From 16 to 17 September 2024, Mekong Organics partnered with the Lam Dong Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (DARD) and the Centre of Farm Extension (Trung tam Khuyen Nong) to host training in organic vegetable farming for 43 staff of DARD and businesses in the area of the Lam Dong province. The training was delivered by Mr Alan Broughton, a principal educator of Mekong Organics who has practical experience in training Australian and Asian farmers through Mekong Organics’s DFAT-AVEG Round One and Two funding program. Mr Alan is the president of the Organic Agriculture Association (OAA) in the Bairnsdale region, East Gippsland, Victoria.
The event was initiated by Dr Hoa Pham, an active member of Mekong Organics in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, Lam Dong Province. Through co-funding between Mekong Organics and Lam Dong DARD, the event was operated successfully with 43 participants. The participants learnt about (1) principles of organic agriculture, (2) organic agriculture certification, (3) organic fertilizer making, (3) organic pest management, and (4) organic vegetable farming. The Vietnamese-English translator, Ms Dinh Thi Hong Phuc, interpreted the training well.
This initiative built trust between Mekong Organics and Lam Dong DARD, as well as between businesses and farmers in Lam Dong. We plan to foster relationships with Lam Dong governments, businesses, and farmers to support smallholder farmers farming organically in the region.
We acknowledged the contribution of the Global Landcare support for the travel cost and Lam Dong DARD for hosting this event.
Training report
