The project methodology is to let the Australian partner, Lincoln University, develop the agribusiness and applied research skills for the FEDS staff in a 3-year period.. The capacity bu
Trang 1THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF AGRIBIZ PROJECT
Project title: Enhancing smallholders’ access to Agribusiness in the Central region of Viet
Nam
Project code: CARD 055/04 VIE
Author(s): Assoc Prof Dr Mai Van Xuan1, Dr Sandra Martin2, Stewart Pittaway2
Project Implementing organisations:
1
Faculty of Economics and Development Studies, Hue College of Economics
2
Lincoln University, New Zealand
1 Introduction
This project, implemented from 2005 to 2009,
aiming at developing the agribusiness capacity
of the Faculty of Economics and Development
Studies (FEDS) at Hue College of Economics
(HCE) so that they can act as a strategic
resource for rural development in the Central
regions of Vietnam The lack of agribusiness
skills of smallholders and the provincial
extension staff leads to constraints in livelihood
improvement for the smallholders The project
methodology is to let the Australian partner,
Lincoln University, develop the agribusiness
and applied research skills for the FEDS staff in
a 3-year period The capacity building program
includes 3 major phases: i) Survey to determine
the agribusiness needs of smallholders and
provincial staff in 4 Central region provinces:
Nghe An, Thua Thien Hue, Kon Tum, Quang
Ngai; ii) Development of training courses for
them and the development of an agribusiness
program curriculum at HCE; iii) Delivery of the
training courses for smallholders and provincial
agencies including the development of the
capacity of the provincial agencies to deliver
effective agribusiness training courses for
smallholders Project outputs will include: i)
FEDS with an improved agribusiness teaching,
research and consultancy skills, HCE with an
improved agribusiness curriculum; ii)
Provincial agency staff with enhanced
agribusiness skills and able to deliver courses
for smallholders then they with better
agribusiness skills and supported by more
effective provincial agencies; iii) Smallholders
with better agribusiness skills and supported by more effective provincial agencies in order to improve their livelihood
Overall goal of this project is enhancing smallholders’ access to Agribusiness Services
in the Central Region of Viet Nam in way of providing smallholders necessary skills in Agribusiness so that they can improve their livelihoods
The expected outputs of the projects are (1) FEDS with improved applied research skills and agribusiness training, teaching, research and consultancy skills; (2) FEDS with an improved agribusiness curriculum; (3) Provincial agency staff with enhanced agribusiness skills and able to deliver agribusiness training courses for smallholders; and (4) Smallholders with better agribusiness skills and supported by more effective provincial agencies
2 Approach and Methodology 2.1 Approach
Our approach is based upon lessons learned from the partners’ previous and current rural development and capacity building works in the Central Regions as well as Lincoln University’s experience in other capacity building projects Capacity building projects need to be based upon a sustained program of activities The implementation of these activities should be flexible to respond the various challenges that arise during implementation
Trang 2A key part of the overall approach is to gain a
good understanding of agribusiness skills and
knowledge needs of the sector especially of
smallholders (including ethnic minorities and
women) and the provincial extension and
service agencies This will provide the basis for
the development of subsequent project
activities Our overall approach has the
following features:
Development of the farm agribusiness
resource at FEDS – through staff training
and an associated training resource (course
curricula and notes etc);
Curricula must be based upon an
assessment of the needs of the sector
stakeholders;
Project inputs are phased to allow ideas
and concepts to be absorbed;
Facilitation of FEDS project leadership
through mentoring by Lincoln University
(LU);
Linkages with rural development
initiatives in the Central Region
The project’s communication strategy will
ensure that the target groups and stakeholders
are regularly updated on project activities
2.2 Methodology
The project methodology consists of:
Training of FEDS staff in applied research
approaches and farm agribusiness
methods;
Pilot survey of farm agribusiness needs of
Thua Thien Hue province – farmers,
service sectors etc;
Survey of the other three project provinces;
Analysis of data gathered and development
of farm agribusiness training courses for
stakeholders;
Delivery of training courses – developing
master farm agribusiness trainers in the
provincial extension staff of Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development
(DARD);
Presentation of findings at regular seminars and workshops as well as through publications
The original methodology has been modified It was decided by both partners to make the survey of Thua Thien Hue province into a pilot study before committing significant staff and financial resources to the survey of the 3 other provinces The survey method and results were evaluated in association with Lincoln University staff in November 2005 This evaluation included a workshop and as result the surveys in the other 3 provinces were modified
3 Research results and discussions
According to the objectives and methodology of the project, activities classified into 4 areas: i) building capacity for FEDS staff in research and training about agribusiness; ii) Training need assessment (TNA) about agribusiness of extension staff and farmers of 4 target provinces Nghe An, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ngai, and Kon Tum; iii) Developing training modules; and iv) Delivering training modules for farmers and extension staff and TOT Project has gained main achievements as follows:
3.1 Improving FEDS staff capacity in
research and training
In Viet Nam, Agribusiness is still a new concept and field So far, very few universities have Bachelor training program in agribusiness
In addition, most of training programs for extension staff and farmers delivered by organizations in provinces have focused on the technical aspect of agricultural productions Therefore, most of extension staff lack of skills and knowledge of agribusiness Hence, improving FEDS staff capacity in research and training is one of the most important objectives
of the project FEDS as a training unit, where supply human resource having skills and knowledge about agribusiness for DARDs, organizations and companies… that is way in
Trang 33.1.1 Developing agribusiness curriculum
in the FEDS is an important issue
The study visit to Lincoln University, New
Zealand (February 2006) was an important
capacity building activity that occurred just
prior to the reporting period The FEDS staff
that joined the visit have learned much
knowledge and skills in agribusiness analysis,
curriculum and training course design and
training methods They had a good chance to
visit farms and cooperatives activities in New
Zealand Thanks to Lincoln University experts’
attentions, the FEDS training curriculum was
revised and amended better
3.1.2 Carrying out training courses on
agribusiness
Many seminars, training workshops on the
several areas such as supply chain, value chain,
farm management; case study; cooperative
active models were hold for FEDS staff
Professors of Lincoln University have provided
invaluable lessons and experiences Based on
the training courses, FEDS staff conducted
more than 30 case studies in 4 target provinces,
undertaken supply chain and value chain
analyses
These researches (case studies and supply chain
analysis) focused on key agricultural products
such as Pigs, Fish, Vegetable (in lowland
area); Rubber, Coffee, Banana, Sugar cane
(upland area); Shrimp, Rice, Pig (costal area)
or main agribusiness activities of households
These activities aimed to improve research
capacity in agribusiness, understanding better farmer roles, relationship between farmers and cooperatives, and rural market FEDS staff have been sent to study master or PhD programs in abroad, especially 3 staff have studied PhD on Agribusiness at Lincoln University; more than
200 students took Bachelor degree in this area
3.1.3 Research activities and publicity
FEDS staff have conducted many province and ministry projects, many papers have been published on domestic and international journals related to agribusiness area (more than
40 papers in which 30 in domestic and 10 in international journals); participated in several international conferences
Developing skills and knowledge on agribusiness for FEDS staff is among of important achievements Many FEDS staff are invited to be consultants on agribusiness and rural development for DARDs in recent years, they have been conducting more than 15 consultancy contracts and 9 projects funded by international organizations
Working with Lincoln University experts, 4 training modules for extension staff and farmers have been completed, including: i) Training farmer: course design and training methods; ii) Farm analysis; iii) Marketing and supply chain analysis; iv) Farm agribusiness planning These training modules have been developed into 2 level, level 1 for extension staff and level 2 for farmers Thanks to good cooperation and relations with DARDs of the target provinces and Lincoln University experts the training modules meet to extension staff and farms demands and impact significantly in capacity building for them in agribusiness area Obviously, these are first training materials for extension staff and farmers in Vietnam on agribusiness that were designed and prepared systematically These materials were considered positively by Provincial DARDs and NGOs and especially the Australian Ambassador to Hanoi
Trang 4In brief, the project have impacted and
improved significantly FEDS staff capacity on
the aspects:
- Methodology on agribusiness,
developing training curriculum,
improving skills and knowledge on
agribusiness;
- Carrying out researches and
publishing;
- Conducting projects with provinces
and international organizations;
- Being consultancy in the field.
3.2 Improve skills and knowledge on
agribusiness for extension staff
In fact, extension staff of DARDs have been
well organized and well operated in long time
Obviously, extension staff is an important
bridge that transfer skills and knowledge of
agribusiness to farmers We carried out the
training need assessment of extension staff and
farmers in order to know their demands about
seminars, training workshops, conducted case studies, built up farm agribusiness planning with FEDS staff In addition, they attended many training courses that delivered by FEDS staff Especially, the project has trained a core group of 6-8 extension staff in each province These persons were sufficiently provided with training materials and systematically trained so that they have been able to conduct training courses for other extension staff and farmers (TOT – training of trainer) The training method bought significantly results and was well recognized as another important achievement of the project In total 78 training courses for extension staff and farmers with more than 3000 participants, there were 45 courses delivered by FEDS staff and 33 courses delivered by extension staff Recently, though the project have completed, training courses are still delivered for farmers by TOTs
of provincial DARDs All target provinces have joined to adapt training modules to meet their farmers and extension staff demands
3.3 Enhancing smallholders’ access
Trang 5agri-business skills to help them estimate
resources, to analyse supply chain and to
design production plans More than 3000
farmer participations, in which 25% of them
were women, around 3% were ethnic
minorities, were trained to become more
business-minded Farmers interviewed by
CARD evaluation team reported that through
making production plan and supply chain
analysis, they could calculate net benefit of
their production and know how to invest in
their businesses Farmers trained by the
Agribiz project are now more capable in
controlling their farming systems as well as
their enterprises and gain more stable incomes
The project also selected 12 farm households
(three households per province) – to establish
project’s models The project not only
provided them with training courses on
agri-business analysis, marketing/supply chain
analysis and agri-business planning for
households, but also frequently supplied
consultation services to farmers to guide them
how to make appropriate decisions in
production investment and product marketing
All farmers conducting project’s model
expressed that they understood the benefits
from formulating production and agri-business
plans They have already applied the
knowledge from these training courses into
their production and gained some
achievements Especially, the Australia
Ambassador to Hanoi, who visited the project
management board and interviewed directly
farmers who were trained by the project,
highly appreciated the project positive
influences on farmer livelihood
4 Lessons learned
Several lessons have been learnt over the
course of the implementation of the Agribiz
project The Agribiz project was the first major
bilateral donor project undertaken by the
FEDS where it worked closely with an
overseas institutional partner Lessons from the
Agribiz include:
management
The project management board have constructed project strategies, managements and close collaboration with stakeholders such
as Lincoln University, CARD program, provincial DARDs… so that project activities have well conducted and managed
4.2 Building good relationships with Partners – Lincoln University and CARD program
FEDS and LU developed a close working relationship and were able to meet regularly to review progresses and revise the work program
as required The project received due attentions from LU experts and CARD program During the project duration, LU experts implemented more than 25 visits to FEDS, leaders of 2 universities visited each other and worked together and the MOU between two universities have been signed The CARD PMU had visits and working with the agribiz PMU Especially, the project has received deeply concerns of the Australia Ambassador
to Hanoi Thank to these good relationships, many issues arose during the course of the project implementation have discussed and promptly responded to
4.3 Importance of relationships with Provincial Agencies
It commonly observes that a lack of support by provincial agencies in many ODA projects in Vietnam contributes to poor development outcomes FEDS has established relationships with DARD and other agencies in each province These relationships were very strong and professional that have facilitated solid support at the provincial level and contributed significantly to the successes of the project activities in each province
Agribiz also had a wide scope involved working in provinces from Hue to Nghe An, Kon Tum and Quang Ngai, to which takes at least one day travelling by road This means logistic challenges and requires close liaison with the provincial agencies Furthermore, the rainy season in the Central Vietnam makes it very difficult to travelling and operations that need to be considered in the implementation of such projects as Agribiz
Trang 64.4 Encouraging new ideas
Agribusiness was a very new discipline and
concept for many of the FEDS staff They
were also unfamiliar with the case study, based
upon research methodology that was used in
the provincial field work The team working
method was implemented to deal with this
problem and the work schedule allowed time
for the FEDS staff to review the training in the
new concepts from the LU staff before
applying the concepts LU staff also provided
ongoing support during the implementation of
the main activities; field work, curriculum
development and preparation of training
courses Therefore, FEDS staff have gained
knowledge and confidence to conduct project
activities
4.5 Timing of Strategic Activities,
Implementation
Unfavourable weather condition (wet season),
logistics and competing staff commitments all
contributed to delays in the implementation of
Agribiz activities The Agribiz work plan was
made flexible to enable rescheduling activities
without causing negative impacts on
achievement of the project objectives Several
activities were identified as critical to the
achievement of the Agribiz objectives These
included training of FEDS staff in
Agribusiness and survey methodology;
development of curriculum development skills;
and developing the training skills of the FEDS
staff Considerable planning went into the
timing of these strategic activities to ensure
they were coordinated with the overall work
program Thanks to flexibility in planning and
implementation; timing of strategic activities
and supporting from provincial DARDs,
project activities were carried out successfully
5 Towards the future - orientation
activities
5.1 Incessantly enhancing teaching and research capacity is the most important mission of FEDS
Through Agribiz project, 3 lecturers have been admitted to pursue PhD in Agribusiness in Lincoln University, New Zealand;
Through the WB project, it has been arranged to send lecturers to pursue Masters and PhD studies abroad; and promote research exchange with other universities;
Enhance training curriculum; update and supplement course content, materials;
Renovate teaching and evaluation methods
5.2 Intensify international cooperation
Strengthen collaboration with Lincoln University, NZ (invite experts to give lectures and do research exchange, send staffs to LU to study…);
Build up advanced program in cooperation with University of Sydney, Australia; This project funded by Vietnam Government from 2010-2017 This program aims at training bachelor degree in agricultural economic – Finance having high quality;
Strengthen research collaboration with other international universities and organizations (MICRODIC, EEPSEA, IUCN )
5.3 Collaborate with localities in
scientific achievements
Complete and publish training modules for extension staffs and farmers of the Central provinces;
Continue to transfer the project’s achievements to the provinces through training courses of HCE (short-term
Trang 7 Conduct consultant services, especially
in agro-product marketing and training
courses as requested by localities
6 Conclusions
All objectives of the Agribiz project have been
successfully implemented All expected
outputs have been produced Agribusiness
capacity has been built for its target
beneficiaries: HCE, DARD and small holders
of the four provinces of Nghe An, Thua Thien
Hue, Kon Tum and Quang Ngai The project
has created good opportunities for FEDS to
improve its capacity and make collaboration
with domestic and international organizations
The project’s achievements are partly due to the effective cooperation of DARDs, related agencies as well as farmers in the 4 provinces; New Zealand experts, the Management Board
of CARD program, HCE and teachers of FEDS
With such achievements, it is hopeful that FEDS will enhance and promote fruitful collaborations with other domestic and foreign partners in the near future and seize opportunities to become one of the leading teaching and training center in Viet Nam