Twenty eight grape growers’ groups in central Ninh Thuan province havereceived the Vietnam Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) certificatefor their safe grapes.

The groups which consist of 260 householdsgrowing grapevines in 66.36 hectares took part in a grape productionprogramme to meet VietGAP standards. This is a part an ADB-fundedproject on quality of safety enhancement of agricultural products andbiogas development (Qseap) which started operating in 2010.

Underthe programme, participants were provided with training courses on GAPand guidelines on technologies, according to Qseap project’s managementboard.

To ensure sustainable development, Do Trung Thu, Chairmanof the Ninh Thuan Grape Association, suggested the management boardconnect grape growers with businesses, while strengthening the promotionof Ninh Thuan grapes in local and foreign markets.

Ninh Thuan ishome to the country’s largest vineyards with 2,500 ha mainly in NinhPhuoc and Ninh Hai districts and Phan Rang-Thap Cham city. The grapeoutput is between 60,000-65,000 tonnes a year.

The grape wasintroduced into Ninh Thuan in 1960, test-planted by the South CentralCentre for Agricultural Technical Research based in Nha Ho, Ninh Sondistrict, and was commercially produced in the 1980s.-VNA