Article Type : Research Article
Authors : Nguyen Thu Thuy, Duong Thi Tinh and Vu Bach Diep
Keywords : Banana tree; Products; Value; Consumption; Phong Tho; Vietnam
Since the banana trees were planted in Phong Tho (Lai Chau),
located in the Northern region of Vietnam, which contribute to agricultural
development in the province, the farmers here have a prosperous life. Authors
used statistical method, qualitative analysis through survey, combined with
synthesizing the data on the contents of production, processing, consumption,
environment and chain of agricultural products in Lai Chau province in order to
estimate net added value. With the income from 70-100 million VND/household,
the people's material and spiritual life is improved more and more, so poverty
has decreased. However, the process of raising, planting and production by many
households is not technically correct, and there are no enterprises investing
in deep processing, so the value of goods is not high, the consumption market
mainly depends on China. Therefore, many solutions need to be implemented
related to the production, processing and consumption of agricultural products
in order to add value, promote the brand of Phong Tho banana products to many
domestic and foreign markets. It is necessary to have domestic and foreign
distribution channels for post-harvest processed products such as dried
bananas, banana jam, banana leaves, and banana powder.
Phong Tho district has favorable climatic and soil
conditions for banana trees, banana area for harvest accounts for 94% of the
total area of Lai Chau province with 3413 ha. The annual banana output reaches
more than 42,000 tons. The high banana area has initially turned banana
products of Phong Tho district of Lai Chau province into goods that can be
supplied to the market. The cost of growing bananas is low and the income is
high. It can be grown for 1 year but can be harvested for many years. Banana prices
are sometimes up to 0.6-0.65 USD/kg, the cheapest is also 0.26-0.3USD/kg. On
average, a household growing 1 ha of banana will generate an income of 80-100
million VND/year. Many households in the district have taken advantage of the
hilly areas to grow crops such as maize, potatoes, and cassava inefficiently to
switch to banana. We will discuss more on its scientific values later. Bananas
are popular fruit in Vietnam. In fact, banana tree is a kind of plant, just as
orchid family, and bananas are enrichment in vitamin and carbohydrate and
vitamin C presented an ideas that at coastal areas, farmers need to plant more
banana trees to get more profits from its products and for better environment
[1]. People can take advantage of banana fiber for handicraft products making
and wastes can be used as fertilizers [2]. Then, Pointed that some banana
genotypes are rich in provitamin A carotenoids (pVACs), providing an
opportunity to use bananas as a readily available vehicle for provitamin A
delivery [3]. Next, considered fibers with dietary in bananas can be function
as nutrition ingredients [4]. Beside, gave a very good opinion that bananas can
be favourite food for patient with diabetes. Food industry will recognize
values from bananas and banana products with many uses from banana trees,
leaves and peels as we see in below analysis [5]. In summary it will help to
reduce weight with fiber as it has lots of benefits. Other benefits from banana
including: Lower cholesterol
The banana stem helps
lower cholesterol and is a great remedy for diabetes. Eliminate toxins the
banana stem assists in the detoxification process of the body. Treat dry cough
drinking banana stem juice on a regular basis is great for treating a dry
cough. Treat kidney stones Banana stem juice with lemon helps prevent the
formation of kidney stones. Improve bowel movements Banana stalks help treat
digestion and improve bowel movements. Reduce heartburn, if you suffer from
frequent heartburn, banana stem juice can lower acid levels while reducing heartburn.
When our family eat bananas in various kinds, we can obtain many benefits for
our health, energy, blood pressure and heart muscle but cheap price. These are
advantages of bananas and that’s why we conduct this study in order to expand
markets for bananas. Next, we will discuss scientific values of banana
value-added products, we can see in practice that bananas can provide lots of
value-added products, for instance, it can be used as material for other
industries, or material for producing biomass. Banana products including peels,
leaves…can be used as livestock feed, fish feed, fibre for fabric and natural
fibers and bio-fertilizers. Beside, Banana tree not only helps people increase
income, alleviates poverty, but also helps to green bare land, bare hills, and
prevent erosion. However, the degree of diversity in the processing of finished
bananas is still low because of the seasonal characteristics, pests and
diseases in the cultivation process .Thus, the selling price of bananas is not
stable and the product value has not been improved. This will reduce the
product value and limit the promotion of the Phong Tho banana brand and affect
people's income. The authors give a number of solutions to improve the value of
Phong Tho banana products after having had an objective assessment of the
banana production, processing and consumption in the locality over the past
time. Therefore, banana trees can be grown in most inconvenient places for
house construction, construction sites and to protect soil. In Vietnam, bananas
are grown in almost all regions of the country [6].
Research
issues
Research
purpose: Research to find out necessary solutions
related to the production, processing and consumption of agricultural products.
This is to enhance the value and promote the brand of Phong Tho banana products
to domestic and foreign markets.
Research
questions
Question
1: Analysis of opportunities and
challenges for bananas in Lai Chau province, Vietnam through the SWOT model.
Question 2: What solution for
businesses and farmers to expand the banana distribution markets and channels
in Lai Chau and Vietnam?
The
method of data collection
· Collection of secondary
data: including documents, production planning reports, production projects,
preliminary and final reports of the People's Committees of districts and
communes, the Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Development Phong Tho
district village was announced; Collect documents and data from research
projects and related websites.Collect primary data: information from surveys
authors use to analyze SWOT and quantitative models with Excel software.
Details as below:
· Subjects, investigation
methods and survey samples: surveyed by random sampling method, surveyed 3
subjects using prepared form:
· Banana product supply
in Phong Tho district - 100 surveys.
· The head of the
household, the processing establishments, and the enterprises selling banana
products in Phong Tho district - 20 surveys.
· Leaders of specialized
divisions and departments at the People's Committees of districts and communes
in Phong Tho district - 12 surveys.
· Content of the survey:
Evaluate the results and efficiency of banana production by people in the
district; Development patterns and expectations for the district's banana
products in the future.
Data
processing method
The collected data is calculated into indicators
that are appropriate to the research requirements with Microsoft Excel software
and some other supporting tools. Then developing tables to make specific
analysis and evaluation for the research results. Qualitative analysis method:
using the results from the questionnaire, the authors will analyse the results
and efficiency of banana production in the district through appropriate
analysis criteria. From there, there are bases to evaluate the efficiency of
banana trees on household economy and contribution to local development. In
addition, the authors also use the SWOT model to assess opportunities and
challenges in developing Phong Tho banana products as a basis for building
appropriate solutions [7-9].
Research
criteria
+ Sale Revenue = Number of Units Sold x Sales Price
per Unit (1)
+ Total Cost = Intermediary Costs + Direct Costs (2)
+ Value Added = Total revenue - Intermediary Costs (3)
+ Nest Added Value =
Value Added - Direct costs (4)
Current
situation of developing banana production in Phong Tho district
At table 1, banana area is mainly concentrated in Phong Tho district with square is over 94% of the total banana area of the province. The banana area increased from 2,500 ha in 2016 to now nearly 3,700 ha, the planting area increased on average from 300 to 500 ha/year. In 2019, the current banana yield has reached about 14 tons of fresh fruit/1 ha and the yield level reached 42.173 kg, accounting for 93.7% of the province's banana yield. This output level is not commensurate with the potential of Phong Tho district (Table 1).
Table 1: Current situation of banana production in Phong Tho district in 2019.
|
Lai Chau province |
Phong Tho district |
Rate of Phong Tho district / Lai Chau province (%) |
Area (ha) |
3924 |
3694 |
94.13 |
Yield (tons/ha) |
14 |
14 |
|
Output (tons) |
45006 |
42173 |
93.70 |
Table 2: Summary of revenues, costs and added value of banana growing households.
Items |
Cost |
Proportion |
Intermediary costs |
2.679 |
35.08 |
Seed cost |
0.645 |
8.44 |
Expenses for
plant protection drugs |
0.363 |
4.75 |
Fertilizer costs |
1.347 |
17.64 |
Production fuel
costs |
0.324 |
4.24 |
Direct costs |
4.957 |
64.92 |
Labor costs |
3.654 |
47.85 |
Depreciation |
0.364 |
4.766 |
The cost of
renting a machine |
0.939 |
12.29 |
Total cost = Intermediary costs + Direct costs |
7.636 |
100 |
Revenue |
16.634 |
|
Added value = Revenue - Intermediary costs |
13.955 |
|
Net added value = Added value - Direct costs |
8.998 |
|
Table 3: Evaluate the level of linkages among stakeholders in banana production in Phong Tho district from survey data.
Content |
Average
score |
Consent |
Between farmers and local government |
3,05 |
Confused |
Between farmers and enterprises and buyers |
3,17 |
Confused |
Between farmer and bank |
2,48 |
Disagree |
Between farmer and scientist |
2,22 |
Disagree |
The advantages of growing bananas are low investment
costs such as the cost of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, labor costs per tree
from 30,000 to 60,000 / root per year and easy care. This is an easy plant to
take care of. In 1 year, banana trees can be harvested with 1 chamber / stem
about 30kg / chamber, the selling price in the district is 3,000-5,000 VND /
kg. People can earn from 70 million to more than 140 million / ha / year. The
below table shows us that Direct cost still little high then affect to reduce
net added value (Table 2).
Table 2 shows that the production cost of banana/kg
of the household includes costs such as seeds, fertilizers, labour in which
direct cost accounts for nearly 65% of the value of 1 kg of banana. With a
total cost of about 7600 VND/kg and a turnover of about 16600 VND/kg, people
are getting an added value of nearly 9000 VND/kg. Such profitability makes
people more motivated to expand acreage, focus on increasing cultivation to
improve productivity and quality of banana products in Phong Tho district. In
Phong Tho district, banana post-harvest processing has only been initially
implemented until now, mainly by consuming fresh products and exporting to
China. This is a limitation that prevents banana products from increasing
product value. However, there is an enterprise in Phong Tho district where
there is a plan to invest in a banana drying line, which is a plan to help
solve the outstanding amount of un-consumed bananas. This plan is also a
solution to increase product value and diversify local banana products [10-14].
Situation
of banana product consumption in Phong Tho district
The district's banana products are mainly fresh products for local consumption and export to China. Currently, farmers mainly sell green bananas to buyers of Vietnam and China, then bananas will be sold to consumers or businesses for export or processing. Some banana products processed by famers include: dried bananas, dried bananas for medicinal purposes, soaking in wine, but quantity is not much so the value is not high. The main market consumes about 90% of the banana production of Phong Tho district (Viet Trung banana market consumes about 300-350 tons/day). The biggest method of consuming bananas is through traders, collecting them and exporting them to China. However, this large consumer market has become more and more difficult due to the requirement of product origin traceability, which is not currently available in Phong Tho district. The influence of Covid 19 has affected the consumption of products not purchased by China. This is a factor hindering the development of production and product consumption, this factor also reduces the value of banana products. Below table shows us that Export, Chinese traders and Vietnamese consumers/retail plays main role in distribution channels of banana products. Figure 1 shows the market for banana products in Phong Phong district over the past time (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Distribution channels of Banana products in Phong Tho district.
Current
situation of production association with Banana product value chain in Phong
Tho district
The linkage between actors has been concerned
through supportive policies and mechanisms of local authorities. There are
specific programs to support capital, technology, product consumption policy,
processing and branding. However, the link between the people and the
processing and purchasing enterprises is mainly based on market demand.
Besides, it is regulated by market mechanism. These relationships depend on the
main factor of export market demand because it accounts for more than 90% of
the volume for export. Through survey, the subjects assessed the relationships
at a rather high level (from 2-3 of the rating scale), this means that the
relationship was not tight (Table 3).
Synthesizing the results from the surveyed subjects,
the authors found that: the degree of association in the process of banana
production and consumption in Phong Tho district is still quite loose.
Currently, there are a number of policies to support agriculture and banana
production have been issued but the effectiveness is not high; Enterprises
mainly buy and sell directly with little attention to the production process;
The level of capital support from banks is not high, there is no specific
preferential mechanism; There is almost no connection with scientists in the
application of science and technology in banana production, preservation and
processing. This is one of the reasons why the value of banana products is not
high, while the district there are conditions to do this. There should be
policies to support people in planning and orientation. The relationship has
not really been shown when creating a large volume of goods and difficult
consumption products. The State should have mechanisms and policies to call for
investment in processing to support people to consume products [15].
Analysing
opportunities and challenges in banana product development through the SWOT
model in Phong Tho district
Strengths
(S)
·
The climate and soil
are suitable for growing bananas.
·
People have long-term
experience in planting and taking care of banana trees.
·
People and businesses
receive a lot of local support in terms of breeds, techniques and product
processing such as: Resolution No. 12/2010, Resolution No. 13/2014 of the
Provincial People's Council and Decision 836 / 2014 of the Provincial People's
Committee.
·
Consumption market to
China is expanding in large quantity.
·
Convenient
transportation for transport to other provinces.
·
3.4.2. Weakness (W)
·
The product is highly
seasonal.
·
People do not have much
experience in farming, so it is easy to develop diseases for plants.
·
The planting scale is
small and there is no clear plan and direction, which will lead to excess or
shortage of supply when the market fluctuates.
·
The variety of
banana-processed products is minimal.
·
Lack of investment
capital for the production and processing of banana products. The forms of loan
are not diversified.
·
There is no banana
processing enterprise in the area.
·
3.4.3. Opportunity (O)
·
The source of raw
materials is abundant, there are many opportunities in product processing.
·
Covid 19 translation in
China has been controlled. This is a potential market for banana products in
the district.
·
Decision No. 1446 -
People's Committee dated November 5, 2019 and No. 1447 - The People's Committee
issued important products and products. This has encouraged and prioritized the
implementation of linkage with production and consumption of products in Lai
Chau province. Including banana products of Phong Tho district as the main
product of the district, so it will receive a lot of support to develop banana
trees [16-18].
·
An enterprise is
investing in construction in Phong Tho district with the aim of focusing on
deep processing of banana products.
·
3.4.4. Threats (T)
·
Competitors: banana
products grown in many localities have brands and advantages in transportation
such as Dai Hoang banana (Ha Nam province), banana from Lao Cai province, Dong
Nai province, Son La province…
·
There are high
technical and quality requirements when Banana of Phong Tho district
participates in the commodity market. Requires both people and businesses to
have a change in thinking and production methods.
The variety of fruit
substitutes for bananas also needs product processing to be considered.
Bananas are rich in vitamins and minerals, especially
vitamin B6, fiber and potassium. Potassium has a role in stimulating muscles,
nerves and brain cells. The amount of potassium in a banana is about 450mg,
while an adult needs 4.7g of potassium per day. Eating bananas every day helps
increase resistance, strengthen the immune system, prevent disease. It helps to
keeps blood sugar levels stable and treatment of stomach ulcers as well as help
with bowel movement. Next, we identify many other uses of banana trees and
products, many value-added products from peels, leaves, fruits and other uses
can be served for other industries, for instance: antioxidant, colour absorber,
as material for various functional foods, alcohol, biogas, cattle feed, etc.
Planting banana garden not only to protect
agricultural land but it also help to improve economic conditions for farmers
and the poor, at a very low production cost. There many kinds of bananas as
well, in mountain areas, farmers can choose suitable banana trees to plant. With
the strengths and opportunities in developing banana trees in Phong Tho
district, Lai Chau province, it can be seen that this will not only help people
eliminate poverty but also become the main tree of the district. Leaders at all
levels, businesses and people need to make changes in the production and
processing process in order to increase the value of agricultural products in
Phong Tho district. The authors group would like to give some suggestions:
· Production process:
Planning and improving the common material areas to meet market standards and
reduce production costs; Technical assistance helps farmers to cultivate the
right process to improve the quality of banana products; Diversifying loans to
help farmers have conditions to invest in technology to produce products
according to VietGap, GlobalGap standards
· Banana product
processing process: There should be improvements to mechanisms and policies
that prioritize the development of post-harvest processing so that products are
not in stock. Besides, it also avoids being forced by private traders. Products
last longer, added value such as: diversifying products from banana; have
incentives in terms of capital, space and technology for processing
enterprises...
· Product consumption
activities: The Chinese export market is a big potential market that requires
an export protection policy for fresh banana products such as signing a
principle contract between the two parties. Contract for product consumption to
avoid being affected by conditions such as import mechanism of another country
or disease.
· Value-added products
and wastes from banana trees can be researched in order to support other
industries, so a low cost banana production can help farmers in many other uses
for economy.
There should be a
domestic consumption channel to bring products into large and reputable
supermarket chains in the country. It is necessary to have domestic and foreign
distribution channels for post-harvest processed products such as dried
bananas, banana jam, banana leaves, and banana powder. Diversify purchasing and
distribution channels for products and transportation for product consumption.