Amazingly docile bees (Dong Nai Province)
Amazingly docile bees (Dong Nai Province)
SUMMARY
Objective: Feasibility study
Consultancy: APISERVICES
- France
Undertaken by: Gilles
RATIA, International Consultant - France -
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Local technical support: VINAPI - Vietnam
English translation: Josephine CARTER -
France
We would like to extend our thanks to all the institutions and the many individuals who contributed to the elaboration of this study and especially to Mr. Dinh Quyet Tam and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hang for making themselves so freely available, and for their kindness. Our thanks also go to the CNEVA Laboratory for granting such generous conditions for the analysis of the twelve samples of hive produce harvested in Vietnam.
The potential of Vietnamese beekeeping is non-negligible not only in
terms of overall production of honey, pollen and by-products, but also in terms of
increased agricultural production due to the effects of bee pollination, and as an aid in
the struggle against the drift from the land, which in turn helps to stabilize rural
populations, especially the ethnic minorities in the north of the country. The opening up
of Vietnam to overseas markets implies a policy of growth for both the quantity and
quality of locally produced honey. The answer to this new situation lies in the
injection of capital, the application of appropriate technology and know-how, as well as
the setting up of direct distribution networks for both the domestic and export
markets. The optimization of such a project for beekeeping can be achieved with a coherent
structure for training, harvesting, analysis, packaging and marketing of hive products.
The present report is a translation of the original French report. As a consequence, for legal purposes the French report remains the work of reference.
The figures in the tables and graphs come from official sources (in general from the Main Bureau of Statistics for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and from Vinapi). In the rare cases where a coefficient has been corrected to bring it closer to the actual situation, it will be signaled along with its source. The same applies to all the extrapolations in the section dealing with the final quarter of 1995. A weighted index was used in an attempt to get as close as possible to the real figures. Although it may represent a non-negligible part of the national total, the informal sector (production and consumption on a family scale) cannot be measured at the present time, and the situation is unlikely to change in the near future. As a result, it has been arbitrarily left aside.
All the tables, graphs, flow charts and photographs are the work of the author of this report (unless otherwise stated).
Recapitulative figures of this assignment on Vietnamese soil.
All those who were met on more than one occasion are only mentioned once.
Sunday 24 September 1995:
Departure by plane from Paris for Vietnam via Frankfort
Monday 25 September 1995:
Arrival at Hanoi in the evening
Nguyen Thi Hang, Program Officer for B.R.D.C. and assistant-manager of Vinapi
Gilles Dongradi, Manager of Cesam-Vietnam
Tuesday 26 September 1995:
Audio-visual presentation and visit to Vinapi's premises in Lang Ha - Hanoi
Preparatory meeting for the study in hand
Truong Dac Vy, official translator
Dinh Quyet Tam, director, Vinapi
Le Tien Duong, vice-director, Vinapi
Nguyen Hai Yen, chief accountant, Vinapi
Pham Xuan Dung, vice-director, B.R.D.C.
Phung Huu Chinh, researcher, B.R.D.C.
Nguyen Pham Hanh, chief pilot, B.R.D.C.
Tran Thi Dau, archivist, B.R.D.C.
Nguyen Thu Thinh, sales of honey products, B.R.D.C.
Vo Huu Lung, director, Apiprodex no 1
Le Minh Son, accountant Apiprodex n o 1
Pham Cong Han, head of workshops, Apiprodex n o 1
Wednesday 27 September 1995:
Discussion on the current activities and problems in Vinapi's premises in Lang Ha -
Dong Da - Hanoi
Listing of description and prices of all manufactured products
Thursday 28 September 1995:
Vinapi's computer room in Lang Ha - Da Dong - Hanoi
Visit to apiaries in Haihung Province, 40 km
Dao Van Thuan, beekeeper
Friday 29 September 1995:
Discussions on selection plans, hive by-products and apitherapy on the Vinapi premises
in Lang Ha - Dong Da - Hanoi
Willem Jan Boot, researcher, University of Wageningen, Holland
Johan Calis, researcher, University of Wageningen, Holland
Saturday 30 September 1995:
By air to Ho Chi Minh-City, 2 000 km
Thuan Bui Quong, administration, Cesame Booster
Visit to offices at Apiprodex n°2, Ho Chi Minh-City
Visit to workshops at Apiprodex n°2, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh-City
Khuong Xuan Trinh, workshop foreman, Apiprodex n°2
Sunday 1 October 1995:
Bringing this report up to date
Monday 2 October 1995:
Market study at various sales outlets in Ho Chi Minh-City
Visit to the offices at Apiprodex n°2, Ho Chi Minh-City
Nuoc Xuan Nguyen, director, Apiprodex n°2
Liem Truong Thanh, vice-director, Apiprodex n°2
Tuesday 3 October 1995:
By car to Bao Loc, Lam Dong Province, 180 km
Do Thai Binh, beekeeper, Dong Nai Province
Tran Duc Long, beekeeper
Nguyen Trong Luat, beekeeper
Visit to the Bee Breeding Enterprise
Chung Nguyen Tien, vice-director, Bee Breeding Enterprise
Chi Le Sy, beekeeper
Thanh Tran Duc, beekeeper
By car to Ho Chi Minh-City, 180 km
Tuyet Huynk Kim, chemist, Apiprodex n°2
Wednesday 4 October 1995:
By car to Can Tho, 170 km
Visit to an experimental apiary at the Faculty of Veterinary Science
Tuan Tran Thuong, vice-rector of the University of Can Tho
By car to Vinh Long, 40 km
Thursday 5 October 1995:
Boat trip to the island orchards in the Mekong delta
Visit ot the plantations of longans, rambutans and apiaries
By car to Ho Chi Minh-City, 130 km
Friday 6 October 1995:
By air to Pleiku, km
Nguyen Van Phac, director of the Gia Lai
Visit to the Bee Breeding Enterprise at Gia Lai
Saturday 7 October 1995:
By car to Kun Tum
Nguyen Van Khanh, beekeeper
Market study at different sales outlets in Pleiku
Tran The Vinh, Honey shop proprietor
Sunday 8 October 1995:
Nguyen Vi Ha, vice president of the Popular Committee of Gia Lai Province
By air to Hanoi via Da Nang, km
Work on this report
Monday 9 October 1995:
By car to Son La, 310 km
Visit to the Bee Breeding Enterprise at Luong Son, Hoa Binh Province
Mac Dan Mo, Director of the Bee Breeding Enterprise in Luong Son
Luong Van Chop, beekeeper
Nguyen Van Tho, President of the Department for External Relations of the Popular
Committee of Son La Province
Tuesday 10 October 1995:
Lo Van Duong, Chargé des Activitiés des Hautes Crêtes of the Popular Committee in
Son La
Ho Van Sam, beekeeper
Nguyen Van Hiet, beekeeper
By car to Moc Chau, 140 km
Joop Beetsma, researcher, University of Wageningen, Holland
Wednesday 11 October 1995:
By car to Hanoi, 170 km
Dang Van Se, head of the experimental apiaries at the B.R.D.C.
Doan Dinh Dieu, beekeeper
Vo Ngoc Thanh, beekeeper
Alain Verrrier, logistician, Cesame Booster
Thursday 12 October 1995:
Discussions with staff (already introduced 26 September 1995) from Vinapi, B.R.D.C.,
Gilles Dongradi et Alain Verrier, +
Nguyen Ngoc Hieu, head of administration board, Vinapi
Tran Van Hiu, head of business board, Vinapi
Nguyen Thong Dap, Vice-director of B.R.D.C.
Nguyen Thi Mui, head of accountancy board, B.R.D.C.
Friday 13 October 1995:
Visit to the B.R.D.C.'s analysis laboratory
Pham Van Cuong, head of the department for control of hive products
Bibliographical research in the B.R.D.C. bookshop
Saturday 14 October 1995:
Bibliographical research in the B.R.D.C. bookshop
Visit to the Institute of Fruit and Vegetables
Tran The Tuc, Director of the Institute of Fruit and Vegetables
Tran Van Lai, Director of the Legumes Research and Development Centre
Sunday 15 October 1995:
Work on this report
Monday 16 October 1995:
Work on this report
Visit to the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam
Doan Bong, Head of Science Planning Division
Tuesday 17 October 1995:
Meeting in Hanoi
Huyng Xuan Hoang, Director of Planning Department, Head of the P.C.U. Agricultural
Rehabilitation Project, Chairman of Vietnam Apiculture Association
Wednesday 18 October 1995:
Final conclusion with Vinapi
In terms of rural development, beekeeping is an undertaking in animal-based agriculture which is too often neglected. Yet it possesses all the necessary ingredients for success :
Vietnamese beekeepers could be among the world's top honey exporters, mainly because of their high level of beekeeping knowledge, low production costs, a range of much appreciated exotic honey, and a flora with an abundant, and, at present, under-exploited honey flow.
The opening up of China and the new political shift in Eastern Europe has brought honey of different quality levels onto the international market at prices which are often 30% under the cost price of traditional large suppliers such as Mexico, Australia, and Argentine.
This world-wide market, linked with the rapid increase in intercontinental transport and with the growth of supermarket networks, exercises a strong demand for exotic honey. The huge bargaining power held by European and Japanese buyers has a negative influence not only for big German and Japanese wholesalers but also for small producers in developing countries, and a fortiori for Vietnamese beekeepers.
The following feasibility study was undertaken by Mr. Gilles Ratia, international bee consultant (69 countries) and chairman of APISERVICES, a Consultancy Group for Beekeeping Research and Assistance in Beekeeping Management.
Originally, contacts were established between Mr. Michel Thomas (Head of the Thomas Beekeeping Equipment Manufacture), Mr. Philippe Mauvenu (Head of Cesam-Booster) and the management of Vietnamese beekeeping while on an initial visit to Vietnam (signing of a preliminary letter of intention in Hanoi in 1994, followed by a draft agreement during the last Apimondia Congress in Lausanne in August 1995. The Thomas Enterprise, a world leader in beekeeping supplies, already well known for its development initiatives on many different continents, was at the time contemplating the setting up of a joint venture. in beekeeping in Vietnam.
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