Crossing the Finish Line

  After returning home to Ireland I spent the following few weeks before the deadline working on the write-up of my thesis. Once all the finishing touches were done I was finally ready to submit the final product! It has been a challenging experience but highly rewarding none the less. I had such an enjoyable ...

A Bitter Sweet Goodbye

Where has the time gone?! It only feels like yesterday that I arrived in Hanoi, but here I am 3 months later with only a few days left before flying back to Ireland. Since my last update I have been working on calculations of the green and blue water footprints using climatic data (precipitation, temperature ...

The Growth of Vietnam’s Coffee Industry

The Growth of Vietnam’s Coffee Industry
”The International Coffee Organization forecasts worldwide coffee consumption in 2025 will be around 20% higher than the roughly 150 million bags estimated for 2015.” In Vietnam’s central highlands, Nestle are working with farmers to help improve the quality and yields of Robusta coffee production. Over 300 local farmers took part in training to become instructors ...

Giving Coffee A Shot

Giving Coffee A Shot
Xin chào! I’m over halfway through my time here in Hanoi and my project is well and truly on its way. I’ve spent the last few weeks cleaning up the data in preparation for statistical analysis which hopefully will show some interesting results. Since moving to Vietnam I’ve noticed a few quirks about the place. ...

A Little Goes A Long Way

Water scarcity puts pressure on coffee production, an issue that is exacerbated by climate change. This paper discusses the requirements for reducing the water footprint of coffee while maintaining or increasing coffee yield through better irrigation scheduling and agronomic practices. It also recommends policies to bring research into practice and implement in smallholder farms throughout ...

Will Coffee Production in Vietnam be Roasted by Climate Change?

Will Coffee Production in Vietnam be Roasted by Climate Change?
Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee producing country after Brazil. Adverse weather conditions cause crop stress, with droughts in 2016 resulting in a particularly bad year for coffee production. It is estimated that these events will become more extreme and unpredictable; forcing smallholder farmers to adapt to climate change. Therefore, the importance of efficient ...

Gooood Morning Vietnam!

Dublin → Paris → Hanoi (3 cities, 24 hours)  I arrived in Hanoi at 6am Friday morning and even at that early hour I was still met with the overwhelming heat as I got off the plane. The taxi brought me to my hotel where I’d be staying for the next few days before finding ...