Sustainable tea production through agroecological management practices in Vietnam: a review

Tea is one of the most important crops in Vietnam, as both an export and domestic commodity. In Vietnam, tea farming has been dominated by conventional management practices for decades. The continuity of this approach has led to a number of issues. These range from serious soil degradation, low economic efficiency, poor tea quality and environmental contamination. Recently, there has been a growing conversion from conventional tea farming to agroecological tea management practices. To date, limited studies have been conducted to determine the viability of this conversion in Vietnam, particularly regarding technical aspects. Focusing on aspects of soil health, tea productivity and quality, here we highlight the benefits and challenges of conventional tea production system and provide a comprehensive evaluation of potential advantages agroecological tea management practices could have for Vietnam. The outcomes of this review are an informative resource for tea producers, tea production management authorities and other relevant organizations; enabling more informed decisions regarding the management methods, policies and programs to promote agroecological tea management in Vietnam and other tea producing nations.

Viet, San Le; Lesueur, Didier; Herrmann, Laetitia; Hudek, Lee; Luu, Ngoc Quyen; Brau, Lambert.