Former head of the Institute of Agricultural Science of Southern Vietnam, Bui Chi Buu, said that post-harvest losses in Vietnam were significant, but the country had little in the way of post-harvest technology or machinery. Buu was quoted by the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper as saying that harvesting and post-harvesting technologies in Vietnam were on the edge of industrial revolution 2.0, implying they showed modest development, except some industrial husbandry models which had recently received good investment. Buu said that 70% of Vietnam’s export fruits and vegetables went to China, most of them fresh and unprocessed. Few of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable exports went to the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States or the European Union because of Vietnam’s limitations in storing and post-harvest processing, he said. Vietnam’s seafood faces similar issues, particularly with ocean tuna. Japan is a big market for this fish and is willing to pay high prices for it. A number of Japanese experts have attempted to assist Vietnamese fishermen in post-harvest processing, but so far, little difference has been made.According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Vietnam’s post harvesting losses accounted for 10% of rice production, 10-20% of root and tuber crops, and 10-30% of fruits and vegetables. In the Mekong Delta region – a major rice bowl for Vietnam, post-harvest rice losses were more than VND3 trillion (US$132 million) a year, or 10-12% of total rice production. Buu said that to reduce post-harvesting losses, it was necessary to call on investors to… [Read full story]
Mekong Delta localities are set to mechanise up to 80 percent of rice harvest process in order to reduce post-harvest loss to 12 percent by 2020, according to a plan by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Toward this goal, the localities will encourage the manufacturing of combine harvesters and paddy dryers, while giving financial assistance in the form of loans for farmers to buy the machines. By 2020, the localities expect to have 20,000-25,000 additional combine harvesters and dryers to ensure 100 percent of harvested paddy rice is dried using machines. Meanwhile, this year, the region will double…... [read more]
Under a decision approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the Statebudget will subsidise the total interest rates for these loans in thefirst two years, and 50 percent from the third year onward. Borrowers may take out loans equal to the value of the equipment theywish to purchase from the Vietnam Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentBank. Direct producers, including co-operatives,households and individuals, and businesses who sign contracts withfarmers will be eligible for the support. Thedecision also stipulates a list of eligible machines and equipmentincluding: dryers; machines used for the cultivation and harvest ofrice, coffee tea and sugarcane; and machines used for…... [read more]
The Hanoitimes - The third Asia-Pacific Symposium on Postharvest Research, Education and Extension opened in HCM City on Tuesday with the participation of more than 180 local and international researchers, scientists and business executives from the Asia-Pacific region, the EU and the US. The biennial event covered all aspects of post-harvest research, processing and preservation of agricultural produce, packaging and storage of agricultural produce, supply chain management and improvement of value chain system for agricultural products, management of quality assurance and food safety. It also discussed development of agricultural produce for tropical, sub-tropical and temperate regions such as fruit and…... [read more]
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has warned of slow implementation of Prime Minister’s Decision 68/2013/QD-TTg on support policies to reduce post-harvest losses in agriculture. Currently, the focus is only on low efficiency rice due to a lack of synchronous measures, he said during a conference to review the realisation of the decision in Hanoi on July 28. The minister held that losses in rice production come from the process of selecting various varieties, harvest, transport, drying, husking, and storing. However, he said, attention has only been paid to the harvest and storage processes. Decision 68/2013/QD-TTg was…... [read more]
With an annual production of about 25 million tonnes, accounting for 55 percent of the country's total rice production, the Mekong Delta has become the largest rice granary in the country, said the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Online Newspaper. However, post-harvest losses are still high and this has resulted in poor improvement of farmers' living standards. It is necessary to apply modern technology to improve the quality of rice and minimize post-harvest losses, said the newspaper. According to Dr. Pham Van Tan, from the Vietnam Institute of Agricultural Engineering & Post-Harvest Technology (SIAEP), the rice supply chain consists of…... [read more]
