HANOI - Rapid economic development, urbanisation and rising income levels, in Vietnam offer potential for pro-poor development, by creating new market opportunities for producers, traders and retailers. This article describes the process of value chain development, which involves all actors in the broad chain of avocado.

The project

Dak Lak, a province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, is an important coffee producing area. Many poor ethnic minorities are engaged in coffee farming. Their dependence on coffee cultivation only at a time of decreasing coffee prices made income diversification an urgent necessity. Dak Lak area is also known for producing the best quality avocados in Vietnam. Because avocado trees are grown within coffee plantations to provide shade, and because demand for avocado was growing, avocado was defined as a potential crop to diversify the coffee dominated agricultural sector in Dak Lak. Avocado was also considered because of its high nutritional value and its potential to improve the poor-quality diet of the local rural communities, and of children in particular.

This product choice was made in cooperation with local research institutions and local farmers. The aim of the intervention plan was to create a professional value chain for avocado, in which the different chain actors cooperate to supply consistent quality avocados to urban sales channels across Vietnam. The objectives were to: (1) create a professional avocado chain; (2) increase awareness of and demand for avocado (avocado is relatively unknown in Vietnam and consumers are not familiar with its nutritional values and its uses); (3) develop a high quality avocado brand.

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Source: Urban Agriculture magazine

Publication date: September 2010