Southern farmers grow to global standards

Farmers in the Mekong Delta are growing star apples under strict environmental and health guidelines in order to sell their fruit to the global market.

Doan Van My, a star apple farmer in Tien Giang Province’s Chau Thanh District, said he used to think it was difficult to meet the international standards set by the Global Partnership for Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALGAP).

But after he started following the requirements of GLOBALGAP last year, he developed an interest in the practice, My said.

He said there were 236 requirements for farmers but they could be understood as simple rules: the cultivation must be safe for consumers, farmers and the environment; and the information about the origin of each star apple must be provided.

Doan Van My is one of the 19 farmers of the district’s Lo Ren Vinh Kim Star Apple Cooperative who are following the voluntary standards set up by GLOBALGAP because they want their products to be accepted in foreign markets.

The use of chemicals is restricted by GLOBALGAP and must be stopped three months before harvest.

Moreover, in order to achieve the highest product quality, the farmers must limit the number of fruit on each star apple tree to around 300, each of which is protected in an insect-proof bag.

Le Van Son, deputy head of the cooperative, said the farmers were asked to keep records of how many star apples they harvested from each tree.

The fruit were then taken to the cooperative for packaging, Son said.

He said only the GLOBALGAP-certified star apples could be exported.

This policy was designed to encourage all star apple farmers to start growing their crops according to cultivation guidelines of GLOBALGAP.

Lo Ren Vinh Kim Star Apple Cooperative has received financial support from Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam.

The cooperative was granted the GLOBALGAP certificate on June 5, making Tien Giang Province’s star apples the first agricultural product in the Mekong Delta to meet world agriculture standards.

There are currently 2,300 hectares of star apple trees in Chau Thanh District with an average yield of 13-15 tons per hectare.

The province plans to expand the area used for star apple tree cultivation to 5,000 hectares by 2015.

The German wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry is also funding three other cooperatives in southern Vietnam so that they can obtain GLOBALGAP certificate for their products, which include grapefruit, mangoes and vegetables.

According to GLOBALGAP, farmers in more than 80 countries have applied its standards to their agricultural production. (CPV)