Fruits and Vegetables in Vietnam - International Food Policy ...

7 Summary and conclusions
The institutions carrying out research on fruits and vegetables appear to be focusing on
important issues, but their efforts are limited by lack of funds and insufficient coordination. The
research institutions are concentrating on providing disease-free fruit-tree planting material, meeting
the demand for “clean” vegetables, fulfilling the phyto-sanitary requirements of importing countries,
preserving fruit for export and domestic consumption, and staggering production to avoid the harvestseason
glut. At the same time, the efforts of the research institutions are modest compared to the size
of the sector and the volume of annual exports. For example, research on non-hybrid vegetable
varieties appears to be neglected in favor of fruit research.
MOSTE and MARD need to more clearly divide responsibilities among the three research
institutes. These Ministries need to decide whether vegetable research for farmers in the South should
be carried out by RIVAF or SOFRI or both. RIFAV would require more resources to expand
operations in the south, while SOFRI would need both more resources and a new legal mandate in
order to cover both fruits and vegetables. Similarly, the development of post-harvest methods for
preservation is the topic of research by SOFRI, RIFAV, PHTI/North, and PHTI/South. Although a
complete separation of activities may not be necessary, a clearer distinction in the role of each would
reduce duplication of effort.
Although research institutes must continue to be involved in income-generating activities in
the short run, public funding should eventually cover most or all the costs of carrying out research
and extension activities in the fruit and vegetable sector. Vietnamese agricultural research institutes
tend to get involved in income-generating activities such as selling seed and providing training
courses on a commercial basis. In the short run, these activities are necessary to allow these institutes
to cover their costs. Eventually, however, the public good activities carried out by the institutes
should be fully covered by public funds, allowing them to focus on activities that cannot be carried
out within the private sector.
Public research institutions should focus on the development of disease-free fruit tree
planting materials and the selection and dissemination of non-hybrid vegetable seed. The economic
justification for public funding for research into new varieties is that, once produced, new varieties
can be copied at little or no cost, making it difficult for the breeder who developed the new variety
from capturing all the benefits associated with the investment in research. This argument applies to
the development of disease-free fruit tree planting materials and the development of non-hybrid
vegetable seed, but it does not apply to hybrid vegetable seed. This is because hybrid seed, by its
nature, cannot be easily copied.
The commercial and public-good oriented functions of the state-owned seed companies
should be separated, allowing equitization of the former and full public funding of the latter. Varietal
breeding, seed selection, seed testing, and the development of new cultural practices all have public
Chapter 8. Role of government Page 8-18