Development of the flower industry in Viet Nam
Transcript
Viet Nam has seen considerable development in the horticultural sector in the last 15 years. Particularly in the region around Da Lat
One of the most important factors has been the contribution of new plant varieties. Thanks to the introduction of the UPOV plant variety protection (PVP) system, people now have an incentive to introduce new varieties that improve the livelihood of farmers and provide better quality and choices to consumers.
Ms. Le Thi Kim Oanh, Local farmer - Da Lat City
My name is Kim Oanh, I am 34 years old and live in Da Lat. My main job is being a flower farmer in Da Lat. My family has been doing this job for many generations.
Since partnering with Dalat Hasfarm, my income has improved. I have the opportunity to access many new flower varieties and I have access to the advanced technology that the company provides.
Mr. Bernhard Schenke, Product Development Director Cut Flowers, Dalat Hasfarm
Our company‘s name is Dalat Hasfarm. We have been active in Viet Nam since 1994 and at the moment we produce mainly cut flowers, but also pot plants, young plants and vegetables and we do it at four locations in Viet Nam, with over 250 hectares of greenhouse production and we are a large producer and exporter to Asia and Australia.
Viet Nam recognized that it needed to provide incentives to encourage the development of new varieties of plants and decided to introduce a system of plant variety protection according to the UPOV Convention.
The UPOV system encourages plant breeding by granting breeders of new plant varieties an intellectual property right the breeder's right.
Viet Nam became a member of UPOV in 2006.
When I first started growing flowers, there were only about 3 or 4 varieties of flowers. But since I began working with Dalat Hasfarm, I have access to 15 different varieties of flowers.
The company is responsible for providing young plants for me to grow, providing technical support and then buying the flowers I produce.
At Dalat Hasfarm we have been respecting the breeders' right for a long time.
We have license contracts with the breeders, we pay our royalties and that gives us the license to produce and to sell in many markets. This has given us access and also a good reputation in markets.
So for us also to get access to new varieties to innovate year by year is very important. So by that we can actually introduce new varieties to the market every year.
That takes normally about let's say two to three years, from testing to introducing varieties to the market.
Dalat Hasfarm is not only producing itself her flowers, but also we work with local farmers, maybe around 150 farmers at the moment to produce cut flowers for both domestic market as well as export market.
The way we cooperate is that we have a contract with a farmer in which we give technical support. We supply them with the young plants and on behalf of the local farmer we pay the royalties to the breeder.
So we are now one of the largest I would say exporters to Japan of chrysanthemum especially.
At Dalat Hasfarm we are a big employer. I think we’re the largest private employer in the Province of Lam Dong with a total of 4,500 employees and we see that a lot of young people are attracted to work in our company in different activities.
Are there opportunities to further improve the development of new varieties?
The challenge now in Viet Nam is to raise the awareness at the level of the local farmers on the local traders, and maybe later also the consumers, to explain why it's important to protect varieties and pay royalties.
Let's say that they feel that they can regulate the market a little bit better and to coordinate the supply in the market so that we don't over produce.
I also can see that the local farmers, they have made great improvements, so we can see now much better structures of greenhouses - they use LED lights, they use irrigation, they use fertigation, they also use better planting material.
I think I will continue to stick with this floriculture and I would recommend to my friends and newcomers to do this as well.
Viet Nam has seen considerable development in the horticultural sector in the last 15 years. Particularly in the region around Da Lat
One of the most important factors has been the contribution of new plant varieties. Thanks to the introduction of the UPOV plant variety protection (PVP) system, people now have an incentive to introduce new varieties that improve the livelihood of farmers and provide better quality and choices to consumers.
Ms. Le Thi Kim Oanh, Local farmer - Da Lat City
My name is Kim Oanh, I am 34 years old and live in Da Lat. My main job is being a flower farmer in Da Lat. My family has been doing this job for many generations.
Since partnering with Dalat Hasfarm, my income has improved. I have the opportunity to access many new flower varieties and I have access to the advanced technology that the company provides.
Mr. Bernhard Schenke, Product Development Director Cut Flowers, Dalat Hasfarm
Our company‘s name is Dalat Hasfarm. We have been active in Viet Nam since 1994 and at the moment we produce mainly cut flowers, but also pot plants, young plants and vegetables and we do it at four locations in Viet Nam, with over 250 hectares of greenhouse production and we are a large producer and exporter to Asia and Australia.
Viet Nam recognized that it needed to provide incentives to encourage the development of new varieties of plants and decided to introduce a system of plant variety protection according to the UPOV Convention.
The UPOV system encourages plant breeding by granting breeders of new plant varieties an intellectual property right the breeder's right.
Viet Nam became a member of UPOV in 2006.
When I first started growing flowers, there were only about 3 or 4 varieties of flowers. But since I began working with Dalat Hasfarm, I have access to 15 different varieties of flowers.
The company is responsible for providing young plants for me to grow, providing technical support and then buying the flowers I produce.
At Dalat Hasfarm we have been respecting the breeders' right for a long time.
We have license contracts with the breeders, we pay our royalties and that gives us the license to produce and to sell in many markets. This has given us access and also a good reputation in markets.
So for us also to get access to new varieties to innovate year by year is very important. So by that we can actually introduce new varieties to the market every year.
That takes normally about let's say two to three years, from testing to introducing varieties to the market.
Dalat Hasfarm is not only producing itself her flowers, but also we work with local farmers, maybe around 150 farmers at the moment to produce cut flowers for both domestic market as well as export market.
The way we cooperate is that we have a contract with a farmer in which we give technical support. We supply them with the young plants and on behalf of the local farmer we pay the royalties to the breeder.
So we are now one of the largest I would say exporters to Japan of chrysanthemum especially.
At Dalat Hasfarm we are a big employer. I think we’re the largest private employer in the Province of Lam Dong with a total of 4,500 employees and we see that a lot of young people are attracted to work in our company in different activities.
Are there opportunities to further improve the development of new varieties?
The challenge now in Viet Nam is to raise the awareness at the level of the local farmers on the local traders, and maybe later also the consumers, to explain why it's important to protect varieties and pay royalties.
Let's say that they feel that they can regulate the market a little bit better and to coordinate the supply in the market so that we don't over produce.
I also can see that the local farmers, they have made great improvements, so we can see now much better structures of greenhouses - they use LED lights, they use irrigation, they use fertigation, they also use better planting material.
I think I will continue to stick with this floriculture and I would recommend to my friends and newcomers to do this as well.
August 18, 2023