Browsing by Author "Van Du, Le"

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    Impacts of changes in policy and market conditions on land use, land management and livelihood among farmers in central highlands of Vietnam
    Duc Phuoc, Pham Hong; Ha, Dang Thanh; Thuy, Nguyen Ngoc; Van Du, Le; Hung, Pham Trinh; Espaldon, Maria Victoria O.; Magsino, Annielyn O. (2001)
    This study outlines the changes in agricultural policies and market conditions in Vietnam for the last 20 years characterized with gradual decentralization and integration in the global economy. Using a case study approach, the study examines how these institutional changes influence land use and land management and the impacts on the environment and the livelihood systems among members of a local community in the uplands of Vietnam. Preliminary analysis at the local level shows that changes policies and market conditions result in a rapid transformation of the socio-economic and biophysical landscape in this upland community. Large forest area had been converted into commercial agricultural land. Results of the study also show that farmers base their decisions on short-term market expectations rather than on long-term market information. This lends them more vulnerable to greater economic losses in the long term as shown by the behavior of mulberry and coffee production in the study area. Farmers had not only opened new forest land for coffee cultivation but also shifted from mulberry to coffee after 1994 when the price of coffee beans increased. However, there are risks associated with coffee, as a monocrop in a large area such as fluctuation in market prices and environmental degradation. The study provides empirical evidence to the complex interplay of policies and market conditions on land use, land management and livelihood system of the Vietnamese upland farmers. The study raises issues relating to the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices and the need for agricultural land use planning that aims to deal with the fluctuating global market without compromising the welfare of small farmers and landholders.
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    Termite biocontrol on cacao seedling: Vetiver grass application
    Van Du, Le; Truc, N. H. (2008)
    Just in the last decade, cacao (Theobroma cacao) has been introduced to the agroforestry systems in some upland provinces of southern Vietnam, especially in cashew plantation for improving the income of local farmers. However termite attack on cacao seedlings is the main constraint to the development of this crop in these systems. Chemical application is the only method available for farmers to protect their cacao crop. So far there is no study on non-chemical termite control method. An experiment on natural termite control using vetiver grass was established by Nong Lam University (NLU) team from August to December, 2007 in Nghia Trung (site 1) and Nghia Binh (site 2) communes of Bu Dang district, Binh Phuoc province. The experiment aims to test the hypothesis that the natural oil compounds and some of its constituents in composted vetiver grass biomass can repel termite and its organic matter can enhance the growth of cacao seedlings. In each site, the trial was carried out with 6 month-old cacao seedling in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with 4 treatments and 3 replications. The 4 treatments were T1 (control treatment with manure only, no chemical, and no vetiver compost), T2 (farmer's practice with chemical termite control), T3(mixture of manure and lime), and T4 (mixture of manure and vetiver grass compost, and planting 6 vetiver clumps surrounding each cacao seedling). Manure, lime and vetiver compost were spread in the holes one week before planting. A total of 72 cacao seedlings were used in each site. Two months after planting, the rate of seedlings damage in site 1 were recorded to be 50%, 11%, 17%, and 17% but rate of seedling death due to termite were only 39%, 0%, 17%, and 0% for the treatments T1, T2, T3, and T4 respectively. The result shows that, no cacao seedling was damaged by termite in T2 (chemical) and T4 (vetiver compost). The height of cacao seedlings after 4 months planting were recorded to be 60, 50, 58 and 80cm; the trunk diameter by 12, 10,14, 17mm per plant; and the number of primary branch were 3, 2, 3, and 4 per plant in the treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. In site 2, the rate of seedling death by termite in the treatment T1, T2, and T3 were 70% while only 33% were recorded for the treatment T4 indicating that damage due to termite attack was lowest when applying vetiver compost. Because of the large seedlings were died in site 2, so some characteristics of cacao growth were monitoring only in site 1. The initial findings suggest that vetiver grass can be used not only as a tool for soil erosion control, but its biomass can used as a compost form for termite control also, instead of chemical, in cacao development in agroforestry systems.
  • Termite biocontrol on cacao seedling: Vetiver grass application
    Van Du, Le; Truc, N. H. (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Nong Lam University, 2008)
    Just in the last decade, cacao (Theobroma cacao) has been introduced to the agroforestry systems in some upland provinces of southern Vietnam, especially in cashew plantation for improving the income of local farmers. However termite attack on cacao seedlings is the main constraint to the development of this crop in these systems. Chemical application is the only method available for farmers to protect their cacao crop. So far there is no study on non-chemical termite control method. An experiment on natural termite control using vetiver grass was established by Nong Lam University (NLU) team from August to December, 2007 in Nghia Trung (site 1) and Nghia Binh (site 2) communes of Bu Dang district, Binh Phuoc province. The experiment aims to test the hypothesis that the natural oil compounds and some of its constituents in composted vetiver grass biomass can repel termite and its organic matter can enhance the growth of cacao seedlings. In each site, the trial was carried out with 6 month-old cacao seedling in a randomized complete block (RCB) design with 4 treatments and 3 replications. The 4 treatments were T1 (control treatment with manure only, no chemical, and no vetiver compost), T2 (farmer's practice with chemical termite control), T3(mixture of manure and lime), and T4 (mixture of manure and vetiver grass compost, and planting 6 vetiver clumps surrounding each cacao seedling). Manure, lime and vetiver compost were spread in the holes one week before planting. A total of 72 cacao seedlings were used in each site. Two months after planting, the rate of seedlings damage in site 1 were recorded to be 66%, 22%, 39%, and 17% but rate of seedling death due to termite were only 44%, 11%, 23%, and 0% for the treatments T1, T2, T3, and T4 respectively. The result shows that, no cacao seedling was damaged by termite in T4 (vetiver compost). The height of cacao seedlings after 4 months planting were recorded to be 61, 51, 58 and 80cm; the trunk diameter by 12, 10,14, 17mm per plant; and the number of primary branch were 3, 3, 3, and 4 per plant in the treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. In site 2, the rate of seedling death by termite in the treatment T1, T2, and T3 were 72%, 61% and 61% respectively, while only 27% were recorded for the treatment T4 indicating that damage due to termite attack was lowest when applying vetiver compost. A large number of seedlings died in site 2, so some characteristics of cacao growth were monitoring only in site 1. The initial findings suggest that vetiver grass can be used not only as a tool for soil erosion control, but its biomass can used as a compost form for termite control also, instead of chemical, in cacao development in agroforestry systems.
  • Vegetable Agroforestry and Cashew-Cacao Systems in Vietnam
    Thanh Ha, D.; Van Du, Le; Thanh Loan, L.; Loi, N. Kim; Duc Thanh, N.; Duc Phuoc, P. H.; Midmore, David J.; Catacutan, D.; Palada, Manuel C.; Reyes, M.; Cajilig, R.; Kunta, K.; Sombatpanit, Samran (Bangkok, Thailand: World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC), 2011)
    This book is part of a four-book series that details the research conducted by the Nong Lam University research team concerning the addition of cacao to cashew farming systems in Vietnam. Eight cacao varieties were tested on farmer-owned cashew plantations and had promising results that showed that cacao grew exceptionally well under the cashew canopy, and will be profitable to farmers. These ecologically-sound, integrated vegetable agroforestry systems were developed in order to increase farm production and income, thus stabilizing the supply of products for markets and improving food security.