Прыехала Каляда…

Прыехала Каляда / Увечары, увечары. / Прынесла гусенькі / У рэшаці, у рэшаці

Market opportunities to improve vegetable value chains and rural livelihoods in southern Philippines

Two thirds of the population in the southern Philippines are dependent on agriculture yet the country has one of the world’s lowest per capita consumption of fresh produce. Smallholders are poor and incomes are limited by poor integration with markets. In line with the Philippines Development Plan 2011-2016, there is a major opportunity to enhance the performance of vegetable value chains (VC) and to improve the livelihood of small farmers. A study was undertaken to assess how vegetable VC performance could be improved. The study was conducted at five sites in the southern Philippines. It focused on five vegetables – eggplant, tomatoes, sweet pepper, ampalaya and leafy vegetables. Rapid appraisals of vegetable VCs were conducted using observations and interviews with key chain members and associated stakeholders. Existing vegetable VCs were examined to highlight material flow, information flow and relationship along the chains. Key issues along the chain were explored. Three potential chain development models were proposed based on who in a chain takes the position of captain for leading development interventions – smallholders, wholesalers or retailers

Tarn Hoa plums (Prunus salicina) in the maize-based system in the north-west highlands of Vietnam

Tarn Hoa plum is one of three hybrids of the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina), originating from southern China, and grown between 700 and 1000 m altitude in north-west Vietnam for the domestic market. Along with some leguminous crops grown in rotation with maize, plums are an important source of additional income for smallholders. The aim of the project was to develop competitive value chains for plums with high levels of smallholder engagement. The research design was both structured and adaptive, based on participative action research. In addition, sensory evaluation to determine optimum measurable indicators of ripeness (soluble solids and hardness) based on consumer preferences was conducted to adjust time of harvesting. The research found that Tarn Hoa plum production and marketing is a large, complex system that is interconnected with the marketing of green (immature) plums to China and other substitutable fruit such as lychees, longans and other plums. It is a highly opportunistic, low-input system the outputs of which depend on plum prices, the relative production capability of districts and local microclimates. The 40- to 45-day plum harvest season is highly variable regarding harvesting dates, harvest duration, plum quality and, consequently, market prices. It was established that there is sufficient profit margin for all chain participants to establish a sustainable niche value chain based on high-quality sweet plums if reliable and sufficient throughput can be achieved. It is recommended that future similar value chain projects pay particular attention to selecting large 'aggregators' and 'distributors' so as to achieve volume and stable market access