Vietnam Cao Bang Boosts Ethnic Minority Value Chains
Vietnam’s the People's Committee of the mountainous province of Cao Bang, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Vietnam, organized a conference on solutions for developing value chains for ethnic minority areas, showcasing potential opportunities for socio-economic cooperation in the future in the province.
The conference was attended by leaders of the Ethnic Affairs Committee, Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the delegation of IFAD office in Vietnam, and guests from various international organizations and embassies, including the The UN Resident Coordinator Office, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Commercial Smallholder Support Project (CSS), funded by from IFAD's Official Development Assistance (ODA), has been implemented since 2017. Despite encountering numerous challenges, with the steadfast support of IFAD, resolute guidance from all levels of government, and the high determination of the project steering committee, along with the close coordination of implementing units and the unanimous support of the community.
To date, over 23,000 people have been engaged in project activities; nearly 13,000 households have benefited, involving over 57,000 members. The project has achieved nearly 95% of the total investment, notably in areas such as developing and issuing handbooks for market-oriented socio-economic development planning at the commune level, with adaptation to climate change; training and implementing annual planning consistently across all communes.
The strategic investment plan approval for value chain development based on local agricultural strengths, including crops and livestock, has led to the establishment of 678 out of 800 cooperatives, with 644 cooperatives receiving a total grant of VND43.5 billion. Among them, over 120 cooperatives have linked with enterprises, forming value chain cooperatives; 187 infrastructure projects have been invested in and utilized to support value chains; 322 credit savings groups have been formed; and 06 enterprises/cooperatives have been funded to participate in value chain linkages.
Speaking at the conference, IFAD Vietnam Country Director Ambrosio Barros, emphasized IFAD's goal of promoting climate-resilient agriculture and market-oriented approaches to aid community development. In Cao Bang, over the years, through the Rural Enterprise Development Program for Poor Rural People (DBRP), IFAD has supported with a total project cost of $24 million, including an IFAD loan of $16.4 million. The project has excellently achieved its goal of contributing to sustainable and equitable poverty reduction in rural areas, evidenced by a decrease in poverty rates from 49% in 2010 to 31.6% in 2013.
Building upon the success of DBRP, the Vietnamese government and IFAD have expanded support to ethnic minority groups in Cao Bang through the ongoing Smallholder Support Project (CSSP). CSSP aims to introduce more comprehensive public-private partnership strategies. By promoting 4P strategies, CSSP has actively supported provincial, district, and communal public service agencies, private companies, cooperatives, farmer organizations, and small-scale farmers, including ethnic minority households and poor households, to participate in and benefit from agricultural value chains.