Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Project Progress Report FIRST SIX-MONTHLY REPORT CARD Project 030/06 VIE Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural
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Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development
Project Progress Report
FIRST SIX-MONTHLY REPORT CARD Project 030/06 VIE
Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of
animal feed
Date: 1st January 2008
Trang 21 Institute Information
competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed
Vietnamese Institution Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and
Rural Development
Vietnamese Project Team Leader Dr Nguyen Do Anh Tuan
Australian Organisation University of Western Australia
Pluske, Dr Greg Hertzler, Dr Jo Pluske
Completion date (original) 30th April 2009
Completion date (revised)
Contact Officer(s)
In Australia: Team Leader
Organisation University of Western
Australia
In Australia: Administrative contact
Organisation Agricultural and Resource
Economics, University of Western Australia
In Vietnam
Position: Researcher – Market Analysis
Unit
Organisation Center for Agricultural Policy –
Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (CAP-IPSARD)
Trang 32 Project Abstract
3 Executive Summary
Contract signing for this project was delayed, but work commenced not long after the scheduled project implementation date of 1st May 2007 Australian team planning meetings commenced at UWA on a regular basis from the second week of May, and joint planning by the Vietnamese and Australian teams for the Project Inception Workshop and first training activities commenced in June 2007
Team meetings were held in Hanoi at the Centre for Agricultural Policy (CAP) between 2nd –
10th August Ms Sally Marsh, Dr Donna Brennan, Professor John Pluske and Dr Jo Pluske travelled to Hanoi for these meetings Highlights of these meetings included:
• A half-day workshop held at IPSARD on 7th August to scope issues facing the livestock feed sector attended by a range of industry stakeholders and others
• Field trips to a range of feedmills and livestock farms, and meetings with industry representatives
• Training activities linked to the workshop and field visits focussed on identifying problems and issues, developing researchable questions, identifying data required to address research questions, and developing the survey instrument (questionnaire)
Dr Jo Pluske has completed a draft report entitled “A desktop review of the animal feed sector at a global scale” which will contribute to the identification of both key policy and operational issues in the feed sector This report is being reviewed by the project team prior
to its finalisation
Work is progressing steadily in several areas including:
• Development and testing of the survey instrument for livestock producers and livestock feedmills and distributors
The objectives of this project are to: 1) Build capacity at IPSARD in agricultural marketing research, specifically the value chain, industrial organization and production economics; 2) Understand the role and performance of SMEs in the animal feed sector in other countries and draw lessons for Vietnam; 3) Provide a quantitative assessment of the factors affecting the competitiveness of the animal feed industry in Vietnam; and 4) Provide policy recommendations
to the government with regard to the efficiency of firms operating in the livestock feed sector, and provide advice to SMEs competing in the livestock feed sector Standard agricultural economics techniques will be used to quantify the characteristics of the animal feed industry, and to identify issues and opportunities for small enterprises in the animal feed supply chain Activities include a combination of training courses, and supervised research exercises combining collection of secondary data, field work, analysis and synthesis of findings Activities during this first six months of the project have focussed on scoping the issues facing the livestock feed sector in Vietnam by: 1) collecting available secondary data and reports; 2) conducting an implementation workshop involving industry stakeholders; 3) field visits and stakeholder meetings; and 4) planning sessions for the desktop review and survey instruments
Trang 4• Continued industry liaison activities by the Vietnamese team and work on the report
on key issues identified from consultations with major industry stakeholders
• Compilation and documentation of available secondary data
• Investigation and documentation of the policy environment facing the sector and SMEs in Vietnam
• Planning for future training activities and the study tour to Thailand
The team has endeavoured to strengthen links with an ACIAR funded project on the pig industry being conducted in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute Several joint meetings have been held with visiting ILRI scientists, Dr Donna Brennan, and the Vietnamese team to build on synergies between the projects The Director of ILRI recently visited Vietnam and was briefed on the CARD project activities
4 Introduction & Background
The underlying aim of this project is to investigate the circumstances under which SMEs in Vietnam can operate at an efficient level and compete with other firms or not, especially in the context of the globalization process This project seeks to gain benefit from Australian collaboration in designing methodology that can be used in ongoing work at IPSARD In this study the animal feed industry is being used as a case study, but the methods and lessons learned will be applicable in other areas of agricultural marketing The proposed training and supervised research exercises will provide the IPSARD/MARD with a suitable methodology for ongoing work in quantitative policy analysis
The project will be carried out using a combination of training courses, and supervised research exercises combining collection of secondary data, field work, analysis and synthesis
of findings in reports and policy briefs Training will focus on building skills and experience
in market analysis, including value chain analysis, production economics, and industrial organisation Field work will be undertaken in several sites incorporating the three regions, Mekong Delta, South East region and Red River Delta, to cover a broad cross section of performance of animal feed enterprises Local stakeholders will be involved throughout the process, and findings communicated through a workshop held in each region
Specific activities and outputs under the project objectives will include:
Objective 1: Build capacity at IPSARD agricultural marketing research, specifically in analysis of the value chain, industrial organisation, and production economics
• Training workshops at IPSARD on survey and data collection techniques; and market analysis, including value chain analysis, production economics, and industrial organisation
• On-the-job training for IPSARD staff on assessment of competitiveness of SMEs and other firms in the Vietnamese animal feed value chain
• Development of a manual on how to conduct a study of competitiveness of SMEs that can be used in other studies to be implemented by IPSARD in the future
Objective 2: Understand the role and performance of SMEs in the animal feed sector in other countries
• Desk-top literature search and review of the nature, experiences and lessons of the animal feed industries in other countries, and the role of SMEs in the animal feed sector globally
Trang 5• A study tour to Thailand to assess the organization of the livestock feed sector, and its applicability to Vietnam
Objective 3: Provide a quantitative assessment of the factors affecting the competitiveness of the animal feed industry in Vietnam
• Collection of secondary data to provide an up-to-date assessment of the animal feed industry in Vietnam, and, opportunities and challenges facing the sector
• Field investigation in three regions to examine the value chain of the animal feed industry including an assessment of characteristics and costs of production, the nature of information and product flow, quality control standards and processes
• Compilation of a detailed report on the research work
Objective 4: Provide policy recommendations to the government with regard to the efficiency
of firms operating in the livestock feed sector, and provide advice to SMEs in the sector
• Writing of policy briefs
• Workshops in study regions and in Hanoi, to report and discuss the findings of the research work with local stakeholders and with policy makers
5 Progress to Date
5.1 Implementation Highlights
Team meetings were held in Hanoi at the Centre for Agricultural Policy (CAP) between 2nd –
10th August Sally Marsh, Dr Donna Brennan, Professor John Pluske and Dr Jo Pluske travelled to Hanoi for these meetings Highlights of these meetings included:
• A half day stakeholder workshop held on 7th August to scope issues facing the livestock feed sector with a range of industry stakeholders and others Opportunity was given to key people in MARD, the Animal Feed Association and from the processing sector to address the workshop The workshop program, participant list and workshop report are included as Appendix I
• Field trips to a range of feedmills and livestock farms
• Meetings with Mr Le Ba Lich, Chairman of the Animal Feed Association, and Dr Tran Cong Xuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Poultry Association
Dr Jo Pluske submitted a final draft report to the project team, “A Desktop Review of the Animal Feed Sector at a Global Scale”, in September 2007 This report is currently being reviewed by the project team
Dr Donna Brennan and Sally Marsh held further working sessions with members of the Vietnamese project team in late October/early November to progress the questionnaire design
5.2 Smallholder Benefits
At this stage of the project no smallholder benefits have been achieved, but this remains an objective of the project, through increased efficiency and competitiveness in the livestock feed sector
Trang 65.3 Capacity Building
Capacity building activities at IPSARD/CAP have commenced Activities in this first six months have been designed to:
• Establish baseline capacity within IPSARD/CAP The surveys used for this are included as Appendix II
• Ensure that IPSARD/CAP had input into the planning of the desktop review
• Identify perceived training needs with IPSARD/CAP, including what tangible outputs they would like to see from this project
• Scope and discuss issues facing the livestock feed sector in Vietnam (e.g mill operations, nutrition issues, supply and storage issues, economic and institutional issues), with the aim of emphasising the importance of this process before commencing research and survey work
• Identify problems and issues, develop researchable questions, discuss and identify data required to address research questions, and develop the survey instrument (questionnaire)
5.4 Publicity
Publicity for the project was achieved through the inception workshop, which was attended
by representatives from MARD, Hanoi Agricultural University, the World Bank, and the livestock feed processing and the livestock animal industries
The project was late commencing because of difficulties in addressing budget issues identified by the CARD PMU, and hence there was a delay in signing the Contract between UWA and Hassall & Assoc This resulted in a delay in establishing the budget line at UWA (obtained on 31.07.07), and a corresponding delay in transfers of funds to IPSARD/CAP Accordingly, this first six monthly report is late and we envisage that Milestones 2 and 3 will also be slightly late We expect to be on track with Milestone Reports by mid 2008
Dr Greg Hertzler had been scheduled to attend the project meetings and workshop in Hanoi
in August 2007, but at the last minute (3 days before scheduled departure) had to change his plans and travel to America on bereavement grounds This has reduced the time that Dr Hertzler has contributed to the project during this reporting period
There have been a number of changes in the Vietnamese personnel working on the project There have been a number of changes in the Vietnamese personnel working on the project Firstly, Mr Phung Duc Tung has been in Germany since August 2007 in order to pursue his PhD study, therefore, could not continue joining the project Dr Nguyen Anh Phong then was assigned to replace Mr Phung Duc Tung as technical supervisor for the CAP team Second, Mr Hoang Dinh Quoc is also involved in a PhD preparation that makes him unavailable for the project Ms Pham Tuyet Mai took over the work of Mr Hoang Dinh Quoc Also, Ms Nguyen Le Hoa and Ms Tran Thu Ha was assigned to be in charge of other work, and Ms Pham Thi Lien Phuong and Ms Nguyen Thi Thinh in the Market Analysis Unit were assigned to do the work instead
(See Personnel Inputs table in the Statutory Declaration for more details on the contribution
of each team member)
Trang 76 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
6.1 Environment
Questions addressing environmental issues and concerns are being included in the survey instrument, and scoped in the Desktop Review
6.2 Gender and Social Issues
Questions addressing gender and social issues and concerns (e.g females working in livestock and livestock feed businesses, health and safety issues in the sector) are being included in the survey instrument, and scoped in the Desktop Review
7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues
7.1 Issues and Constraints
The late start to the project has put pressure on timing of training activities from the perspective of both the Vietnamese and Australian team members However, these activities will be able to be accommodated as the project progresses The Australian team wants to work with the Vietnamese team to ensure that training being delivered is relevant and needed
7.2 Options
The location of Dr Donna Brennan with CAP in Hanoi since October 2007 will mean that it
is possible to deliver shorter training sessions with key CAP people This approach could be useful because it can fit in more easily with the busy work schedule of CAP team members Accordingly, Dr Brennan will conduct a 3-day training course in December on analysing feedmill costs, with an emphasis on linear programming techniques to investigate least cost feed rations and the influence of the price of feed ingredients on feedmill costs
7.3 Sustainability
The location of Dr Brennan in CAP will contribute to the sustainability of the skills and knowledge being applied by the project team in this project, by enabling more frequent follow-up and feedback on activities
8 Next Critical Steps
Activities for the next six months include:
• Comment on the Desktop Review from Vietnamese and Australian team members, revision if necessary, and submission to CARD as a Milestone Report – by the end of the year
• Continue work on the quantitative description of the supply chain (from GSO and secondary data)
• Finalisation of the survey instrument and submission to CARD as a Milestone Report – by early 2008
Trang 8• Training on analysing feed production costs planned for early December 2007 to be conducted by Dr Brennan
• Training planned for late-January to identify and discuss key issues from the Desktop Review, particularly those that will be relevant for the study tour to Thailand (e.g policy environment), and specify learning objectives for the study tour, to be conducted by Sally Marsh
• Piloting the survey and commencement of surveying
• Study tour to Thailand in March 2008
9 Conclusion
Activities during this first six months of the project have focussed on scoping the issues facing the livestock feed sector in Vietnam by: 1) collecting available secondary data and reports; 2) conducting an implementation workshop involving industry stakeholders; 3) hands-on training in research-scoping skills conducted through field visits and stakeholder meetings; and 4) planning sessions for the desktop review and survey instruments
The late start to the project has put pressure on timing of training activities from the perspective of both the Vietnamese and Australian team members However, these activities will be able to be accommodated as the project progresses There have been some difficulties
in developing a comprehensive survey that will provide the needed data, yet at the same time not be too difficult or lengthy for firms to complete
Activities for the next six months are planned and progressing
Trang 10Project Progress Against Proposed Objectives, Outputs, Activities And Inputs Project Title: Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed
Vietnamese Implementing Institution: Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development
Narrative Information Required Performance
Measures
Assumptions Information Required
OBJECTIVE 1: Build capacity at IPSARD in research of
value chain, industrial organisation and production economics
Staff at IPSARD/CAP will be the primary beneficiaries of this Objective Increased capacity at IPSARD/CAP has the potential
to improve policy at the national level and hence impact on the livestock feed industry
as a whole
Improvement in capacity as assessed against benchmark indicators by end of project
1 Capacity assessment
is possible
2 Training and research will build capacity in needed areas
3 Australian team members have adequate knowledge in needed areas
This objective is still very relevant – as IPSARD/CAP have many commitments to the Ministry and need capacity (e.g problem formulation into researchable questions, data collection and analysis skills) to deliver useful information
OUTPUT 1.1 A training manual is developed over the life
of the project, incorporating experience and knowledge gained during the training and case study
This output will be a hardcopy and electronic resource and so contribute to both institutional capacity within IPSARD/CAP, and also sustainability of the knowledge and skills gained in the project
Training manual is developed and approved by IPSARD
1 Case study provides useful information for manual
2 Manual will be relevant for future IPSARD research and policy work
Structure of the manual is being planned, and documentation of activities commenced The research project will provide a suitable framework for a manual of this nature
ACTIVITY 1.1.1 Develop a training manual that describes
the relationships between input and output markets in agri-industrial enterprises, the influence of government policies, scale economies and other cost factors on competitiveness
This activity will last the length of the project and is primarily the task of the
Development of the training manual will be ongoing over the life of the project