DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IN THE MEKONG DELTA SUMMARY OF ECONOMIC PHD DISSERTATION

The thesis will analyse and appraise the role and functions of agricultural social enterprise to obtain the agricultural goals such as: economics, social and environment; determine the

INTRODUCTION

1 Significance of the research

Social Entrepreneurship is the activity of an organization that created to implement a solution or a specific business plan to take to a specific social solutions for the members of that organization and community So that, social enterprises (SEs) include a variety of organizations oriented business without pursuing the ultimate goal to maximize profits for the owners The PhD student based on the

agricultural problems of Mekong Delta select doctoral thesis: "Development of agricultural social enterprises in the Mekong Delta" The thesis will analyse and

appraise the role and functions of agricultural social enterprise to obtain the agricultural goals such as: economics, social and environment; determine the reason factors to affect the agricultural social development and propose solutions to promote the agricultural social development of the Mekong Delta

2 Research Objectives

Research find out the factors that affected on the development of agricultural

social enterprises in the Mekong Delta;which are the background to recommend for

authorities and policy makers the dirctions and solutions to develop the agricultural

social enterprises in the Mekong Delta Which of them such as: create favorable

conditions help social enterprises in the agricultural sector sustainable development

by changing the perception of the society about the function and role of social

enterprise;develop elements for production, consumption and market linkages

between agricultural social enterprises that have the same product, as well as

industry, traditional businesses and public areas

3 Research subjects and research scope

3.1 Research subjects: The agricultural social enterprises (the Cooperatives

and cooperative groups in agriculture) and the farmers are members of which organizations

5. Scientific and practice of the dissertation

Firstly, to establish a theoretical basis and define the role of social enterprises as the pioneers to the problems that the state and private sector had been ineffective or not implemented

Secondly, to establish a theoretical basis for directing agricultural social enterprise development and identify major factorss affecting on the agricultural social enterprises in the Mekong Delta

Thirdly, analyze the current status operations of agricultural social enterprises in the Mekong Delta; to find out the directions and solutions to develop them; and propose some recommendations to the objects such as administrations and and the organizations supporting social enterprise, the agricultural social enterprises and their member farmers

CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

Frances Hines (2005) identified the challenges that social enterprises face to achieving the objectives (social, economics and environment)

Kristen Reid, Jon Griffith (2006) he social enterprise, through this paper, is analyzed as an institution, in 3 directions: social enterprise must be a collective or democratic pursuit, social enterprise is institutionally different from earlier

mechanisms to usher in a ‘third way’, social enterprise is better than doing nothing

Mike Bull, Helen Crompton (2006) The aim of the paper is to achieve two objectives, to develop a strategic understanding of social enterprise business practices and issues and to develop baseline information to develop a

management tool based on the BSC (Balance Scorecard) framework, so it will provide a better understanding of social enterprise business practices and issues Mathew Todres, Nelarine Cornelius, Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, Adrian

Woods (2006) The paper underlines the relation between capacity building and the

emergence of social enterprise, based on the findings (through participant observation, questionnaires and focus-group data) of analyzing two emerging social

enterprises within the WestFocus project There is created a comprehensive model for social enterprise development, that outlines the role of capabilities building Peredo, A & McLean, M (2006) Social enterprises with specific characteristics such as: (1) create social value, (2) take advantage of the opportunities available to create values; (3) create việ c based solutions make new discoveries are applied to

many distribution or social value; (4) willing to accept a level of risk above the average in the creation and dissemination of social values, and (5) have extraordinary consistency with the scarce resources in the pursuit of reviews taking a great social risk

Zia ul Islam (2007) identified social enterprises could be set up in urban slums

through business between the sponsors of non-profit organizations and small businesses but have growth potential

Maureen Royce (2007) analysis of factors affecting human resources in social enterprises, using a formal investigation, interviews Unstructured, case study Sinéad McBrearty (2007 which is the identification of the factors affecting the success and failure of voluntary organisations that apply the social enterprise model

in achieving financial and social objectives, is based on the arguments that there is a lack in the topic literature and that the policy in adopting the concept of social enterprise is directed for the modernisation of the voluntary sector

Mike Bull, Rory Ridley-Duff, Doug Foster, Pam Seanor (2010) The aim of this paper is to fill the gap related to the current conceptualisations of social enterprise,

in the economic aspects of a business model and a frame reference on social capital perspectives An alternative conceptualisation in the field of social enterprise is the ethical capital

Usha Ganesh (2013) suggested that the agricultural social enterprise in India to create economic value and social by eliminating inefficiencies in the agricultural value chain present and share these businesses out 3 groups, including support for

pre-harvest value chain; operations support post-harvest and participate in the value chain of dairy

Eliada Griffin-EL (2014) point out the specific activity of the agricultural social enterprises in Kenya, such as providing services for production inputs including supplies, seed and production technology; market informations; development of rural infrastructure and post-harvest services

Overall, the study abroad of social enterprises using new approaches and modern through surveys, reviews the operational capacity of the social enterprise, the legal framework for social enterprises and solution for comprehensive development on the criteria set out principles of social enterprises and also provides the community assessment the benefits of bringing social enterprises The approach has not been used to analyze for social enterprises in Vietnam

1.2.Domestic Research

The study of social enterprises in Vietnam is limited because the social enterprises just introduced in 2008 There are some preliminary studies

social enterprises in Vietnam in two localities (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city) Nguyen Dinh Cung, et al (2012) mentioned about the concept of social enterprises in the world and Vietnam as well as analyze the actual situation and the overall context and make policy recommendations for the development of social enterprises in Vietnam, which was the original basis for advocacy development of social enterprises in Vietnam

The authors of the national economics university (NEU) include: Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thi Hoai Dung, Truong Duc Luc, Tran Thi Phuong Hien with the articles in the symposium proceedings "Social Enterprise Development through universities in Vietnam- challenges and opportunities" in April 2012 to focus on situation analysis and approach models to identify social entrepreneurs in Vietnam

and propose solutions for social enterprises in general; that no directions for specific sectors

Vu Thi Huynh Anh et al (2014) have analyzed preliminary Untapped

The author has analyzed the 06 preliminary typical agricultural social enterprises in Vietnam and thereby evaluate the potential of this type of business but untapped

To Thien Hien (2002) analyze the actual operation of the cooperative agricultural production in An Giang with particular rice production services to farmers such as water pumps, drying, storage and on thereby offering solutions developed for these kinds of cooperation services

Luong Xuan Quy (2005) analyzed the objectivity and the peculiarities of cooperation in agriculture; experience in organizing and managing the cooperative

of some countries in the region and around the world and draw out the lessons for Vietnam

Dang Kim Son and Nguyen Minh Tien (2012) analyze the activities of the system of cooperative associations in Taiwan as the lessons can be applied to the development of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam

Vo Hung Dung (2011) analyze the contribution of agriculture in GDP, the authors also point out the inadequacies of institutions - agricultural policy; irrationalities in prices and agricultural pricing policies in the products such as: rice, fish, fruit and the trend is linked in clusters and supply chain industry gradually formed is the foundation for agricultural enterprise development, linked to processing enterprises and export

Among the domestic articles and studies , there are no specialized independent research for the agricultural social enterprises , which is only agricultural cooperatives The article related practical information about social enterprises in Vietnam through the comparison and compare them with the characteristics of social enterprises in the world so this study has certain limitations such as:

- The approach: Although studies based on theory and model of social entrepreneurs developing nations of the world but when contact practice for Vietnam, only made the comment minded judge personal guess should ability to practical application in Vietnam will have a certain number of limitations that most authors do not deepen the analysis

- The data used in the analysis: The study analyzes only stop in perspective and compare identification, and by social enterprises in Vietnam is still relatively new to the data used in the report are mainly based on the survey results should CSIP is still

on generic, not specific to each sector

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS ABOUT THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIAL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

2.1 Social enterprise and the role of agricultural social enterprises

2.1.1 The concept of social entrepreneurship and the agricultural social enterprise

- Social Entrepreneurship is the activity of an organization that created to implement a solution or a specific business plan to take to a specific social solutions for the members of that organization and community So that, social enterprises (SEs) include a variety of organizations oriented business without pursuing the ultimate goal to maximize profits for the owners This definition includes the cooperatives, credit unions, social supports

- The agricultural social enterprises are understood as enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative groups operating in the agricultural sector, supply the input services or consultancy; technical assistance to the farmers; connected the households who have the same object to increase production for their members; conducted through specialization and mechanization; solve the problems such as: shortage labor, environment or pests that raise during the agricultural production; organized production to meet the safety standards of production and quality standards; find out the output for the products that their member produce The agricultural social entrepreneurs of Vietnam currently exist in the forms such as breeding centers, agricultural extension centers, cooperatives or cooperative organizations of agriculture

- Agricultural social enterprise development is understood as the increase

in number along with the improvement of the operational capacity of this type of enterprise The improvement of the operational capacity is shown in some contents, such as production capacity shown by the level of technology and qualified human resources; ability to participate in global production networks reflected the degree

associated with suppliers and customers, as well as the relationship between supply and consumption of products

2.1.2 Typical characteristic of agricultural social entreprises

- Must undertake business and production activities;

- Social mission as to priority;

- Redistribution of the profit;

- Social ownership;

- Meeting the needs of Bottom of Pyramid Group

- Outstanding characteristics of social enterprises: bottom up

approach/innitiatives, open and connected, leading role of social entrepreneurs

2.1.3 The role of social enterprises

- Distribution services;

- Fall in with social

- Develop the civil society

2.1.4 Social enterprise in the relation with other organisations and social trends

- Social enterprises in relations to None-government Organisation (NGO) and Charity Fund;

- Social enterprises and CRS (Corporate Social Responsibilities)

- Social Entreprise and Fair Trade

2.2 Orientation and factors affecting the development of social enterprises in the agricultural sector

2.2.1 Oriented for the agricultural social enterprise development

The agricultural social enterprise development of Vietnam and the Mekong Delta is now based on the organizations of the rural economy to solve the agricultural problems and achieve the highest benefit for the participants as well as community

2.2.2 The basis for determining the factors affecting the agricultural social enterprisedevelopment

- Legal form;

- Trends of development;

- Scale of business

2.2.3 Factors affecting the development of social enterprises

- The impact of formal institutions:

+ Public spending is negatively related to social entrepreneurial activity; + Access to finance positively related to social entrepreneurial activity; + Governence affectiveness is negatively related to social entrepreneurial activity

- The impact of informal institutions:

+ Social needs are positively related to social entrepreneurial activity; + Social attitude positively related to social entrepreneurial activity; + Education level is positively related to social entrepreneurial activity

2.2.4 The criteria for evaluating the performance of social enterprises include: the legal of enterprise; operational strategies; capacity of

internal management; financial management and strategic diversification of financial resources; social impact and the environment; market; executive works; the satisfaction of their members

2.3 International Experiences to develop social enterprises ( The United

State, Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, India)

+ Cultural Environment: The presence of an active civil society and the connections with neighboring countries that have the development of social enterprises;

+ Institutional environment: The presence and support of the system of governmental organizations and professional organizations, academics are allowed

(ii) The subsidy policies for agricultural production must consider from practice to establish the frame rules for price and output quantity; consider the beneficiary groups from them;

(iii) The State must create a legal framework for social enterprises; from which will stimulate the agricultural social enterprise development

(iv) Social enterprises must be seen as partners of the government in implementing the subsidy policy, farm subsidies, creating the livelihood for community, training labour skills involved in chain value of agriculture;

(v) The members of Agricultural social enterprises are agricultural producers who have part-owner, so that the operating, monitoring, and accountability are transparency, which will limit the negative and wasteful that the existing public sector

CHAPTER 3 THE SITUATION OF THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEKONG DELTA

3.1 Overview of social enterprise

3.1.1 Natural conditions, economic, and infrastructure of the Mekong Delta 3.1.2 The development of social enterprises in Vietnam

- Before Innovation (1986): social enterprises associated with collective ownership and operate in the form of Cooperative serving the needs of vulnerable /disadvantaged communities;

- From 1986-2010: social enterprises associated closely with NGOs and funding mainly from foreign organizations;

- Now, since Vietnam became a middle income country, social enterprises have operated according to market principles; shifting funds from external financing to income from business activities

3.1.3 The development of social enterprises in agriculture

3.1.4 Factors affecting the development of agricultural social enterprises

- Public sector: strong support and government subsidy policy in inputs supply for the poor and farmers in the extremely difficult areas has left few economic opportunities for enterprises with strong social missions

- Private sector: There is a little direct technical and financial investment by the private sector in the production of low-income farmers

- Non-governmental organisations and international donors: Capacity building for both local government officers and groups of farmers, introduction of sustainable production models, and innovative approaches to link farmers with companies, are typical types of assistance that NGOs and donors provide in order for farmers, especially poor farmers, to improve the productivity and to increase the value added to products

- The social enterprise: few SEs are operating on small-scale infrastructure services for agriculture and micro credit with effective business models, as the involvement of government in those services remains predominant

3.2 Current situation of the agricultural social enterprises in Mekong Delta 3.2.1 Overview of social enterprises in the agriculture sector in Mekong Delta

- History of social enterprise development in agriculture

- Business models:

+ Social Enterprise services: Services for almost pre-harvest activities, and post-harvest services;

+ Social enterprises combining production and services;

+ Social entreprise produce agriculture

3.2.2 Current situation of social enterprises in the agricultural sector in the Mekong Delta through survey results

- Brief description of the surveyed enterprises

With 27 surveyed enterprises in the Mekong Delta provinces is classified by the kinds of products: 14 enterprises produce commercial rice, seed rice and vegetables; 8 enterprises produce fruit trees and seed tree; 3 enterprises stock aqua-product (2 enterprises stock brackish shrimp and 1 enterprise stock catfish); 2 enterprise culture livestock (dairy) There are 11 enterprises now has its own office, the remaining 16 enterprises have no specific work location

- The activities of the enterprises;

+ Services provide materials and seed to produce;

+ Support members in selling products;

+ Creat jobs for member workers’;

+ Orientation for planing development: change the subject, or the structure of production, find out markets for members, receive new members; + To receive the support of the specialized agencies and the policies of the government in developing capacity for enterprise such as: legal procedures for