. These growers trained their persimmons to a palmette system. Another persimmon grower near the city of Nambour trains his persimmon trees to the New Zealand Ruakura Y trellis system. All growers produced fruit ranging from 280–480 grams in size during the 2010–2011 growing season. The group also visited the University of the Sunshine Coast and were able to view up close some Australian wildlife; Kangaroos roaming free around the university grounds.

Post-harvest training aspects on harvesting and field handling, maturity index, defects and disorders,

Vietnamese receive training in australia on persimmon products(Project: AGB/2006/066)By Bob Nissen and Le Duc Khanh

Inspecting Palmette training system at Wilson’s Pocket

Thaêm heä thoáng taùn caây hình deû quaït taïi Wilson’s Pocket

Photo: Visiting Mr Jeffer’s nursery near Nambour, QueenslandThaêm vöôøn öôm cuûa oâng Jeffer gaàn Nambour, Queensland

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For further information, please contact:Robert (Bob) Nissen, DEEDI Queensland, Australia

Email: bob.nissen@deedi.qld.gov.auOr Le Duc Khanh, PPRI, Vietnam

Email: ent-nipp-vn@hn.vnn.vn

postharvest diseases, sorting, grading and packing, packaging materials, and postharvest storage using of 1-MCP, modified atmosphere, and cold storage were provided. The Vietnamese group members were able to discuss and see in action a grader used by a grower. The group eagerly discussed his harvesting, sorting, grading and packing system. They were able to see first-hand a cherry picker used by the grower to harvest fruit from his palmette trained trees. The grower said that he was ’very impressed by their enthusiasm and willingness to learn more about his orchard and pack-house operations’.

The group also met with Jeanette Wilson Secretary-Treasurer of the Australian Persimmon Industry Association Incorporated and her husband David Wilson at their Goomboorian property 25 km east of the city of Gympie. A delightful morning tea with a persimmon cake was provided by Jeanette and David, which the group was especially grateful. The group discussed nursery management, seed collection and orchard management of mother trees for budwood and seed collection with David and Jeanette. The group were also able to see Mr

Stephen Jeffer’s nursery, where grafting and propagation of persimmons was being carried out by one of his staff. All group members enjoyed their time in Australia, especially the view from their accommodation which overlooked the mouth of the Maroochy River as it joined the Pacific Ocean on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia. It was very relaxing after a long hard day of training and travelling.

Getting up close and personal with the wild kangaroos at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Taän maét ngaém nhöõng chuù kangaroo soáng hoang daõ trong khuoân vieân tröôøng ñaïi hoïc Sunshine Coast, Queensland

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TRAINING CORNER

I, Phi Hong Hai - a young manager and scientist, was selected for 2011 John Dillon Fellowship and attended a six-week program on Management of Agricultural research in Australia from 14 February to 25 March.

The training course was divided into two parts; the first part was to obtain basic knowledge from some training courses and the second part was to share experiences through visiting some different research organisations, such as different ministries, departments, institutes and universities. The two parts were intermixed. The first part was two weeks in total and the second part was four weeks.

In the first part, I attended three training courses on professional communication in science, development of new leader and management of successful research organisation. I have learnt a lot of new knowledge from these training courses, such as argument discussion, skills in oral presentation, group working, discussion and evaluation of staff, establishment and management of developing strategy etc. I have especially paid attention to matrix management that has been implemented in CSIRO. I think that it would be useful for management of a research program where many organisations involved in the program. These are very useful skills for new young leaders, like my situation.

The second part was separately organised for each group of fellows in a related sector. I belonged to the forestry

Program for young leader development

group. Unfortunately, I was alone in this group. But I think that I had very good opportunities to visit many different organisations related to my field. Therefore, the program was very useful for me. In the program, I visited Melbourne University, Australian National University, Sunshine Coast University, James Cook University, CSIRO-Tasmania, CRC-Tasmania, Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forest, ACIAR, Australian Bureau of Agriculture Resource Economics, DEEPI in Queensland and Cairns, as well as CSIRO Sunshine Coast. At these organisations, I was warmly welcomed and shared a lot of experience in research management that they summarised from implementations of in-country and international projects. In addition, I also visited many research fields and I learnt a lot of new ideas being tried in Australia at the moment. In the visit, I set up new contacts with the visited organisations for further projects.

My training course on management of agricultural research in Australia was really useful for my management and research. For my side, I hope that this Fellowship will be organised in the future and there will be more opportunities for young Vietnamese managers to participate. On this occasion, I would like to thank people for the warm welcome and shared experience from all staff working in the organisations that I mentioned above. I would also like to thank Mrs Sharon Harvey, Mr Geoff Morris, Mr Tony Bartlett and Mrs Nguyen Thi Lan Phuong for their organisation of my training course in Australia.

By Phi Hong Hai, FSIV Photo: Practicing of working in group at Mt.Eliza Executive Education CentreThöïc haønh laøm vieäc nhoùm taïi trung taâm giaùo duïc Mt.Eliza

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TRAINING CORNER

To be selected as a John Dillon Fellow, I was filled with honour to participate in the training program on developing the leadership skills established by ACIAR. The training program was conducted between February and March, 2011. Beside preparation for the trip, it was very exciting because this is the first time for me to visit Australia. I arrived to Melbourne city on 15 February.

After one day, we participated in a three-day training program on professional communication. This was time to improve communication skills of the fellows and to build friendship between us. We spent one week at Mt Eliza business school, Melbourne University for training on new leaders’ development program. After two weeks training, 11 John Dillon Fellows were divided into four groups according to their professional field to go on fact-finding visits to different institutions. Mr Fayakun, a fellow from Indonesia and I joined the group to visit CSIRO-Marine and Atmospheric Research at Hobart. During the meeting with Dr Campbell Davies (Research Program Leader) and other team leaders of different sections, information on CSIRO´s research program structures, the matrix, comparisons to structures in other research organizations, team leader roles, information, financial, business development was discussed. The next place to visit was Brisbane to meet with Dr Brett Glencross (Nutrition Principle, CSIRO) and other researchers at Cleveland. Beside experience of managing and leading of research organisation, we have spent time to discuss project activities, future research strategies and possibilities for joint research programs together in the field of aquaculture nutrition.

After Brisbane, all fellows flew to Canberra capital and spent 10 days there for visiting ACIAR office, meeting, working with ACIAR leaders and staff and attending a training course on leading a successful research organisation. Especially, Dr Nick Austin (CEO) and other specialists have spent time to talk and share their experiences with all fellows about the ACIAR activities and achievements. Fayakun and I also met with Dr Chris Barlow, Research Program Manager for Fisheries, during the training course at ACIAR. In Canberra, all fellows have met with leaders of different organisation such as ABARES. After 10 days useful learning at Canberra, our group flew to Newcastle. Dr Geoff Allan and other consultants at Port Stephens Fisheries Institutes spent time to discuss the technologies and species as well as interesting activities together with us. After three days working at Port Stephens, we flew to Cairns to visit the Northern Fisheries Centre, Queensland. We met with Ms Cathy Hair, Dr Clive Jones, Dr Richard Knuckey where we learnt about different technologies for species such as grouper, lobster as well as sharing experience to develop small scale aquaculture for Pacific Island countries. There were some interesting topics for future collaboration on research and education listed. After we left Cairns, all fellows flew back to Canberra, where we had a tour of old and new Parliament Houses, including attending Question time. We had the honour of receiving plaques presented by The Hon Richard Marles MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs. After Canberra, I flew to Perth to visit Curtin University for four days. We have discussed some possible future collaboration about research and education between Curtin University and the Research Institute for Aquaculture No. 1. Moreover, I had a great time meeting Vietnamese students in aquaculture who are studying there.

The John Dillon Memorial Fellowship program and arrangement by ACIAR officers have provided both helpful theory study opportunities and exposure to Australia agriculture across a range of the best practice organisations in six weeks. I had a good chance to improve leadership and management skills. It made a strong impression for me with my first time visit to Australia and visit of different sectors and consultants, all completely friendly and enthusiastic instructors. From my learning in Australia, I hope I can contribute something in developing aquaculture research at RIA1 and Vietnam as well as improving collaboration for research and education between our institution and Australian partners in the future.

my trip to australiaBy Tran Dinh Luan

The John Dillon fellows and Dr Michael Blyth at the ACIAR Head Quarter, Canberra

Caùc hoïc vieân JDF chuïp hình löu nieäm vôùi TS Michael Blyth taïi truï sôû ACIAR, Canberra

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8 dao Tan street, Ba dinh, hanoi . Tel: (84 4) 3 7740 100 . Fax: (84 4) 3 813 7707Web: www.aciar.gov.au / www.vietnam.embassy.gov.au

Lobster culture experiment, using manufactured pellet (Page 14)Thí nghieäm nuoâi toâm huøm baèng thöùc aên coâng nghieäp ( Trang 15)