Passionfruit boost: NZ scientists team with Vietnamese farmers to future-proof production

By Monique Steele of RNZ New Zealand scientists are teaming up with more than 70 farmers across rural Vietnam to enhance and future-proof the production of passionfruit in the Southeast Asian republic. A team from Plant and Food Research had worked with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the Viet Nam Climate-Smart Fruit Value Chain project, known as VietFruit, for more than two years. In that time, the plant science team carried out field trials and surveys to understand and improve production and post-harvest practices of passionfruit in key growing regions, the Sơn La province in the republic’s northwest and Gia Lai in the Central Highlands.

Next, the New Zealand scientists will go to farms scattered across the two provinces to learn first-hand from local farmers the challenges and opportunities in harnessing passionfruit as a high-value, climate-resilient crop..