Developing Gia Lai into Vietnam's passion fruit capital

On March 29, Nafoods Group Joint Stock Company, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Gia Lai Cooperative Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the development of passion fruit and vegetables under the "Project on the Development of Vegetable, Flower, and Fruit Tree Production in the province to 2030, vision to 2040".

Mr. Luu Trung Nghia, Director of the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the province has suitable climate and soil conditions to grow a variety of trees, thus gaining high economic efficiency. Gia Lai's soil is good not only for industrial plants but also fruits and vegetables,  including passion fruit.

Gia Lai currently has over 40,000 ha of vegetables and over 29,000 ha of fruit trees, of which approximately 4,200 ha are of passion fruit (leading nationwide in terms of area). Regarding the orientation toward 2025, the province’s area of passion fruit will grow to 20,000 ha. Passion fruit trees will be grown mainly in districts such as Chu Prong (nearly 822 ha), Ia Grai (650 ha), Dak Doa (620 ha), Chu Se (507.7 ha), Chu Pah (500 ha), Mang Yang (382 ha), and Kbang (239 ha). The average passion fruit efficiency is 40-45 tons/ha with a selling price of about VND 12,000/kg. After deducting investment costs, the people will gain a profit of over VND 350 million/ha.

Chairman of the Gia Lai Cooperative Alliance, Mr. Nguyen The Hung, said, "We hope that Gia Lai will turn into the capital of purple passion fruit and develop passion fruit into a staple crop. However, in order to develop passion fruit trees sustainably and have a stable output, we need to focus on the close connection between enterprises—cooperatives and farmers—from transplant selection, fertilizer, purchase, processing, to export".

After careful consideration, Nafoods Group chose Gia Lai as a strategic area to develop passion fruit and vegetables in its future plan. This is one of Nafoods Group's appropriate steps to realize its determination to develop Gia Lai into Vietnam’s passion fruit capital.

The Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is also committed to creating all conditions and actively supporting Nafoods to effectively implement the development strategy for passion fruit and vegetables in the province.

"Nafoods is associated with 22 cooperatives and cooperative groups, with 859 households producing 1,091 ha of passion fruit. It is expected that in two years (2023-2024), the association with cooperatives and cooperative groups will increase three to fourfold," said Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Director of the Group's Planting Area Management and Development Division.

The company will work with Gia Lai province to plan and develop at least 25,000 ha of passion fruit according to a digitized, green, and sustainable value chain associated with agricultural extension and smart cooperatives; build the Gia Lai passion fruit brand to become the No. 1 purple passion fruit brand in the world; invest in the research and production center of high-tech vegetable, flower, and fruit transplants with the largest regional scale; build a chain of factories processing and packing fresh flowers and fruits for export in the province.

After discussion, the involved parties agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the development of passion fruit in the province from 2023 to 2026. Leaders of each party in the meeting also consulted on the establishment of the "Gia Lai Association of Passion Fruit and Vegetables," the construction of testing centers, and the geographical indications of Gia Lai passion fruit.

The cooperation included providing advice and guidance on ensuring food safety and hygiene in passion fruit production and processing, quality management of transplants for passion fruit transplant production establishments in the area, and building extension models on passion fruit trees.

According to the MoU, the involved parties will coordinate to organize the ceremony to export the first official passion fruit consignment to the China market, advising and mobilizing cooperatives on developing raw material areas and forming a passion fruit production-consumption chain in the province.

The parties will also cooperate to develop the project "Application of digital technology in management and development of value chains of passion fruit growing areas associated with the model of agricultural extension—smart cooperatives". Nafoods Group will proactively sign contracts to supply seeds and materials, provide support in terms of technical expertise and application of digitization in service of the management and development of growing areas, sign underwriting contracts for agricultural products from cooperatives and cooperative groups, and promote the construction of a high-tech breeding center.