Project on Market-Oriented Agro-forestry to
Reduce Poverty in Quang Nam Province,
Vietnam
“Improving gardens and support systems
to reduce poverty”
Presentation during the “International Symposium on Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia” on 21-23 July 2010,
Hanoi, Viet Nam
The Sites in Central Viet Nam
Six communes in two districts, Quang Nam Province
Tien Phuoc Dist• Tien Ha, Tien Cam• Tien Son • Tien Phong• Tien Tho
Phu Ninh Dist
•Tam Lọc
The Players
• Donor: Italian Government
• Executing Agency: FAO
• Implementing Agency: – Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)
of Quang Nam Province
• Local officials in 6 communes and in 2 districts:– Tien Phuoc District (Tien Ha, Tien Cam, Tien Son, Tien Tho,
Tien Phong)
– Phu Ninh District (Tam Loc)
Objectives
Development objectives (vision)1. Contribute to Quang Nam’s efforts to reduce
poverty2. Help conserve natural resources by supporting
sustainable and high quality Market-Oriented Agro-Forestry (MOAF) systems
Specific objectivesWith 6 communes:Improve and/or develop 1,500 ha of market-driven
gardensStrengthen enterprise-oriented coops and groupsPilot viable micro-finance with village groups
With province and 2 districts:• Strengthen extension delivery system• Develop market research information system
PROVINCE OF QUANG NAM
The process of translating innovative practices into reality and leaving a legacy of lessons and models
for scaling up and replication
DISTRICTS
OTHER COMMUNES
COMMUNES
OTHER FARMERS IN 6
COMMUNES
FARMERS IN 6
COMMUNES
Baseline diagnostics from PRA, consultations, and field visits
Marginal soils - sandy to sandy loam, low organic content, acidic, easily drained soils
Typhoon-prone area
Ave annual rainfall of 2,200-3,500 mm; rainy months during Sept-Dec
Small farm size holdings – Ave of 0.5-1.4 ha
Home gardens crowded with 10-15 species/ha
“A little of everything “from harvests of crops and sale of livestock
No on-site product consolidation before marketing
Limited processing of farm products
Layers of middlemen from farms to markets
Monopsonistic market for pulpwood
Low prices of pulpwood, cinnamon bark
Baseline diagnostics from PRA, consultations, and field visits
Unmanaged home gardens -60 to70% –overcrowding with low market value species
Low-value species planted in high value farms
No thinning in most densely-planted forest farms
Diseases of black pepper, citrus, ginger & turmeric
Proliferation of inefficient mini-sawmills
Limited capacity in delivering client- & market-oriented extension services
Fragmented market information systems
Limited local supply of high value planting materials
Limited access to financing
Too focused on subsidized loans instead of savings promotion
23% -70% belong to poor HHs
Limited HH labor
HH Income- Major Sources
HH Income
sources
% of HH
Income
from
rice
% of HH
income
from
fruits
% of HH
income
from
livestock
% of HH
income
from
black
pepper
% of HH
income
from
other
crops
% of HH
income
from pulp-
wood
% of HH
income
from saw-
timber
Gardens
=62% 0.13 0.12 0.25 0.01 0.03 0.05 0.03
Off-
farm=38%
Basic information on land resources, population, and income (2007)
Parameter Tien
Cam
Tien Ha Tien
Son
Tien
Phong
Tien Tho Tam Son Tam
Loc
1. Total land area (ha) 1,710 3,784 2,324 2,070 2,580 5,402 3,440
1.1 Agricultural land (ha) 961 1,257 826.1 480 923 1,544 1,384.8
1.2 Forestland (ha) 665.3 1,920 519.7 1,011 488 3,090 753
1.3. Unused land 597 501 800.0 523 533 768 1,206.8
1.3.1 Potential for forest
production (ha)
487 300 650.0 400 530 714 1,167.3
1.3.2 Potential for agriculture 109 201 150 123 3 54 39.55
1.4. Others 106 178.2 56 637 - 95.2
2. No. of households (HH) 668 879 906 995 1,448 1,104 1,804
3. Ave. agri land/HH ( in ha) 1.4 1.4 0.9 0.5 0.6 1.4 0.8
4. Ave. annual income per capita
(mil dong)
2.80 2.80 3.0 3.05 3.54 2.650 4.44
5. Ave. annual income/
capita poor HH (mil. dong)
2.18 2.15 2.0 1.94 1.92 1.80 1.40
6. No. poor households 152
(23 %)
328
(37 %)
589
(65 %)
694
(70%)
868 (60%) 523 (47%) 413
(23%)
Can Market-Oriented Agro-forestry Demonstrate How Households can get out of POVERTY?
Subsistence farming
Self-sufficiency
Increased HH income
Agro-forestry
Poverty Threshold Line = VND 1.7 m/capita
HH Income in VND
Time
Will Collaborative Implementation Work?
1,500 ha gardens
Rural enterprises
Microfinance Model
Strengthened extension delivery
system
Market research information system
developed
Garden owners,
entrepreneurs
PROJECT with
6 communes, 2 Districts,
Provincial DARD
Ass
ist
OUTPUTS
Will Single Message in all Activities Sink in?
Tag Line: “Improving gardens and support systems to reduce poverty”
Meaning:
“Improving the market-orientation of agro-forestry enterprises combined with responsive support systems will increase household incomes, increase household asset values, and reduce poverty in Quang Nam”.
Where do we start?Enterprises Products – goods & services Buyers & consumers
1. Home gardensFruits, spices, livestock, timber, essential oil, grains, leaves, bark
Tien Ky, Tam Ky, Hoi An, Danang
2. Forest gardensPulpwood, saw timber,
non-timber sp
Traders, sawmills (27 in Tien Phuoc, 17 in Phu Ninh)
3. Nurseries Planting materials of high value spp - fruits, spices, timber, ornamentals
Garden owners
4. Savings & Relending
Relending, advisory, and training services
Members of savings groups
5. Agri- & forestry rural enterprises
Processed agro-forestry products; inputs for gardens
Consumers of incense products, farmers
A. What Garden Technologies willImprove Market Orientation?
Enterprises Specific Strategies
1. Home gardens
Planting high value short-, medium-, and long-term agro-forestry species and eliminating low-value species
Reducing number of species from 10-15 per ha to 4-5 per ha
Improving management of high value local crops such as black pepper
2. Forest gardens
Timber-oriented thinning and pruning densely-planted forest farms combined with 50% labor subsidy
Enriching forest farms with long-term high value species such as Khaya, Hopea and Acquilaria spp (source of agar)
B. What Enterprises will Support and Improve Value Chains?
Enterprises Strategies
3. Nurseries
Contracts with local cooperators for raising high value planting materials to pump prime enterprises
Technical training, cross visits, and linkages with established nurseries and sources of seeds, cuttings, and suckers
4. Savings & Relending
Support for savings and relending from % of per diem and labor subsidy with matching fund & repayments from enterprise loans
5. Agri & forestry enterprises
Training on technical operations, business planning, pre-operations;
Enterprise loans for buying equipment & initial working capital. Repayments to savings and relending groups.
C. What Incentives and tools will facilitate adoption of market-oriented practices?
Assistance in commune-led planning and implementation
Full funding for approved commune agro-forestry plans
One on-site technician per commune
Regular feedbacks and updates
Subsidized inputs and support for equipment, working capital and pre-operations of enterprises
Contracts to pump prime nursery enterprises
Training, cross visits, study tours
Expertise for analysis, design, prototyping, and evaluation
Are the Interventions Working?
Enterprises Status after more than a year
1. Home gardens
1,770 HHs improved 314 ha of home gardens, each HH planting 20 high value seedlings.
Banana (51% of seedlings) as the high value short-term crops
Mangosteen (16%) as the long-term species
Citrus – pomelo & mandarin (11%) as the medium-term crop
Agreement on an approach for reviving Tien Phuocblack pepper after assessment
Seedling survival of 74% based on sampling
2. Forest gardens
752 HHs improved 107 ha of forest gardens with species enrichment using Khaya senegalenses and replanting keo after the typhoon in September
Are the Interventions Working?
Enterprises Status after more than a year
3. Nurseries
Trained 18 potential nursery cooperators on plant propagation, nursery mgt, and business planning; BUT …
Only 7 committed to raise high value planting materials with initial business contracts to prime up the initial nursery enterprises
4. Savings & Relending
Formed 40 village savings & credit groups with a total savings of more than VND 50 million
Repayments of 5 enterprise loan contracts amounting to VND 172 million to be part of savings & credit group accounts
Commune relending policies finalized for approval
5. Agri & forestry enterprises
Trained entrepreneurs on the technical aspects and business planning of incense making, making pre-mixed fertilizer, and trading of feedmeals and fertilizer
Enterprise loan agreements with 5 entrepreneurs in 3 communes
Has Client-Responsiveness of Extension Services Improved?
• More active commune technicians in partnership with project staff in assisting garden farmers adopt market-oriented practices
• Limited participation of district and province technicians
• Mixed responses on serious training needs assessments with follow-on institutional commitments
• “What’s in it for me” attitudes prevail
Lessons Learned
• Assessment and analysis may help refine interventions, and
figure out innovative, effective, & efficient entry points
• A cost center approach in fully funding commune-led planning
and implementation may trigger active participation and counterpart commitments from local leaders and farmer participants
• Incentives that support farmer’s self-interests could facilitate
adoption – subsidized inputs for improving home gardens, matching funds
for savings, partial subsidy for wage labor for improving forest gardens.
• A savings-oriented microfinance with matching fund can link and integrate various project interventions such as training,
subsidies, production contracts, and enterprise loans.
Lessons Learned
• Supporting local interests may give rise to acceptable
combinations of short-, medium-, and long-term agro-forestry species (e.g. bananas and durian, bananas and mangosteen, Khaya and Hopea as long-term forest species, reviving black pepper)
• Improving market orientation and client-responsiveness are changing mind-sets which does not
happen overnight.
• Right combinations of local cross visits, study tours, and village training ignite adoptions. “To see is to believe” -
coffee and black pepper in central highlands, nurseries in the south, banana- and citrus-based home gardens, farmer-owned khaya and hopeafarms, etc)
Emerging Models
• Commune-level extension services is more effective in changing farmer’s behaviors & facilitating technology transfer among garden owners.
• Integrating job generation, training, and enterprise loans with savings-focused microfinance program at the commune level
• Supporting self-interested local entrepreneurs withtraining, priming up contracts, and/or working capital loans: Enterprise-oriented village nurseries for raising high value
planting materials
Local processing or manufacturing based on competitive advantages in raw materials and access to markets
Mixing, repacking, and direct trading of inputs for home and garden forest improvements
Remaining Challenges
• Institutionalizing emerging models and best practices in:
– microfinance,
– enterprise-oriented village nurseries, and
– commune-led extension delivery system
• Determining initial subsidy for improved home and forest gardens in marginal lands that may yield at least 40% environmental benefits
XIN CAM ON!
Thank you !XIN CAM ON
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