A comparative analysis of collective and individual management schemes within Organic Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in the Hanoi province in northern Vietnam indicates that collective farm management enhances social and ecological practices. The study has juxtaposed the schemes in terms of social and ecological systems as well as impressions of farmers and retailers

den Braber, Koen

Jørgensen, Søren Thorndal

Từ Thị Tuyết, Nhung

Whitney, Cory W.

In a farmers' survey within Organic Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Soc Son Hanoi, Vietnam farmers indicated that they feel there is room for improvement, but that they are largely satisfied with the management schemes and farming systems. They gave a high score for questions related to the principles; health 74%, ecology 79%, fairness 68%, and care 71%. These results are outlined and the case is made that the organic principles are measurable and comparable. It is further argued that with a quantifiable measurement of the functioning of organic systems from the farmer we may find more ways to promote and help shape the future of the movement according to the principles

Từ Tuyết, Nhung

Thorndal Jørgensen, Søren

Organic Eprints

RAHMANN G & AKSOY U (Eds.) (2014) Proceedings of the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference. ‘Building Organic Bridges’, at the Organic World Congress 2014, 13-15 Oct., Istanbul, Turkey (eprint ID 23090)   1191 Measurable Impacts of the “Principles of Organic Agriculture”;  Survey of a Vietnamese Organic PGS   CORY WILLIAM WHITNEY1, KOEN DEN BRABER2, NHUNG TU TUYET3, SØREN THORNDAL JØRGENSEN4 Key words: health, ecology, fairness, care, farming ethics, farm happiness    Abstract A farmers' survey within the Organic Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) in Soc Son, Hanoi, Vietnam, indicates that farmers are largely satisfied with the management schemes and farming systems but that they feel there is room for improvement. Farmers gave a high score for questions related to the organic principles of health (74%), ecology (79%), fairness (68%), and care (71%). These results are outlined and the case is made that the organic principles are measurable and comparable. It is further argued that with a quantifiable measurement of the functioning of organic systems from the farmer we may find more ways to promote and help shape the future of the movement according to the principles.  Introduction The Principles of Organic Agriculture are considered to be the basis from which organic agriculture grows and develops. They were developed by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) through a global participatory stakeholder process to help to address globalization challenges and to unite the values across the organic movement (Luttikholt 2007). They also help to define the uniqueness of organic agriculture, to serve as a guide for practice and development and to mitigate the need for an organic movement based on too many rules (Alrøe & Kristensen 2004).  Material and methods  A full description of the four principles, Health, Ecology, Fairness, and Care, can be found in extended form in 19 languages (IFOAM 2013). The principle of Health states that Organic: should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible. The principle of Ecology states that Organic: should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them. The Principle of Fairness states that Organic: should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities. The Principle of Care states that Organic: should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment (IFOAM 2013).  As of yet there have been no concrete attempts to measure these principles in action. The survey results described in this paper are an early attempt to find a holistic, but also comparable data set based on the principles.  Similar attempts to measure qualitative and holistic aspects of people’s lives can be found in the literature regarding happiness. They have successfully been able to estimate happiness regressions using large random samples of individuals (Clark & Oswald 2002) and with single item scales (Abdel-Khalek 2006). Some critiques of happiness measurements point out poor design of questionnaires and results with low comparability, hampered by non-uniform data. There has been a call for more professional, uniform, and reproducible analysis (Ng 1996).  Measurable data on the state of the organic principles came from part of a farmer survey done for the NGO Agriculture Development Denmark Asia (ADDA) and Vietnam Farmers Union (VNFU) collaborative Organic Project on the Organic Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) in Soc Son, Hanoi, Vietnam (Whitney et. al. this issue). Based on information gathered in these interviews this paper argues that the organic principles are measurable and comparable.                                                  1 Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Germany, www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de, eMail: cory.whitney@hsrw.eu 2 Agriculture Development Denmark Asia – VietNam Farmer's Union (ADDA-VNFU) Organic Project, http://www.adda.dk/eng/organic_eng.html, eMail: koenhuyen@gmail.com 3 Hữu Cơ Organic PGS Vietnam, http://vietnamorganic.vn, eMail: nhungadda@gmail.com 4 Agricultural Development Denmark Asia (ADDA), www.adda.dk, eMail: s.thorndal@mail.tele.dk WHITNEY CW, et al. Measurable Impacts of the “Principles of Organic Agriculture” Survey of a Vietnamese Organic PGS  1192 Farmers from six organic vegetable PGS producer groups in the villages of Trung, Thanh Nhàn and Bái Thượng in Thanh Xuân commune, Sóc Son district, Hanoi, Vietnam were interviewed. See Whitney et al. 2013 for a full description of the farmers, etc. (Whitney et al. this issue). Interviews were conducted from mid March to early April of 2012 with 30 farmers (2 men and 28 women) from 6 PGS groups (Bái Thượng, Thành Công, Thanh Nhàn, Trung, Anh Duong, Doan Ket) from the Thanh Xuân PGS Inter-group. The surveys were conducted in the field a s semi-structured questionnaires by a researcher, a translator and a farmer-trainer from the ADDA-VNFU Organic Project. The principles related aspects of the survey were based on current standard happiness and satisfaction questionnaires (OECD 2013). Final analysis of quantitative data was done using Microsoft Excel for Mac (2007), Open Office Calc 3.2.1 (2010) and the program R (R 2011). As a part of the survey on different management schemes, farmers were asked to gauge their satisfaction (interval scale) with various aspects of the production system, cropping plan, and for their perception of the qualities, the functioning of their groups and areas where they felt there was room for improvement. The survey related strictly to the operation and management of the individual groups and not to the functioning of the whole PGS.  Results Weighted averages of farmers’ (N=30) answers5 to principles related survey questions to create the variables ‘Health’ (3 questions), ‘Ecology’ (4 questions), ‘Fairness’ (5 questions) and ‘Care’ (8 questions). The strength and direction of the linear relationship between these variables was tested using Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient (r) (R 2011). Significant positive correlations were found between ‘Ecology’, ‘Fairness’, and ‘Care’ (Table 1). Percent agreement within these variables also indicated that farmers feel there is room for improvement, but that they are largely satisfied with the principles (‘Health' 74% (σ13), ‘Ecology’ 79% (σ12), ‘Fairness’ 68% (σ20), and ‘Care’ 71%(σ12)).  Table 1. Correlation and significance of r for all principles (bold where p<0.05)¥ Health 0.3326 -0.2451 0.2420 0.0724 Ecology 0.4020 0.8229 0.1917 0.0276 Fairness 0.6895 0.1976 2.39E-08 2.50E-05 Care ¥Correlations upper right and p-values lower left in italics Strong collinearity was found for ‘Care’ as it is a more holistic principle based on health and well-being as a fundamental part of farming. Furthermore, this analysis was based on the functioning of management systems and less about the more soft sciences aspects of personal wellness although there were several questions that fit specifically for ‘Care’ and one question specifically about happiness and well-being (see Table 3 below).  Table 2 shows the results of r against weighted averages of farmers’ overall scores for the functioning of the group management system ‘System’ (25 questions) and the cropping plan ‘Crop Plan’ (24 questions) against the principles variables. Furthermore, percent agreement within these variables also indicated that farmers feel there is room for improvement within the ‘System’ (63% (σ9.6)) and ‘Crop Plan’ (57% (σ7)). Table 2. Correlation and significance of r for cropping and management satisfaction (bold where p<0.05)  System* p-value Crop Plan† p-value Health 0.246 0.191 0.065 0.733 Ecology 0.812 5.08E-08 0.513 0.004 Fairness 0.515 0.004 0.227 0.228 Care 0.816 3.88E-08 0.321 0.084 *System = functioning of the farming system in general.                                                  5 ADDA’s farm managers and field assistants, researchers, and translators worked closely with farmers to ensure that there was no missing data for these questions. Follow-up interviews were made where data was missing from first interviews. RAHMANN G & AKSOY U (Eds.) (2014) Proceedings of the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference. ‘Building Organic Bridges’, at the Organic World Congress 2014, 13-15 Oct., Istanbul, Turkey (eprint ID 23090)   1193 †Crop Plan = functioning of the cropping plan in specific. Table 3. Correlation and significance of r for well-being (bold where p<0.05)  Well-Being p-value Health 0.465 0.009 Ecology 0.431 0.017 Fairness  0.227 0.227 Care 0.616 2.2E-04 Finally, measuring happiness with a single item scale has been found to be as effective as other more intensive forms of analysis for life satisfaction (Abdel-Khalek 2006). The survey also asked the farmers to rank the contribution of the system on their own happiness or well-being. Table 3 shows correlation and significance of r for scores for this question against the overall scores for the principles Discussion and Conclusions The more satisfied the farmers are with the functioning of the farming system in general and with the cropping plan in specific, the higher the satisfaction with the organic principles. Farmers who gave higher scores for ecological aspects of the farming system also had more satisfaction with the cropping plan and overall functioning of their group. Similar studies with more farmers may reveal more of the dynamics of this relationship. The study indicates that measuring the organic principles is possible. However, the current survey can only serve as a starter. Quantifying concepts that are holistic is problematic but it may act as a benchmark for determining the functioning of a farming system in a less mechanistic way. Uniform measurement is necessary and we propose this as a general outline and springboard for future studies into the measurement of the organic principles. Suggestions  Organic agriculture has a unique approach to more than just agricultural production. It is a movement and a way of life (as in e.g. Gross National Happiness). With a quantifiable measurement of the functioning of organic systems, from the point of view of the farmer at the center of these systems, we may find more ways to promote and help shape the future of the movement according to the principles of organic agriculture and as a challenge to existing dominant and damaging paradigms. References  Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2006). Measuring happiness with a single-item scale. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 34(2), 139-150. Alrøe, H. F., & Kristensen, E. S. (2004). Why have basic principles for organic agriculture?… and what kind of principles should they be? Ecology & Farming, 27-30. Clark, A. E., & Oswald, A. J. (2002). A simple statistical method for measuring how life events affect happiness. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31(6), 1139-1144. IFOAM. (2013). Principles of Organic Agriculture. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from http://www.ifoam.org/sites/default/files/ifoam_poa.pdf. Luttikholt, L. W. M. (2007). Principles of organic agriculture as formulated by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 54(4), 347-360. Ng, Y.-K. (1996). Happiness surveys: Some comparability issues and an exploratory survey based on just perceivable increments. Social Indicators Research, 38(1), 1-27. OECD. (2013). OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being. OECD Publishing. R. (2011). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria Whitney CW, Den Braber K, Tu Tuyet N, Thorndal Jørgensen S (2014) Farm Management Schemes within Organic PGS; Survey and Analysis in Sóc Sơn, Hanoi, Vietnam. Rahmann G & Aksoy U (Eds.) (2014) Proceedings of the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference ‘Building Organic Bridges’, at the Organic World Congress 2014, 13-15 Oct., Istanbul, Turkey   WHITNEY CW, et al. Measurable Impacts of the “Principles of Organic Agriculture” Survey of a Vietnamese Organic PGS  1194  

Measurable Impacts of the “Principles of Organic Agriculture”; Survey of a Vietnamese Organic PGS

RAHMANN G & AKSOY U (Eds.) (2014) Proceedings of the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference. ‘Building Organic Bridges’, at the Organic World Congress 2014, 13-15 Oct., Istanbul, Turkey (eprint ID 22951)   1187 Farm Management Schemes within Organic PGS; Survey and  Analysis in Sóc Sơn, Hanoi, Vietnam  CORY WILLIAM WHITNEY1, KOEN DEN BRABER2, NHUNG TU TUYET3, SØREN THORNDAL JØRGENSEN4 Key words: farm analysis, collective farm management, collective land-use planning Abstract A comparative analysis of collective and individual management schemes within Organic Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in the Hanoi province in northern Vietnam indicates that collective farm management enhances social and ecological practices. The study has juxtaposed the schemes in terms of social and ecological systems as well as impressions of farmers and retailers. Introduction and Background Demand is rising for organic vegetables in Vietnam. This poses many challenges for small-scale rural farmers who supply the Hanoi markets. Strict third party certification is well beyond their reach, both in terms of cost and technical ability. Organic participatory guarantee systems (PGS) offer an alternative through peer-review and social control, supporting appropriate farming practices, local market development, and social cohesion (Zanasi and Venturi 2008). PGS is based on civil society (Fonseca et. al, 2008), and ensures agro-biodiversity conservation and livelihood security by recognizing the merits of traditional practices and customs (Darlong 2008). PGSs are context specific and the systems vary greatly, but all propose collective efforts for marketing and certification of organic products. The purpose of this study was to determine how PGS farmers manage collective work and decision-making in land-use planning when they share collective organic land. Material and methods  Following are the results of a comparative analysis of two PGSs management systems, which took place from January to April 2012. The farms covered by the survey are in the Hanoi province in northern Vietnam. All the farms are operating within a PGS framework outlined by the Agriculture Development Denmark Asia (ADDA) and Vietnam Farmers Union (VNFU) Organic Project (ADDA-VNFU 2009). These farmers groups are operating under ‘National Basic Standards for Organic Products in Vietnam’ prepared by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD 2006) and further clarified in the PGS Organic Standards published by the ADDA and VNFU Organic Project (ADDA-VNFU 2011).  In the study area organic producers are organized into groups, which manage the production of organic vegetables and the supply of these vegetables to the local markets through the PGS. Most are operating under what can be called an ‘individual’ farm management system, wherein farmers are responsible for a small plot of land within an organic managed land area but work together on the sale of their products through the PGS. However, the ADDA-VNFU Organic Project is promoting a transition to what can be called ‘collective’ land management, wherein groups cooperate on the management of a single piece of farmland (Fresh Studio 2010). At the time of this study, there were already as many as six producer groups under ‘cooperative’ management and more making the transition.  Past studies have found large potential for organic markets in Hanoi as well as room for improvement in the management systems and standards for production (Fresh Studio 2010). This research sought a detailed comparison of the different management systems, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the transition to ‘collective’, to clarify the exact implications of the shift, and to determine areas for improvement. It was hypothesized that the transition from individual plot management to cooperative land management would assure better crop rotations, more reliable fallow periods, higher use of green manures, better and more reliable yields and higher quality and productivity overall; that cooperative systems would be perceived                                                  1 Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Germany, www.hochschule-rhein-waal.de, eMail: cory.whitney@hsrw.eu  2 Agriculture Development Denmark Asia – VietNam Farmer's Union (ADDA-VNFU) Organic Project, http://www.adda.dk/eng/organic_eng.html, eMail: koenhuyen@gmail.com 3 Hữu Cơ Organic PGS Vietnam, http://vietnamorganic.vn, eMail: nhungadda@gmail.com 4 Agricultural Development Denmark Asia (ADDA), www.adda.dk, eMail: s.thorndal@mail.tele.dk WHITNEY CW, et al. Farm Management Schemes within Organic PGS; Survey and Analysis in Sóc Sơn, Hanoi, Vietnam   1188 by the farmers as a net positive with an easier and more fair work environment (Whitney et al. 2014) and better income generation; that retailers dealing with these producer groups would prefer the ‘collective’ management system. Farmer surveys were conducted in the field as semi-structured questionnaires with 6 managers and 24 member farmers from six organic vegetable PGS producer groups5. These six groups were randomly chosen from 13 local PGS groups; half were ‘collectively’ managed6, and half ‘individually’ managed7. Representatives from four randomly chosen retailers8 who deal with farm groups under both systems of management, were also interviewed.  This study will focus on the economic and nutrient efficiency of these systems based on interviews, observations, and PGS bookkeeping. Data was processed with OpenOffice 3 Calc, 2010, and tested with the Student’s t-test. . Description of the Farming Area Soc Son is a district of Hanoi located about 40km northwest of the city center, near Noi Bái International Airport and easily reachable via the Thang Long Highway. This rich delta region is largely rice fields at the moment but is undergoing a rapid transformation from countryside to suburb as the urban center of Hanoi expands and the population radiates outward to the surrounding villages. The area has 13 PGS groups with 141 farmers (16 male and 125 female), all growing market vegetables along with subsistence farm animals and rice fields. The weather and soil conditions in the area lead to rapid mineralization and heavy nutrient losses in soil with low pH and imbalances of soil Ca, K, and Mg. The area around Soc Son is within the Red River Delta, which tends to have higher soil quality but these soils have been heavily worked and are nutrient poor with very low CEC.  Each farmer group works within a single portion of land (avg. 6,000 m2) managed under organic standards, surrounded by a buffer zone, with an average of 9 members. They grow 24 different species of vegetable crops throughout the cropping cycle with an average farm yield of around 1.8 tons per month. Each farmer household had an average of 4.5 people with 1 cow or buffalo, 2 pigs and 20 chickens or ducks. PGS groups have app. 9 members with labor from family members and the occasional hired hand i.e. for heavy tilling with a buffalo. Results Group leaders reported average yields of 319 kg/ha/month. Major soil amendments included 25 kg/ha/month compost, 40 kg/ha/month mulch, and 1 kg ea/ha/month kitchen ash and lime. Horizontal nutrient balances from a three-month cropping plan (63 rows and 9 vegetable types) from the Than Cong group (collective) showed a positive balance of 8.3 kgN, 10.2 kgP, 6.1 kgK/ha/month. An extrapolation of this against other rotational and yield data leads to the conclusion that both management systems are likely in the positive (2.5kgN 4.3kgP 5.1kgK /ha/month). However, compost made by ‘collective’ farmers is of better quality (C:N 30:1) then that made by ‘individual’ farmers’ which is more nitrogen rich (24:1), and only the collective groups regularly use green manures and fallow; future ‘collective’ cropping plans call for increases of both.  Farmers in both systems reported an average turnover of 2.8 million Vietnam dong (VND)/month (150USD). However, collective groups were cheaper to run for the farmers by area (1.5 million VND/ha/month for collective, vs.2.3 million VND/ha/month for individual, p=0.02); the total costs of production per farmer within a PGS group ranged from 2-5 million VND/month for collective and 6-9 million VND/month for individual.  Likewise, labor differed greatly (collective 222hr/month,vs. individual 274hr/month, p=0.002). Farmers in collective management systems reported spending less time working on the field by area, deriving from less time on weed control and tillage. They also generally reported less time on management activities though they were ultimately responsible for a lot more (e.g. when and where to weed and who should do it). Individual groups had a daily meeting and all tended to have a monthly meeting, whereas, in collective groups, meetings took up little time as impromptu part of work on the field.  Retailers were asked a series of questions about the working relationship with PGS groups. A Student’s t-test of all responses revealed that retailers preferred the quality of the collective groups products (p=5e-04),                                                  5 located in the villages of Trung, Thanh Nhàn and Bái Thuong, in the Thanh Xuân commune, Sóc Son district, Hanoi and part of the Thanh Xuân PGS Inter-group 6 Bái Thuong (n=6), Thanh Cong (n=5), Thanh Nhan (n=5) 7 An Duong (n=5), Doan Ket (n=4), Trung (n=5)  8 Organic Roots, EcoMart, Tam Dat and Vinagap in Hanoi RAHMANN G & AKSOY U (Eds.) (2014) Proceedings of the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference. ‘Building Organic Bridges’, at the Organic World Congress 2014, 13-15 Oct., Istanbul, Turkey (eprint ID 22951)   1189 communication with collective groups (p=8e-05), product management of collective groups (p=5e-04), and business relations with collective groups (p=4e-05).  Discussion and Conclusions Results from this study suggest that the transition from individual plot management to cooperative land management assures better crop rotations, more reliable fallow periods, higher use of green manures, better and more reliable yields and higher quality and productivity overall among these small-scale producers. The management of collective groups is more comprehensive but, at the same time, easier. Retailers prefer the collective management scheme, find that the products are better, and the groups easier to do business with. Collective labor is a more effective and efficient way to go about doing the more labor-intensive work i.e. weeding and tilling, where the majority of the labor happens. However, there are some important issues to tackle regarding yields, labor and income generation, to make the transition a smooth and high functioning one. There are also several areas where significant improvement could be made in both types of cropping systems, better management of inputs being paramount, especially in the making and storing of compost.  Suggestions  More in-depth review and data collection within these farmers groups are needed to determine what is really going on in the fields. The data presented here is very rough, to say the least. However, it should give a general picture of the possible areas to be addressed and may help to guide future research. It may also serve as a catalyst for good data collection on the field, throughout the farming practices, so that future analysis (especially nutrient analysis) can be more effective. Data collected in the field, throughout the farming practices, will also help in strengthening the organic standard within the PGS. Thanks to Danida for 8 years of financing the ADDA-VNFU Organic project. References  ADDA-VNFU (Agriculture Development Denmark Asia and Vietnam Farmers Union) Organic Project (2009) PGS Participatory Guarantee System Of Organic Products Operational Manual For Producers 2009. Version 1.03 ADDA-VNFU (Agriculture Development Denmark Asia and Vietnam Farmers Union) Organic Project (2011) PGS Organic Standards. Version 1.3  Darlong, Vincent (2008) Harmonizing Jhum (Shifting Cultivation) with PGS Organic Standards in Northeast India: Key Features And Characteristics of Jhum for Process Harmonization. Cultivating the Future Based on Science: 2nd Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), Modena, Italy Fonseca, M F; Wilkinson, J; Egelyng, H; and Mascarenhas, G (2008) The institutionalization of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Brazil: Organic And Fair Trade Initiatives. 2nd Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), Modena, Italy Fresh Studio Innovations Asia (2010) Market Access For Organic Vegetables – A Value Chain Approach. Agriculture Development Denmark Asia and Vietnam Farmers Union Organic Project (ADDA-VNFU), Hanoi, Vietnam IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) (2012) The Principles of Organic Agriculture  MARD (Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) (2006) 10TCN 602-2006; National Standard For Organic Production And Product Processing Whitney CW, Den Braber K, Tu Tuyet N, Thorndal Jørgensen S (2014) Measurable Impacts of the “Principles of Organic Agriculture” Survey of A Vietnamese Organic PGS, Rahmann G & Aksoy U (Eds.) Proceedings of the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference. 'Building Organic Bridges’, at the Organic World Congress 2014, 13-15 Oct., Istanbul, Turkey Zanasi, C; and Venturi, P (2008) Impact Of The Adoption Of Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) For Organic Certification For Small Farmers In Developing Countries: The Case Of Rede Ecovida In Brazil. Cultivating The Future Based On Science: 2nd Conference of ISOFAR (International Society of Organic Agriculture Research), Modena, Italy   WHITNEY CW, et al. Farm Management Schemes within Organic PGS; Survey and Analysis in Sóc Sơn, Hanoi, Vietnam   1190  

Farm Management Schemes within Organic PGS Survey and Analysis in Sóc Sơn, Hanoi, Vietnam

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