Better Rice Initiative Asia- Monthly Update

Transcription

1 Contribute to Better Rice Production and Nutrition in South East Asia Better Rice Initiative Asia- Monthly Update Photo credit GIZ BRIA Indonesia Volume: 33 - November 2017

2 2 Editor s Note BRIA Promoting Better Rice, Better Life in Southeast Asia The Better Rice Initiative Asia or BRIA is a public-private partnership project initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to promote sustainable development of the regional rice sector and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Indonesia, Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines. Its partners include private companies such as Bayer, BASF, Olam, Yara, DSM and national agencies like the Thai Rice Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Philippine Department of Agriculture, the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In Indonesia, BRIA has established 375 Sustainable Rice Production Centres (SRPC) in the two provinces of East Java and North Sumatra. The project has 125 field coordinators trained in sustainable rice production and each coordinator is responsible for three centres. Here they have organised the Farmer Field School to transfer proven rice farming technologies to lead farmers, who are in turn expected to pass on the knowledge to more farmers. The project has addressed the malnutrition problem in the country by introducing rice fortification with micronutrients. In Thailand, the project has conducted farmer training on Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard, covering 200 Community Rice Centres in Ubon Ratchathani, Surin, Sisaket and Roi-Et provinces. Trained farmers are encouraged to share acquired knowledge with their neighbours. Furthermore, television campaigns have also promoted safe pesticide application, soil management, quality seeds and sustainable rice production. The project produced materials on post-harvest management to help farmers minimise losses and improve quality. In the Philippines, BRIA has contributed to the country s long-term goal of making rice production in the country responsive to food security and global competitiveness. The project has aimed to strengthen the local government units (LGUs) and their respective extension service delivery mechanism by training agricultural extension workers (AEWs) and lead farmer technicians (LFT) in Iloilo, Southern Leyte and Aurora. The project also financed extension activities of the respective LGUs such as farmers field schools (FFS), technology updates, and farmers classes. Through these activities, the trained AEWs and LFTs have attained an outreach of around 8,000 farmers. As part of the knowledge product developed by the project, the BRIA training compendium containing 17 training modules has been turned over to the Department of Agriculture. This training compendium was a product of strong and intensified collaboration between the public and private partners. Other significant activities included the conduct of market linkage activities in Iloilo which involved a total of 2,018 farmers. In Viet Nam, the project aims to improve the income situation of rice farmers by raising rice production in an ecologically sustainable manner and improving access to quality markets. In cooperation with the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD), the project has worked with private sector actors to pilot public-private partnership (PPP) models for large field rice cultivation in the three provinces of Dong Thap, Hau Giang and Kien Giang. The objectives are to improve the quality of rice, increase farmer income, optimise value chains and strengthen cooperatives. Private sector stakeholders in the collaboration include farmer cooperatives, farmer groups, rice traders, rice millers and input suppliers.

3 3 Some of the achievements attained by BRIA are as follows: Training in the SRP standard on sustainable rice cultivation with the Thai Rice Department and Olam has significantly improved marketing opportunities and market access for farmers in Ubon Ratchathani. At the end of 2016, Thailand produced the world s first crop of SRP rice. Crop performance depends on seed quality but supply of quality rice seed falls short of demand in North Sumatra, Indonesia. BRIA has therefore trained farmers to become seed producers. In this province, at least seven pioneers have successfully carried out seed production. To date, some 30 farmers have undergone training. Rice in Viet Nam was found to have high levels of chemical residues. The PPP models launched by BRIA to foster cooperation among the government, farmer cooperatives, rice producers and traders have led to good quality rice production and a healthy market price. Chemical residues tests have shown that rice produced by farmers in the project sites now meet international standards, a criterion for exports to the EU and American markets. The Training of Trainers modules in the Philippines harnessed and applied an innovative adult learning concept. This approach generated considerable interest amongst government partners and has led to the incorporation of the training materials in the curricula used by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), two major public sector partners. BRIA has actively supported the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) as a founding member. The project has promoted the SRP standard to encourage farmers to work in line with sustainability criteria. Farmers not only enjoy higher productivity by producing their rice as per the SRP standard, but also take account of environmental and social impacts. In summary, the project has delivered direct support to more than 20,000 rice farmers in the four countries. The production practices recommended by the project have benefitted participating farmers and raised their incomes in the range of 10 to 25 per cent. Overall, BRIA has attempted to substantially contribute to food security in these major rice producing and consuming countries. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, BRIA Regional Director Kamol Taukitphaisarn, BRIA Communication

4 4 Better Rice Initiative Indonesia The demand for rice, the most important crop in the country, is estimated to increase by 38% in the next 25 years. Assuming that the planting area, which often amounts to only 0.3 to 0.5 ha per farming household, remains the same, this gap will need to be filled by increasing yields, With the Indonesian population growing at a rate of 1.49% per year, efforts to raise rice production to meet the demands of about 275 million people by 2025 are necessary. Lack of access to information and technology for best farming practices, quality agro-inputs, markets and agricultural finance are all part of the challenges in developing the food crop sector. BRIA has two components in Indonesia - agriculture and nutrition. The agriculture component promotes capacity development of stakeholders in the rice value chain and improves market linkages for rice smallholder farmers. The nutrition component enhances the nutritional status of poor population groups with oil and rice fortification. The agriculture component aims to strengthen farmers expertise and knowledge in best rice farming practice to increase productivity and quality in order to improve the economy, welfare and family food security. BRIA has set the following indicators: Participating farmers have increased profit by at least 10% from rice farming. Young farmers have been motivated to engage in sustainable rice cultivation with improved knowledge gained from Farmer Field School (FFS) and rice agribusiness development. Market linkages have been strengthened among various actors along the rice supply chain. A rice seed business has been established to meet demand for quality seed in North Sumatra. The project has been implemented in two priority provinces of North Sumatra and East Java, covering five districts, namely Deli Serdang, Sedang Berdagai, Langkat, Simalungun and Jember.

5 5 Farmer Capacity Building Implementing Farmer Field School (FFS) at the village level has become BRIA s core knowledge management and dissemination activity by involving both public and private agricultural extension services. FFS is an adult learning approach used to transfer technical know-how and practical skills to farmers through technical training, physical field demonstration and learning-by-doing exercises. The learning process at the FFS focuses on farmer participation in brainstorming, sharing experiences and knowledge, demo plot observation, small group discussions and presentations. FFS is conducted from pre-cropping until the post-harvest stage. One curriculum applies to one crop cycle and consists of 11 meetings with a different topic for each meeting. FFS takes place on a demonstration plot where best rice farming practices can be observed. The demo plot serves as the learning site to contextualise lessons in the ToT (Training of Trainers) and FFS with field-based examples. This has allowed farmers to test and validate what they have learned from training in real field conditions.

6 6 In cooperation with the Indonesian Centre for Rice Research (ICRR), university and project partners, BRIA developed modules which aim to impart knowledge about best farming practices to farmers. A comprehensive module has also been developed specifically for use as a guideline for field facilitators/extension officials during FFS meetings. Module Contents for Field Facilitators Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) - seed technology, soil and nutrient management based on soil test kit, jajar legowo planting method, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Nutrition - definition and nutrition requirements, balanced nutrition (Family Nutrient Pyramid), nutrition sensitive agriculture Farmer Group Empowerment - functions and benefits of farmer group, group administration and action plan. Android app guidelines - operating the application for collecting farmers data The modules together with compiled farmer data will be handed over to the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture.

7 7 Supporting farmers to start a seed production business in North Sumatra Realising the great potential for seed business due to the growing demand for quality seed, BRIA selected and provided capacity building to 25 seed-grower groups in collaboration with Rice Seed Association, research institutions, as well as universities. The seed-grower groups were trained in BRIA technologies, seed production and certification. Before the planting season, seed-grower groups completing all required documents were registered by Seed Certification Agency. BRIA then continued to support seed growers with technical seed production assistance, monitoring and internal inspection. They were encouraged to apply GAP. The Seed Certification Agency conducted field audits with sample seed checked in a laboratory. After certification and seed verification, labels were issued. The support extended by BRIA also covered market and financial access. The market access included marketing and distribution, promotion, retailing, with contract farming as an option. BRIA farmers and seed growers are being linked to an agri-financial scheme (KUR), offered by financial institutions in cooperation with the Central Bank of Indonesia and BRI Commercial Bank. KUR is a low-interest loan for working capital aimed at wider credit targets such as farmers, cooperatives, and small and medium enterprises.

8 8 The market linkage initiated by BRIA of local seed growers with a state-owned seed company through contract farming resulted from a series of discussions, field visits and public events involving seed growers and the company. The value chain model promoted by the project offers better benefits for each involved actor, including seed quality and supply assurance and good prices for seed producers.

9 9 Completion of BRIA s Nutrition Component in Indonesia Indonesia is one of 17 countries with nutrition problems of concern, placing the country s nutrition status at the same level as African countries, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute s Global Nutrition Report. The Indonesian population still consumes less than 50% of the amounts of vitamins and minerals needed. Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) is a serious health issue that compromises the cognitive development of young children and increases the risk for maternal death at birth. According to Riskesdas 2013 (Indonesian Basic Health Research) of the Ministry of Health, 37.1 % of pregnant women, 28.1% of children under five years and 26.4% of school children are anaemic. There is not much change in the prevalence of anaemia among children under five and school children. In Indonesia, the nutrition component was concluded in 2016 and its overall objective was to enhance the nutritional status of poor population groups in the country. Generally, BRIA promoted three complementary measures to tackle micronutrient deficiencies: (1) supplementation as a short-term measure, (2) food fortification as a highly cost-effective medium-term measure, and (3) dietary diversification as the long-term solution to malnutrition. Dietary diversification requires long-term behaviour changes and is strongly related to availability of nutritious foods. However, food fortification can reach a broader target group through current market channels.

10 10 The nutrition component consisted of two subcomponents: oil fortification and rice fortification. The objectives were (i) to improve quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) for vitamin A-fortified edible oil; (ii) increase access to micronutrient fortified rice, especially for poor and vulnerable population groups; (iii) promote a healthy diet/broader nutrition deriving from the daily rice bowl. The main public sector partners were the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS), as well as the Indonesian National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM). Further partners such as research institutions, schools, rice millers and traders were involved directly and indirectly in the implementation of several activities such as oil fortification, trial production of premix kernels for rice fortification, social market research related to rice fortification, a clinical study of rice fortification, and different stakeholder workshops as well as rice value chain trainings to promote rice fortification at various levels. Rice plays an important role in the Indonesian diet and about 95% of Indonesians consume rice every day. The average intake of rice in Indonesia is grammes per capita per day. According to international studies, fortification of rice has good efficacy in reducing IDA. As a major result, BRIA successfully stimulated the interest of the private sector to join the fortified rice business since the technology and production process were domestically tested and proven. BRIA promotes fortification of local rice that is suited to the nutritional needs and preferences of the Indonesian market. A number of small and big companies have become interested in producing premix kernels and fortified rice. Furthermore, the nutrition component sought to improve the health and well-being of targeted households in Indonesia by promoting through social marketing, increased variety and quality of household dietary intake with healthy diet/broader nutrition deriving from the daily rice bowl. To achieve this goal, nutrition messages about the daily rice bowl were developed, tested and shared with the larger public.

11 11 Sustainable Rice Production in Thailand Working in collaboration with the Rice Department (RD), BRIA selected and trained approximately 10,000 farmers from 200 Community Rice Centres (CRCs) who grow rice in large fields. This is in line with the government s mega-farm project and involved farmer groups in four provinces in the northeast of Thailand. Together with its partners, BRIA trained smart farmers, CRC representatives, using the Training Transfer Model, which teaches farmers how to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of their groups and to improve and integrate proper rice cultivation knowledge with their existing activities. This has led to a transformation of their agricultural practices, which are now more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was introduced to pilot sites to help with data assessment and reduce communication distance. Instant messaging is widely used by project farmers. The messaging application makes communication more active as it is in real-time. Farmers are now able to exchange ideas, information and farming techniques within their groups without having to ride a motorcycle to their Community Rice Centre. The RD and BRIA Thailand have encouraged farmers to use this mobile application not only within their groups but also to submit inquiries to RD experts so they can get responses within a few minutes. Smart farmers support their group members in terms of fertiliser and nutrient management, planting methods and quality seed management and the farmers have been able to successfully apply the knowledge gained from the BRIA training to improve their crops, production and livelihoods.

12 12 More importantly, this public-private-partnership (PPP) collaboration has introduced the world s first sustainable rice standard to Thai farmers. This pilot project was initiated in 2016, focusing on two CRCs in Detudom district, Ubon Ratchathani province. In cooperation with the RD, Bayer, and Olam, BRIA developed a sustainable rice training concept based on the Sustainable Rice Platform standard developed by IRRI (the International Rice Research Institute). The training approach was tailored to Thai farmers needs. One of the requirements for farmers compliance with the SRP standard is assessment through a thirdparty audit. This is to ensure that farmers follow the procedures and standard requirements to achieve the best quality of their crops. Last year, 10 farmers from two CRCs (Klang and Bua-Ngam) were randomly selected for assessment. The fact that all successfully passed the audit proves that the learning content has been well understood and actually applied. The farmers were also able to sell their crops at a higher price than they have in the past. The strong level of cooperation between the key partners and farmers allowed BRIA Thailand to effectively organise smart farmer trainings and simplify training processes. This was successful thanks to the expertise and commitment demonstrated by both the partners and farmers. Awareness of the new techniques and application of the gained knowledge increases the acceptance by more and more farmers. The increased confidence will lead an increasing number of farmers integrating this knowledge with their traditional agricultural production systems, and thus ultimately help them to improve their own living conditions.

13 13 Farmers Love Series TV Programme For three years, BRIA Thailand has successfully been raising awareness through public television broadcasts. BRIA worked closely with BASF and the RD on the Farmers Love TV series, using it as a platform to provide knowledge about rice farming practices in Thailand. In 2015, Farmers Love Safety was aired with the objective of informing farmers about crop protection products (CPPs) and covered the risks and effects of improper CPP use as well as proper field CPP application. This aimed to change farmer behaviour from traditional farming to more efficient practice. A total of 276 farmers joined the training session on safe and effective use of CCPs. Ninety-seven percent of farmers who watched the FLS were willing to share their knowledge with others and 96% were willing to change their behaviour. Following the success of the Farmers Love Safety TV contest, Farmers Love Soil was aired on television later that same year. The show provided knowledge and skills to farmers on how to manage their soil more sustainably. The United Nations declared 2015 as the International Year of Soils. BRIA supported the TV programme to promote better soil management, production, cost reduction, good agricultural practices, and preservation of fertile rice fields for future generations. The show received support from the Land Development Department, Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in addition to the RD. In 2016, as part of the Farmers Love TV series, BRIA launched Farmers Love Seed. In June, the programme encouraged Thai farmers nationwide to adopt good quality seeds and seed management to raise productivity and rice quality. Compared with the two previous years, the 2016 programme attracted a larger audience as it was aired on a public TV with a wider range of target groups. Technical knowledge on how good quality seeds are produced, insight into different varieties of quality seeds, and where to buy quality seeds were also featured. In 2017, the TV broadcast Farmers Love Sustainable Rice with the objective of encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable farming. With BRIA s success in implementing a sustainable rice pilot site in northeastern Thailand, sustainable rice farming was introduced on the central plain. A farmer group from Ayutthaya was selected to compete with another farmer group in Nakhon Sawan. These groups of farmers were expected to contribute the knowledge received from RD experts to their communities. BRIA in cooperation with BASF, Olam, and the RD developed a training manual for farmers in irrigated areas, where rice cultivation is different from that practised by farmers in the Northeast of Thailand who rely on rain. To conclude, farmers have said that the Farmers Love Series offered them good opportunities to learn appropriate farming practices.with the support of BRIA, farmers have the opportunity to learn new techniques that help them reduce costs and increase yields. Farmers now know how to cope with issues likely to arise on their farms. BRIA has constantly supported and promoted sustainable agriculture across the country and hopes that one day not only will rice farming become sustainable, but other crops and commodities can also be produced sustainably to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

14 14 Fostering agriculture and rice marketing through improved education and rural advisory services in the Philippines BRIA has endeavoured to contribute to the Philippines long term goal of achieving rice selfsufficiency. The project has been implemented with the goal of strengthening the local government units (LGUs) in their delivery of extension services to farmers and to help farmers in the selected LGUs to improve their market position and income, contributing to an enhanced food security. The project activities have been designed to respond to the set indicators: 70% of 200 trained municipal agricultural officers, lead farmers and private service providers are able to apply their knowledge on value chains, basic agriculture, rice-specific farming techniques and enhanced methods following training delivery. Strengthening the local extension system is one of the project s components. Of the target 200 extension intermediaries, a total of 244 had been trained to train and provide extension advisory to farmers. These included agricultural extension workers (AEWs), municipal agricultural officers (MAOs), lead farmer technicians (LFTs), agricultural staff of partner agencies, and farmers. A series of training sessions on the BRIA modules were rolled out to develop those trained into better service providers to farmers and other rice farming stakeholders in the LGUs. Through the local subsidy support, more trainings for and with farmers had been carried out and the visibility of extension workers in their assigned communities has increased. Because of this, there has been increased recognition of AEWs as source of information on farming methods.

15 15 Aside from trainings, demonstration plots (demo plots) were established across three regional sites in Iloilo, Aurora and Southern Leyte provinces. It is the third cropping season that the demo plots have been set up as a core component of BRIA s training curriculum for extension intermediaries and smallholder farmers. The demo plots served as learning sites to contextualise lessons in the ToT and farmer field schools (FFS) with field-based examples. This allowed farmers to test and validate what they have learned from the training in real field conditions. With this experience, it is easier to convince farmers to test rice-based technologies on their own farms. The BRIA demo plots applied cost-efficient technologies, hybrid rice, and best practices in rice cultivation. Promoting cost-efficient technologies and sustainable practices aligns with the government s effort to help farmers boost farm yield and income. The government has spearheaded a campaign encouraging farmers to plant hybrid rice, which is part of a national goal to achieve food sufficiency by Farmers generally witnessed higher yield by using high quality seeds; a sciencebased, holistic and integrated pest management approach; better crop nutrition; and the PalayCheck System. Cost-efficient technologies and sustainable crop management practices helped farmers to achieve higher incomes. The demo plot farmer-cooperators have been taught farming as a business to make sound business decisions, increase profits, keep records, budget and conserve money. The number of demo plots set up from Region Dry Season Wet Season Dry Season Grand Total Region Region Region Total

16 16 About 66% or 131 AEWs and LFTs provided trainings to 7,527 farmers out of 8,000 via the local extension programme supported by BRIA s local subsidy. Local extension modalities consisted of meetings with farmers, farmer field schools (FFS), techno briefings, harvest festival, field visits, and BRIA School Days (BSD). However, the other extension intermediaries were not able to train farmers because their focus commodity is not rice but high valued crops (i.e., corn, vegetables), livestock, and fisheries. To reach the target, the remaining 473 farmers will receive training by November % of 8,000 farmers who received advice from the project achieved 20% yield and 15% income increase in rice production compared to the provincial agricultural average. This indicator is linked with component 1 on providing training to farmers on value chain knowledge, farming as a business, basic agriculture, rice-specific farming techniques such as use of high quality seeds, crop nutrition, product stewardship, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), amongst others. The overall goal is to increase farm yield and income as well as enhance the market position of farmers in the rice value chains. Based on the post-baseline survey, about 34% and 30% of advised farmers achieved 20% yield in both dry and wet seasons, respectively. In terms of income, farmers in Aurora and Iloilo increased their income between 10% and 34% in dry season. In Southern Leyte, though yield increased by 7%, the price of paddy rice significantly decreased (baseline: P20/kg; postbaseline: P16/kg). In wet season, farmers in Iloilo achieved more than 20% yield increase while farmers in Southern Leyte had low yield performance due to bad weather and pest infestation. On the other hand, there has been an increase in farm investment due to the use of high quality seeds and fertilisers. 40% of 8,000 advised farmers have enhanced knowledge of the local rice market and its marketing channels and formal long-term agreements between these farmers and retailers have increased by 20%, taking account of risk management options and microinsurance. BRIA-FARMERS established two market linkage models in the municipalities of Leganes and Pototan, Iloilo, involving a number of actors and value chain stakeholders. During the first two cropping seasons, the parties involved were two farmer associations, a private trader, and a government-supervised rice processing complex. In these models, farmer associations sold 100 tons of paddy rice to buyers with additional Ph0.50 as top up to the prevailing market price. This also included free hauling or transport within 10 kilometres from the farm to markets. The lessons learnt from these previous cropping seasons would be replicated and improved on, whenever applicable. This replication and enhancement activity was undertaken through a collaborative partnership with the Iloilo-based Central Philippine University (CPU). This was initiated by the project and it targeted five more market linkage agreements in another BRIA LGU. The agreements would link farmer groups to rice traders and even, ultimately, consumers. This activity involved 2,107 farmers from 50 farmer associations.

17 17 The CPU-led activities started in July 2017 and was rigorously pursued in close collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and PhilRice. As the first step, CPU carried out market needs assessments among the target municipalities and the stakeholders. In total, 11 marketing contracts were signed among farmer associations and millers, traders, and institutional buyers with 14 contracts under negotiations in Region 6. In terms of volume, tons were traded in 2016 while in 2017 the committed volume of paddy rice to be traded until December is 3,550 cavans or tons. However, the volume could further rise as the contract negotiations are still ongoing. In the post-assessment survey, 51% of farmers have demonstrated increased knowledge and access to local rice market. Despite no improvement in crop insurance availment, farmers have considered microinsurance more important in view of the changing climate condition. As part of the sustainability of this market linkage activity, the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office 6 (DA-RFO 6) will extend its technical and logistical support to the involved farmer associations even beyond the project. Development of training modules and good practices in production techniques, marketing and stakeholder cooperation documented, disseminated, and accessible to all, submitted to the Department of Agriculture. The BRIA-FARMERS training compendium can be considered the centerpiece knowledge product of the project. It has 17 training modules worked on by technical experts from PhilRice, ATI, IRRI, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, Bayer and Yara. The compendium contains all the modules which are considered the most important topics in rice farming. Aside from the rice-based technologies, two new modules used during the ToTs and considered the major contribution of the project to the training curriculum of the public partners, are Farming as a Business and Farmers Engagement Training: The Basic of Training Adults. These modules have been the main content of the ToTs conducted across the regions. The training compendium was turned over to the Department of Agriculture during the National Learning Event on 26 October. Aside from the training modules, other knowledge products turned over included printed materials to be used as visual aids for training. They serve as supplementary materials to the training modules. Aside from the training compendium, the BRIA Learning Videos produced by the project, formed part of the training package handed over to the Department of Agriculture. As in the case of the training compendium, the videos were a product of the technical inputs from the experts from all the partner organisations. The topics for the learning videos include: proper land preparation, the use of high quality and recommended seeds, crop establishment focusing on direct seeding, farming as a business, integrated pest management, 4 Rs in crop nutrition, climate-smart rice production technologies, and harvest and postharvest technologies. The videos will be uploaded and made available through social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook. The partners, moreover, financed the production of some of the videos.

18 18 Sustainable Management of Rice Production Systems through the Introduction of Improved Technologies (SMART) in Vietnam BRIA aimed to raise the sustainable production and quality of Vietnamese rice by implementing publicprivate partnership (PPP) models in the three provinces of Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Dong Thap. The PPP models strengthened the cooperation among farmers and farmer cooperatives, rice traders, and local authorities and the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDs). Under this approach, farmers and farmer cooperatives operated large rice-field production to provide adequate and quality products to meet rice traders requirements. Rice traders supported the rice cultivation by buying all quality rice products from the large fields under a contractual commitment with farmer cooperatives. Other stakeholders were input suppliers and technical officers. DARDs and local authorities ensured the models were aligned with provincial priorities, coordinated and supervised the cooperation among stakeholders, and provided technical support for farmers. BRIA coordinated the cooperation among all the stakeholders, provided training on smart rice cultivation and technical support for farmers, as well as developed the capacity of famer cooperatives. Trained rice farmers in the three provinces successfully apply recommended smart rice cultivation systems BRIA farmers received four training modules designed to address the growth & development stages of rice plants. Field diaries and guidance on note taking were provided for farmers during training. In each module, 3 6 groups of farmers were trained. Training courses were organised at farmers houses or local community centres and conducted by trainers made up of local technical staff members and farmer group leaders trained to become trainers by experts from Can Tho University and the Southern Regional Plant Protection Centre. There are a total of 30 master trainers and 36 co-facilitators.

19 19 In this crop season, BRIA has also provided IPM technology in the training, updated farmers on the rice market as well as checked farmers diary records to control pesticide and fertiliser use in order to achieve the target of meeting higher rice quality standards in BRIA sites. Rice market informationsharing benefits cooperatives in forecasting rice prices and in negotiations with rice traders. IPM application has been integrated with the 1 must, 6 reductions rice cultivation technique to improve the overall BRIA training and to control pesticides in BRIA project sites. So far, 1,500 farmers have undergone technical training from the project, or 78.5% of the total number of the targeted farmers. Of these, 12.8% are women. Farmers received 3 training models during the rice growth stages and the last training in the winter- spring crop season (the fourth training) was provided at the end of January and February To promote monitoring of farmer adoption of trained techniques and field diary keeping, technicians and lead farmers were updated on monitoring techniques. Developed concepts for smart rice cultivation systems show 20% gross margin increase through enhanced productivity and/or reduced application of agricultural inputs For previous crop seasons, BRIA has collected data on gross margins for monitoring. An average gross margin increase of 40% was observed in fields under the BRIA PPP models compared with fields outside the models in Dong Thap, Hau Giang and Kien Giang, as follows: New project farmers in this crop season in Tam Nong district, Dong Thap, indicated that they estimate the input costs for the two rice growth stages will reduce by 25% compared to those for the last crop. A new BRIA farmer even asked his relatives to adopt the same SMART application to save costs.

20 20 Suitable and appropriate rice standards for quality markets have been developed and officially approved In December 2016, BRIA organised a workshop to introduce the SRPS (Sustainable Rice Platform Standard) to key Vietnamese partners from government and private sectors, farmers, researchers and NGOs. A survey for fact finding of the current rice quality control system in Viet Nam as well as an analysis of the existing rice cultivation standards with the possibility of adopting SRP certification was implemented by IPSARD (the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development). At least 270 tons of high quality rice were produced in each of the three provinces BRIA collected 70 paddy samples to test chemical residues in the winter-spring crop season, under a contract signed with a testing company, namely Intertek. This activity was to check BRIA rice production quality and the test results provided proof of the BRIA rice quality as part of the solution to promote market linkages for farmers. Pesticides Web Version - EU MRLs (updated on 20/04/2017) Pesticide residues and maximum residue levels (mg/kg) (*) Indicates lower limit of analytical determination MRLs (ppm) EU Ord. Pesticide Test (Allowed Level) Hau Giang Dong Thap Kien Giang 1 Acetamiprid (R) 0.01* Azoxystrobin Chlorpyrifos (F) 0.05* Diazinon (F) 0.01* 5 Difenoconazole Fenitrothion 0.05* 7 Flusilazole (F) (R) 0.01* 8 Hexaconazole 0.01* Isoprothiolane Pirimiphos-methyl (F) Propiconazole (sum of isomers) (F) Tebuconazole (R) Tricyclazole

21 21 Concepts for the successful implementation of public-private-partnership projects have been developed and submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). In December 2016, BRIA obtained technical support from the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV) in developing feasible cooperative capacity-building support models for BRIA in Dong Thap. Six cooperatives in Dong Thap were assessed with 45 participating representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Agricultural Extension Centre, Plant Protection Sub Department, Rural Development Sub Department, Provincial Cooperative Alliance of Dong Thap, Finance planning division of District People Committee, rice companies and management board members of coops. A similar assessment was carried out in Hau Giang and Kien Giang in March. Moreover, provincial partners in Hau Giang and Dong Thap organised separate workshops to facilitate matchmaking for farmers, cooperatives and companies. Ninety-two representatives were invited to the workshops of which 55 were from Hau Giang and 37 from Dong Thap. They represented the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), the Agricultural Extension Centre, the Plant Protection Sub Department, the Rural Development Sub Department, the Provincial Cooperative Alliance, rice traders and agricultural input companies and management board members of coops in the respective provinces. Other potential rice traders, companies in other provinces such as Tien Giang, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City were also invited to the workshops. In the workshop in Hau Giang, DARD expressed high appreciation for this initiative. This was a good opportunity for workshop participants to meet and share their needs for further collaboration. Some new rice traders have contacted cooperatives to buy rice produced in their new expanding areas in the next season. During the workshop in Dong Thap, South Seed Company approached Binh Hiep B Cooperative and others to discuss the possibility to establish a partnership in rice seed production and provision. In Kien Giang, partners organised a similar workshop in March.

22 22 Rice IPM Training in Viet Nam The Rice IPM training for farmers and retailers was initiated within the context of Promotion of Integrated Pest Management to Address Plant-hopper Outbreaks in Rice in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam, a project co-financed by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and CropLife International. The training is currently being conducted in the provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Hau Giang under the BRIA project. This training programme has been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) through Decision No: 2448 /QD-BNN-HTQT dated 17 June The Plant Protection Department (PPD) has been assigned to implement the programme. The training modules were developed by specialists from CropLife and GIZ, the Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute (CLRRI) and the Southern Regional Plant Protection Centre (SRPPC). The Plant Protection Sub-departments of Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Hau Giang contributed to their proper adaptation to the rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta. According to MARD, there are around 22,000 pesticide stores across the country but only 80% of these are licensed. Pesticide advertising and labelling are inadequate and many farmers still continue to ignore basic instructions on their use. Improvements can only be achieved through training and education of all stakeholders and this programme has served as a pioneer in the area by including the development of know-how of retailers to conduct responsible chemical business, ban illegal and counterfeit products and offer vital support to farmers as rice doctors. The aim here is to support the Plant Protection Department (PPD) to reinforce key training messages in responsible use at provincial and district levels, the extension services and farmer organisations, as well as local retailers, with the expertise in stewardship provided by CropLife and GIZ. By developing 12 training modules for farmers and eight modules for retailers, the programme has produced 38 qualified technical staff members from PPSDs (Plant Protection Sub-Departments) as Master Trainers to deliver the training classes according to the principles of the Farmer Field School.

23 23 Farmers training modules 1 Introduction: rice eco-systems 2 Agricultural inputs: their responsible and economic use 3 Introduction to IPM: and plant protection measures at the seedling stage 4 How to be an effective rice doctor 5 Importance of natural enemies: IPM decision- making during the tillering stages 6 Understanding pesticides and their labels: a buyer s guide 7 Responsible pesticide use: maximum tillering stage 8 Pesticide application and calibration Retailers training modules 1 Introduction to responsible pesticide use 2 Understanding pesticide products and their labels: giving the best advice to customers 3 Pesticide application: equipment and calibration 4 How to be an effective rice crop doctor 5 Issues with pesticides 6 Transportation and storage of pesticides 7 Maximising the safe use of pesticides and PPE 8 Better pesticide handling, first aid and conclusions 9 Decision-making during the panicle initiation to flowering stages 10 Issues with pesticides 11 Decision making during milky to ripening stages: avoiding residues 12 Pesticide transport, storage, handling, first aid and conclusion During the past three rice-growing seasons in the three provinces of the Mekong Delta, 2,472 farmers had been trained directly in 86 groups and 8,229 farmers trained indirectly through farmer to farmer. Seventeen retailer trainings with 948 participants have been organised. From April to October 2017, the programme intended to train 22 farmer groups (consisting of 660 directly trained farmers and 2,640 farmers benefiting from the farmer to farmer training) and three groups of at least 60 agricultural retailers in the Summer-Autumn seasons. By the end of December this year, the programme expects to have trained a total of 3,000 farmers directly with 12,000 farmers obtaining indirect training. In addition, 67 IPM farmer clubs have been established to maintain the knowledge received by previously trained farmers and promote it to those in the community who have not yet been trained. Public awareness of rice IPM has been created through community meetings and support to farmer clubs, and the presentation of the IPM training concept and methodology at agricultural colleges and universities. IPM booklets are being delivered to the farmer groups, indirectly trained farmers and IPM farmer clubs. The BRIA IPM programme delivered more than 144,000 IPM booklets to the three project sites in April. All in all, the programme is considered successful in achieving the planned outcomes.the final monitoring and evaluation is to be developed during the last quarter of 2017 by CropLife in cooperation with partner organisations and BRIA.

24 24 Completing the Better Rice Initiative Asia Project, Promoting Better Rice, Better Life Photo Credit Natthawut Sawanon

25 25 In 2016, Indonesia stopped importing rice from other countries. One of the driving factors is the BRIA programme aimed at improving the livelihoods of farmers. Agricultural technology promoted by BRIA can increase harvest by up to 40% and reduce production costs by 20%. Hopefully in 2017, we will be able to take on the role of rice exporter, Mrs. Sri Kuntarsih, Director of Financing Facilities and Crop Insurance, Directorate General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities, Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, said enthusiastically. Salt water seed selection and fungicide seed treatment taught through BRIA Farmer Field School to obtain healthy seeds is definitely a new experience for me. I did not realise that without a selection process and treatment, my own seeds might be infected with diseases. And the diseases can be passed on to the seedlings and the crop. I am confident that this harvest will be better than the last growing season, said Suhadi, 49, of Sukajadi village. By visiting this BRIA project site, I have a great opportunity to directly observe farmers activities in the field. I believe that capacity development is key to improving agricultural production and farmers livelihoods and to achieving food security too, noted Mrs. Traudel Koehler, BMZ representative, during a visit to Deli Serdang district in North Sumatra province to observe the BRIA programme and public-private collaboration. The adult learning methodology from the BRIA training has helped me a lot. I learned how to present complicated content in a way that older farmers can understand and apply easily. The modules farming as a business, climate change and crop insurance were new and very useful to me. In my trainings with farmers in the field, I could already apply this knowledge. It will help my farmers to save on expenses, better adapt to climate change and increase their incomes, revealed 32-year-old Delfin Capioso Jr., a municipal agricultural extension worker, who assists Santa Barbara s farmers in their field activities. After joining the SRP standard programme, I applied the knowledge received from BRIA and the Thai Rice Department experts during the training to my rice field, and noticed the difference. Previously, I faced problems with productivity and disease outbreaks, and lacked knowledge about the proper use of fertilisers. After attending the training, I am now able to apply fertilisers optimally, based on soil testing; productivity has improved significantly as a result. In spite of the current low international rice prices, I could sell my rice to the miller at a higher price than other farmers. In the future, I foresee the benefit of joining the SRP programme and am willing to invite other farmers to participate in the programme, said Mrs. Lumpai Na-ngam, a member of Bua Ngam CRC, in Det Udom district, Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. I will apply the knowledge and training methods in BRIA farmer training in my district and other farmer training by AES in the future to gain more farmer participation and focus on encouraging farmers to exchange and discuss with their peers, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Tien from the Agricultural Extension Station (AES) of Go Quao district, Kien Giang province revealed happily. BRIA helps stabilise supplies for export. We signed contracts to buy 1,200 tons of rice in the 2015 and 2016 seasons covering a rice-growing area of 200 ha. The project got farmers to change their approaches. Farmers use certified quality seeds. We are assured of higher quality rice, noted Mr. Ho Vinh Tan, Deputy Director, Hoang Long Joint Stock Company.

26 In Collaboration with National and Regional Agencies and Published by: BRIA Regional Secretariat Office 39/1 Soi Sukhumvit 13, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok Thailand Responsible for the content: Suriyan Vichitlekarn (BRIA Regional Director) If you want to be added or removed from this mailing list, please contact: