VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF AGRONOMY UNDERGRADUATE THESIS TITLE: “ROLES OF SOCIO- ECONOMIC, CULTURAL AND TECHNICAL FACTORS IN ON- FARM _AGRO-BIODIVERSITY VIA FARMER’S SEED CHOICE” Student : Tran Thi Thanh Van Student code : 611747 Class : K61KHCTT Supervisor : Msc. Nguyen Thi Phuong Department : Horticulture and Landscaping Hanoi, 2021 CONFIRMATION I confirm that the research on assessing roles of different socio-economic, cultural and technical factors in on- farm _agro-biodiversity via farmer’s seed choice is the result of my own research and has never been published in any work of others. During the implementation process of this project, I have seriously taken research ethics and all findings of this project are results of my own work; all references in this project are clearly cited according to the official regulations. I bear full responsibility for the fidelity of the numbers, data and other contents of my research project.
Hanoi 28, February 2021 Author Tran Thi Thanh Van i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To conduct my undergraduate thesis, the work would not have been done without the help and support from my respectful people. Foremost, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, MSc. Nguyen Thi Phuong, Department of Horticulture and Landscaping - Faculty of Agronomy, Vietnam National University of Agriculture for her help throughout my undergraduate thesis. Her advice, guidance, professionalism, and understanding of the scientific process have greatly contributed to my learning experience.
Without their substantial support, it would be impossible to conduct this thesis. My sincere thanks also go to teachers in the Faculty of Agronomy, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, whose encouragement, guidance and inspiration supported me during my time at the university. Besides that, I am thankful to my dear classmates, the advanced crop science class (KHCTT, K61), for all the time we had within these five years. Last but not least, special thanks are given to my parents for all their help, encouragement and love over the years.
Thank you sincerely. Hanoi 28, February 2021 Author Tran Thi Thanh Van ii CONTENTS CONFIRMATION. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi TABLE OF FIGURE.
ix PART 1: INTRODUCTION. Objective and requirement. The importance of vegetable production to the socio-economic development. Origin of vegetable crops.
The value of vegetables. The economic value of vegetables .2 Nutritional value of vegetable crops. The Social value of vegetables. Vegetable production and consumption.
Vegetable production and consumption in the world. Vegetable production and consumption in Vietnam. The role of vegetable crops in ensuring food security and nutrition. Food Security Through Production of Vegetables.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. Object and Materials research. Experiment site and research time. Evaluating the importance of socio-economic and technical factors in driving on-farm agro-biodiversity (with a focus on vegetables) via the seed choice of farmers.
Farmer’s choice in seed procurement in different ethnic groups.Evaluate the performance of the bush common bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris) from two seed sources: local seed and improved seed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Evaluating the importance of socio-economic, cultural and technical factors in on-farm agro-biodiversity (with a focus on vegetables) via the seed choice of farmers.Vegetable production and farmer’s seed choice in ethnic minority farmers (Dao and Thai) in Sapa – Lao Cai and Mai Son – Son La. Interview farmers in Hung Yen to determine the decision in farmer’s seed choice .Evaluation of growth and development of two bush common bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris).
Testing the germination rate of two bush common bean varieties (Phaseolus vulgaris) in laboratory. Growth and development of two bush common bean varieties from two seed sources (local and improved seed) on-field.Ability to grow stems of local and improve varieties grown in the field in Hanoi, in Autunm-Winter season 2020-2021. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 71 PART IV: REFERENCE.
78 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Table 2. Chemical composition of vegetables (content per100 g). Summary of studies on vegetables seed system interventions categorized according to their entries in the impact pathways. Summary of studies on cereal seed system interventions categories according to their entry in the impact pathways.
Summary of studies on the others crops seed system interventions categories according to their entry in the impact pathways. Vegetables crops grown in the field and garden of Dao and Thai ethnics people and the ratio of farmers planted. The relation between land size, farmers age, purpose and vegetables types of Kinh people in Hung Yen province. The seed germination rate of bush common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) from two seed sources: local seed and improved seed that were sourced in Gia Lam – Hanoi.
The growth and development indicators of the bush common bean varieties sourced from two seed sources: local seed and improved seed in Gia Lam – Hanoi in autumn -winter season, 2020. 67 vi TABLE OF FIGURE Figure. Comparison of global production of primary vegetables in 2008 and 2018, by major regions (Source: FAO,2018). The growth rate of Vietnam Fruits and Vegetable market.
Global production volume of vegetables from 2000 to 2018. Vegetable production for export of some nations in the world. Vegetable production for import of some nations in the world. The global vegetable production in 2019.
The export value of fruits and vegetables in 2016-2018. Top 10 markets that Vietnam exports most fruit and vegetables in July (Source: General Department of Customs,2020). Vegetable, fruits and other commodities’ export turnovers in the first quarter of 2020 (Source: General Department of Customs, 2020). The crop groups according to distribution areas.
The relationship between seed type and land area, main purpose and the age of farmers in Sapa. The types of vegetables grown and percentage of household interviewed in Hung Yen. Seed germination of two bush common bean varieties from two seed sources: local seed and improved seed, which were sown without water treatment. Seed germination of two bush common bean varieties from two seed sources: local seed and improved seed, which were treated with cold water prior to sowing.
Seed germination of two bush common bean varieties from two seed sources: local seed and improved seed, which were treated with warm water prior to sowing. The plant height (cm) of the bush common bean crop grown from two sources of seed: local seed and improved seed in Gia Lam – Hanoi. The plant width (cm) of the bush common bean crop grown from two sources of seed: local seed and improved seed in Gia Lam – Hanoi. The length of leaf (cm) of the bush common bean crop grown from two sources of seed: local seed and improved seed in Gia Lam – Hanoi.
70 viii ABTRACT A literature review of papers relating farmer seed choice. Validation of findings by analyzing farmer survey in different Ethnic groups and ecological regions and a controlled experiment. Clearly that the on-farm agro-biodiversity maintained by farmers is directly influenced by farmer’s seed choice. It was hypothesized that there would be multifaceted factors involving in this process, including either socio-economic, cultural or technical aspects.
Yet we lack a holistic how these factors work in specific farmers’ context and how they are interplayed. The review part was presented in three main sections: social- cultural, social-economic, and environment factors mediating the choice of farmers in seed for use in each crop groups. It also went on to unpack the benefits and challenges associated with the seed under these themes. A further interview campaign with farmers in different ethnic groups (Dao, Thai and Kinh) and ecological regions (Sa Pa – Lao Cai, Mai Son – Son La and Hung Yen) was administered to validate and gain an evident-based findings supporting the outputs from the previous literature review.
The review results show that socio-cultural factors play a role in preferences of culinary taste, food quality and traditional customs of local varieties (also from local seed) while socio- economic factors such as markets, gender, education, age of household head, wealth, land size have different outcome effects on farmer’s choice of seeds. This result was also proved in the further additional survey: seed quality per se may play an essential role in mediating farmer’s seed choice as the local seed we got from the local market does not guarantee the quality while the improved one does better. ix PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction Biodiversity conservation is considered to be one of the most important issues discussed in sustainable agriculture development.
Biodiversity is a vital part of a healthy and sustainable environment and so with loss of biodiversity in a region or an ecosystem, would be inevitable. The global agro-biodiversity increasingly decreases due to the loss of diversity in genetic sources (e., species and varieties) of food crops which are partially attributed to the commercialization of crop production. The intensive spreading and worldwide use of improved and/or modern crop varieties have led to genetic erosion, resulting in the loss of local crops, landraces and elite allele diversity. Since the 1900’s, for example, an expense of 75% of the genetic diversity of farmers’ crops was lost in favor of genetically uniform, high-yielding varieties.
At the same time, high-yielding crop varieties may result in crop failure if they are cultivated under sub-optimal conditions and provided with inappropriate input requirements (e., fertilizers) on marginal locations, thereby increasing hunger rate, food insecurity and downgrade in sovereign food production in countries of the global South. Globally, vegetables are a group of horticultural crops of great importance which may improve the livelihoods of farmers and address the issues of self-sufficiency, food security and economic development of remote areas. Vegetables production may offer jobs, bring a stable income to farming communities, positively improve socio-economic conditions and also provides essential nutrients and minerals to ensure human’s health, nutrition security and nutrition for humans. Jordaan et al.
(2008) found that domestication of indigenous fruit varieties was mean that ensure their contribution to income generation in rural communities. To make certain that indigenous vegetables contribute to the sustainable development a basket of promotional strategies and 1 marketing ought of them should be developed implemented and empowered implemented. Vietnam's diverse agro-ecosystems allow the production of both tropical and temperate vegetables within the country. Beside a number of improved and imported vegetables (e., cabbages, tomatoes, kohlrabi, cucumbers, peppers, beans and leafy peas), there are also many traditional and wild vegetables which is maintained, cultivated but under-utilized.
Vietnam is known as one of countries which are richest in vegetable diversity with a large portfolio of vegetable crops grown countrywide. It is noted that out of 403 crop species used as vegetables in Vietnam, 293 (of 84 families) species are indigenous, of which 41 species are used as spices. A richness in indigenous vegetables indicates a very substantive source of crop biodiversity while they are well adapted to local soil profiles and climatic conditions, and often can be grown with minimal external inputs (De la Peña et al. Those varieties often have high potential of good resistance to pests and diseases and external conditions.
The Northern Uplands of Vietnam (NUV), also called Mountain Areas, constitute one of the largest and diverse ecological regions of the country. The region covers 29% of the national land area and has 11 million inhabitants (GSO, 2009). It is characterized by a hilly and mountainous topography and a settlement of diversities in ethnic communities, cultures, and farming systems (Castella & Quang, 2002; Wezel et al. Most people there also mainly rely on farming and forestry for foods and livelihoods, which are highly vulnerable to natural hazards.
Sa Pa is the highly mountainous township of Lao Cai province located on the east side of the Hoang Lien Son range- an extremity of the Himalayas, with the population of 53,580 people. There are 6 ethnic groups domesticating in this township including H’mong (53%), Dao (25%), followed by Kinh (15%), Tay, Giay and Xa Pho (Lao Cai Statistic 2 Office, 2009).