Creating inclusive artichoke value chains: Adopting a public-private-producer-partnership (4P) approach

The CAFÉ-REDD (Coffee Agroforestry and Forest Enhancement for REDD+) project recognises that achieving sustainability requires matching the development needs of rural poor ethnic minority communities. This is a precursor to achieving our goal of sustainable landscapes via forest enhancement and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Therefore, component 3 of the CAFÉ-REDD project (“Supporting coffee agroforestry and forest enhancement with smallholders”), supports local farmers in diversifying and enhancing their income. The project has established Public-Private-Producer Partnership (4P) in developing inclusive value chains in Lac Duong district, Lam Dong province. Ladophar, a pharmaceutical company originated from the province, is one of the private partners in the project.

Artichoke is a well-known medicinal plant which can be processed into different products, and is also popular as a tea. It can contribute to better digestion, reduced cholesterol and other possible benefits. As a result, artichoke has been recognised by the Ministry of Health as one of 100 strategic medicinal plants worth supporting for market development. For many years the main growing area of artichoke in Lam Dong was in Da Lat city. However, recently, yield and quality has been decreasing due to poor quality varieties and pest and disease pressure. To combat this, Ladophar has imported new varieties from Europe and conducted trials before commercially releasing new varieties to the market.

Lac Duong is one of a few regions in Vietnam that has suitable growing conditions for artichoke. Having identified the development of the artichoke value chain as a suitable option for income enhancement and diversification, SNV is working closely with the local government and village heads to identify suitable growing fields that we can demonstrate are also free from deforestation and obtain farmer registration. The CAFÉ-REDD project is providing financial support to 50 farmers to cover 70% of the cost of seedlings (up to 0.1 ha each household). In return, farmers must pay the rest of the costs and commit to growing artichoke complying with GACP-WHO standards (Good Agriculture and Collection Practices), especially with the restricted use of agrochemicals. The roles and responsibilities of each partner in the artichoke 4P model are illustrated in the below figure.