Small-Scale Agro-enterprise Development in the
Uplands of Lao PDR and Vietnam (SADU)

Adapting fruit production to market demand:
The experience with persimmon in Da Bac, Vietnam
The national Context
ƒ Fruit (and persimmon) markets in Vietnam are expanding
rapidly but characterized by strong competition
ƒ Government has heavily subsidized significant expansion
of fruit production areas in upland regions
ƒ Little consideration given to markets (market size, variety
preferences, quality requirements)
Da Bac

The local context

Hanoi

ƒ Persimmon promoted among ethnic minorities displaced by the Hoa Binh dam
ƒ 500 ha under Yen Thon (red, astringent) persimmon (also widely promoted in
other northern upland regions)
ƒ Farm-gate prices of Yen Thon persimmon have fallen from US$200/ton to
US$ 45/ton over the past 5 years => excessive supply of red persimmon and
consumer preferences for soaked (also astringent) cultivars
ƒ Oversupply means that farmers can only sell a very small share of their harvest

SADU interventions
ƒ Work with multi-stakeholder district working group since July 2006
ƒ Improve local understanding of market demand and requirements
ƒ Expose farmers and service providers to new, marketable cultivars
ƒ Enhance farmer skills – topworking/grafting and cultivation practices

Emerging outcomes and impacts
ƒ 49 farmers organized in four groups purchased grafts of fuyu (non-astringent
persimmon) from another province (November 2006)
ƒ In the future these farmers will use own grafting material to graft new trees
ƒ 50 additional farmers are planning to purchase grafts during July 2007
ƒ 10 trial/demonstration/local bank sites were established by the Da Bac Economic
Section and the Fruits and Vegetables Research Institute (FAVRI)
ƒ Targeting impact by 2010: 1,000 households supplying high-value markets
Tiago Wandschneider – SADU Team Leader Vietnam – twandschneider@cgiar.org

Hue

Ho Chi Minh