Seed money to research on Vietnam coffee production

Thi Thanh Mai Ha’s project focuses on ethnic minorities in Vietnam, particularly those grappling with poverty in the densely populated Central Highlands, the key coffee production region in the country. The project seeks to analyse the adoption of intercropping among ethnic minority farmers engaged in coffee farming.  

Introducing coffee intercropping systems, which involve integrating coffee with other crop species, holds significant promise for enhancing the livelihoods, climate resilience, and overall sustainability of land use among local communities. Despite this potential, the adoption of intercropping remains limited, and there is a lack of scientific evidence regarding challenges in implementing intercropping practices.  

Mai is collaborating on this project, which comprises four Work Packages (WPs), with SLU researchers Professor Helena Hansson, Associate Professor Pia Nilsson, and Professor Martin Weih, along with the researchers Pham Van Hoi from Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Thuy Phan Thi from Tay Nguyen University, Vietnam, and Professor Dietrich Darr from Rhine-Waal University, Germany.  

The project aims to enhance multidisciplinary research collaboration across Sweden, Germany, and Vietnam. Joint publications and various research activities will further knowledge exchange across diverse fields, fostering the co-creation of advanced scientific insights, to address a local issue with global significance.  

Funding received via SLU Future Forests seed money call is to be used for data collection related to WP 1’s first objective, which is "to assess the public’s demand for eco-system services offered by coffee intercropping systems".