1. CENTRAL HIGHLANDS POVERTY REDUCTION PROJECT (GNTN) Viet Nam
Mẫu bìa 02
Speaker: Mr. Do Thanh Trung

2. Project Background

3. Start date – end date: 22nd of July, 2014 – 31st of December, 2019.
US$ amount: USD 165 mil (ODA 150, GOV 15 mil).
Implementing agency: Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Project Objective: To improve living standards by increasing livelihood opportunities in Project area’s poor communes.
06 provinces: Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi
26 districts
130 communes

4. Design of Local Economic Development/ Livelihoods Component

5. Geographical assessments to design program
The Central Highlands (CH) (4 provinces: Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kontum) is:
- A politically and geographically special area of Vietnam with an excellent potential for development of high-value perennial crops.
- Geographical region with the highest concentration of EMs; also with the most difficult socio-economic conditions, yet has not attracted many poverty reduction programs/projects (USD 193 million from ODA according to the data of MPI as of 2012, only 4% of total ODA funding for Vietnam between 1993 and 2010)
- One of the poorest areas of Vietnam (32.8%), especially high for the EMs (according to the calculations using VHLSS 2010, around 73.6% living below the poverty line, 84% of EM laborers has main employment in agriculture).
- Has the most alarming proportion of children suffering from malnutrition in height for age and weight for age in the country (over 40% and 20% respectively)
- Has the lowest rate of primary school enrolment (95.98%), and less than half of the children at lower-secondary school age enrolling in lower secondary schools.

6. Geographical assessments to design program
Two coastal provinces, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, in Southern Central of Vietnam have:
- Almost all their mountainous districts belong to the poorest districts of the country (poverty rates in the project districts are all above 60%).
- Other indicators such as access to education, health care, child nutrition, etc in such districts which are much lower than the national average.

7. Project components
Component 1: Commune and village infrastructure development
- Sub-component 1.1: Commune and village infrastructure development;
- Sub-component 1.2: Operation and maintenance
Component 2: Sustainable livelihoods development
- Sub-component 2.1: Self-reliance and income diversification,
- Sub-component 2.2: Market linkages initiative
Component 3: District connective infrastructure development; capacity building and communication.
- Sub-component 3.1: Connective infrastructure development
- Sub-component 3.2: Capacity building,
- Sub-component 3.3: Communication
Component 4: Project management
Project components are designed to support each other in order to promote the process towards achieving the Project’s development objective.
Activities indirectly promote livelihood diversification and improvement for beneficiaries are strengthening the infrastructure system from districts to villages, and capacity building at all levels...
Hence, How to help the people develop their livelihoods sustainably is the main problem our Project is trying to solve.

8. Supports from the Project
Component of Sustainable Livelihoods Development has a total funding of around USD mil from WB.
Farmers are financially and technically supported through farmer groups established on a voluntary basis by households called Livelihood enhancement group (LEG), households/group. 03 types of LEGS are:
Food security LEG
all members are women with at least 75% from poor and near poor households (near poor household members should not exceed 25%), and
at least 50% are ethnic minorities.
Livelihood diversification LEG
at least 75% are from poor and near poor households (near poor household members should not exceed 25%), and
Market linkages LEG
at least 50% are from poor and near poor households, and

9. Technical support for LEGs
For self-reliance and income diversification
The Project will cooperate with the NTP on Health (Project 3 on reproductive health care and improvement of child nutrition) by providing (i) equipment to monitor and measure nutrition status; (ii) organizing demonstration of food processing and combining; (iii) promoting advocacy in nutrition with activities of community nutrition facilitators and local health workers.
After the LEGs’ subprojects approved, the project’s supports are (i) capacity building (production, marketing, group management…), (ii) inputs for livelihood activities (seeds, agricultural materials, market information, partnership promotion between the group and enterprises…), and (iii) activities of production and health-nutrition care (for food and securities & nutrition LEGs).
- Support local people “to better implement their current or used-to-be livelihood activities” in order to diversify and improve household income.

10. Technical support for LEGs
For market Linkages Initiative
Identify livelihoods with promising market potentials, suitable to specificities of Project area and beneficiaries.
Work with enterprises and other related stakeholders to build up partnerships.
Support group formation and set-up of group Charter.
- Provide funding and technical assistance during the operation of LEGs (Basing on approved sub-project proposals); and other supports as needed during implementation of proposed activities.

11. Challenges and Lessons Learned

12. Challenge 1
The quality of design and implementation of some sub-projects is below standards, appropriate operation and maintenance arrangements are lacking, and technical support for LEG groups is not always appropriate.
-> Capacity building needed to promote:
1) systematically involve relevant Provincial DARD units in review and revision of training materials,
2) improve accessibility of information and training materials,
3) identify, document and share good practices and farmer “champions” of success;
4) use social media to link farmers, district consultants, service providers, buyers, etc.

13. Challenge 2
Start-up and support for market linkages has been slow and ad hoc, and the current scale is unlikely to result in wide-spread impacts. 1) allow provinces to take lead in identifying and approving partnerships for known commodities, 2) design and conduct value-chain analysis training for PPMU staff, 3) districts to promote successful partnerships among other LEGs, and (iv) agribusiness involvement to be encouraged through corporate social responsibility recognition by project. Approval process for new market linkage commodities would remain the same as before

14. Challenge 3&4
The newly created LEGs do not always have access, on a commercial basis, to the qualified service providers at the commune level (Extension Workers, Animal Health Workers).
-> To mitigate the risk related to farming activities, in particular those related to livestock, the Project should closer collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) at the central and provincial level, in particular with the Department of Animal Health and the National Agriculture Extension Centre and their respective networks
The project’s duration (only 5 years), and limited funding do not allow its further assistance to more beneficiaries rather than the districts and communes in the project area, which are impediments in scaling up the project to reach more beneficiaries

15. Challenge 5, 6 & 7
Given the project’s fixed duration, perennial plants are impossibly selected such as coffee, cacao,…which are localities’ specialties.
-> People are oriented for short-term plants selection which is appropriate for the project duration and beneficiaries.
Time consumption in staff recruitment during the project implementation process causes multiple occupation for some staff
-> Available staff have to hold several jobs to ensure the project execution at locality. On-job training is provided for such staff.
Narrow perception of people causes difficulties in changing cultivation, animal husbandry habit, and applying advanced science and technology.
-> Capacity building for the local. Training materials are appropriately designed for them

16. Results to date

17. 2,593 LEGs supported, of which 2,571 are still active, covering a total of 35,406 households, of which an estimated 80% of members are EMs, 44% take part in Food Security and Nutrition groups, 50% in the Income Diversification groups, and 6% have been mobilized to operate under productive partnerships with agribusinesses.
13 Market Link Partnerships (MLPs) have been established under the project linking 30 LEGs with 13 agribusinesses
a 10-30% increase in production of staple crops, and potentially higher returns on some income diversification activities (e.g., broiler hens).

18. LEGs operating under MLPs with agribusinesses: their ex-gate prices have increased significantly (by some 15-20%) and their production has become more efficient thanks to good practices and innovations brought by the Project
To date, coverage and participation of poor households is exceeding original targets. Government reports having reached 480,000 beneficiaries (or 75% of the target), of whom 64% are indigenous EMs, who are generally the poorest in the community;

19. Lessons Learned
The project’s livelihood activities’ design and implementation should take into account the factors of disaster damage, disease ... To establish funds to support people.
The project has lost approximately 10 percent of the value of its overall financing due to SDR-USD exchange rate loses. Therefore, a more stable currency should be considered to use instead.
A list of TA agents for LEGs should be made, in which their capacity and experience in farmers training need to be taken into account to assure the effectiveness.

20. Xin chân thành cảm ơn!
Thank you for your
listening
Tính đến 16/1/2015