Intensive small-scale farming in Vietnam

ILEIA Newsletter Vol. 11 No. 1 p. 4

Intensive small-scale farming in Vietnam

VACVINA

In Vietnam, a country of small-scale farmers, an integrated farming system called VAC rapidly gains interest. Although their plots are small, most farmers can achieve surplus for the market from six months to two years after starting the work.

The VAC system is a highly intensive method of small-scale farming in which food gardening, fish rearing and animal husbandry are integrated. Developed from traditional gardening in the fertile Red River Delta, which is a major rice growing area, VAC farming is now practised in most regions of Vietnam. In 1986 the Association of Vietnamese gardeners, VACVINA, was founded to promote this system. Due to decades of war Vietnam’s agriculture was seriously set back. Malnutrition was widespread in rural areas. Many families only had rice.

As the VAC system produces a diversity of easy-to-grow nutritious vegetables, fruits and animal proteins it is a very effective approach to combat malnutrition and increase income. Research has shown that in many communities in the Red River Delta where VAC farming is practised, income from VAC constitutes 50-70% of farmers’ income. Annual income through VAC farming is three to five times higher than that derived in the same area from growing two rice crops per year. For this reason VACVINA gets support from the government and international organisations such as UNICEF.

The basic design

First a hole is dug in the ground. The soil from the hole is used for the foundations on which the house and the animal sheds are built and to raise garden beds. House and gardens need to be protected from rising water, as the Red River Delta is flooded each summer. Rainfall and the high water table turn the hole itself into a pond. In this way a small area is created where animal husbandry, gardening and fish rearing can be combined adjacent to the house.

Crops are grown in the garden in a bio-intensive way without the use of chemicals. Various species are intercropped and overlapped to make full use of moisture, solar energy and soil nutrients. Fruit trees are interspersed with vegetables, beans and tuber crops which grow in the shade. Other legumes are grown along the edge of the garden and timber trees and rattan are planted to form green fences.

A variety of fish is reared in the pond, so that food resources are fully used at different water depths. Taro is planted around the pond and marsh-lentils cover part of its surface. Gourds are grown on the trellis just above the water.

Pigsty and poultry shed are situated close to the pond. Pig manure is used for plant and fish food and various garden products are used to feed the livestock and fish. During the dry season, the pond provides nutrient-rich water and sludge to irrigate and fertilise the garden.

The whole VAC system is operated by the farmer’s family. They consume or sell the products and in return they contribute organic waste to the system. As the VAC system is very labour intensive, it provides productive employment for people of all ages because hard manual labour is not required. VAC farming allows women to work in a healthy environment close to their home and children, instead of going to distant rice fields or construction works.

Modifying VAC

The original VAC model has been modified to suit Vietnam’s three principal ecological regions: the coastal area, the deltas, and the foot-hills and mountains. Further modifications are being made to suit particular conditions, such as in cyclone-susceptible dune areas.

In the coastal areas a typical VAC garden is bordered by a row of Casuarina equisetifolia acting as a windbreak, hindering drifting sand and filtering salt. Other trees and rattan are densely planted on mounds built up around the garden as protection. Within the garden, a variety of fruit trees is grown. Fish and prawns are raised in brackish ponds and canals.

In the deltas, especially Mekong Delta, people dig canals around and between their gardens to achieve better drainage and to wash salt from the soil. Fruit trees grown here are selected according to their suitability to water quality and soil type. On land close to the coast, coconut palms are intercropped with e.g. rambutan, mango, citrus, bananas, guava, pineapple. A little further inland, citrus species dominate and are intercropped with coffee, cacao and pepper plants.

In the foothills and mountains the higher and steeper slopes are covered with timber trees intercropped with Nitrogen-fixing plants and trees. Further down the slope timber trees are mixed with coffee or tea or with fruit trees such as apricot, plum, persimmon and longan. Peanuts, pulses, medicinal herbs and tuber crops are planted underneath. A series of small ditches and contour banks are built along the slopes to prevent erosion. Pineapples are often grown along the contour banks. Near the foot of the hill, close to the house, the vegetable garden, animal shed and fish pond are situated.

Spreading VAC

To extend its activities VACVINA applies the strategy ‘from model farms to extensive fields’. This starts from the experiences gained on selected pilot farms situated in each typical ecological region. First, pilot families are selected, then VAC techniques are introduced through in-service training, seminars, field practice and clubs of VAC practitioners. On the basis of this information the pilot families design their own family VAC system.

With support of technicians and supplies (tools, animals, fishes, improved seeds and documents) from VACVINA they create their own VAC garden. When the first results are achieved, a meeting is organised for trainees and activists in neighbouring communities to assess the work done and to exchange experiences. When results and benefits are evident and understood by the local people, VAC practices are extended in the surrounding areas.

With the new policy of the Vietnamese Government to encourage promotion of family self-reliance and income, the VAC movement is increasing strongly and playing an important role in improving people’s life as well as in diversifying Vietnamese agriculture and protecting natural resources and the environment to ensure sustainable development.

VACVINA, UNICEF and Rosemary Morrow
VACVINA, 6, Nguyen Cong Tru Street, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Reference
– National Association of Vietnamese Gardeners. VAC and VACVINA: Vietnamese community action programme against hunger, malnutrition and environmental destruction. Hanoi, VACVINA, 32 p.