Summary of Vietnam Strategy Discussion 2015
ACIAR Vietnam’s strategies have been discussed in a workshop held in Hanoi on 18 May 2015. The focus of the workshop was to review the current program and discuss key changes in collaborative research priorities for agricultural development between Australia and Vietnam.
The workshop included senior staff from ACIAR and Australian Development Cooperation Office in Vietnam as well as representatives of the Vietnamese organisations: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - MARD (Department of Science, Technology and Environment), Ministry of Science and Technology - MOST (Department of Science and Technology for Economic-Technical Branches), Ministry of Planning and Investment – MPI (Department of Agricultural Economics) and rectors/directors of universities and R&D institutes. These representatives are leading partners of the active projects or directors of some provincial DARDs (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) and NGOs, which are partners of the Vietnam Program.
For long-term strategy, ACIAR remains its goal of improving farmer’s livelihood and incomes. However, projects’ emphasis should shift towards the whole market chain rather than improved production only. Main outcomes of the discussion are as below:
1. Partnership
Participants suggested that ACIAR should support large projects identified by Vietnam. New research ideas should be negotiated between both sides from the designing phase. In addition, logging in the portfolio list of the Government Program early will make it possible to have greater involvement with the project design.
Co-funding: With regard to the collaboration principle, in addition to the main financial support from the Australian Government through ACIAR, participants suggested that counterpart funds from Vietnam can be sourced from partner provinces, donors and private sector. And if list of new projects can be logged into the Government’s system early and on right time, it is possible for projects to receive counterpart funds from the Central Government.
Guidelines on payment of salaries for partner researchers by ACIAR are needed given the recent autonomy of research institutes within the National agricultural research system. This autonomy means that they are required to seek salary contributions for staff when working on specific projects.
Communication: Emphasis was placed on sharing of knowledge and learnt lessons among projects as well as the validation and dissemination of research results. Outstanding outcomes from projects or program, as well as priorities for future collaboration between ACIAR and Vietnam should also be communicated to higher level officials. It is also suggested that ACIAR should have a longer term strategy. Big changes may happen after 2-3 years, and annual reflections provide opportunity to decide when a workshop should be organized to develop a new strategy.
2. Economic development
ACIAR research should give attention to gender issue, poverty alleviation and women economic empowerment. Projects should work with farmer groups or cooperatives rather than individual farmers.
Projects should consider working toward the sustainability of farming resources in the context of market change and climate change. It is necessary to place greater importance on big chains across borders, disease management, and understanding of standards for exporting and joining free trade agreements.
Alongside three prioritised geographic areas of North West, South Central Coast and Mekong Delta, some participants suggested considering addressing the issue of poor farmers’ livelihood and market opportunities in Central highlands, as well as generating higher incomes from winder crops in Red River Delta.
3. Private sector engagement
Understanding of enterprises’ need for research and market information may help to engage them better, especially in project design and prioritization of added value products. Enterprises may co-fund for some research, particularly ones that involve high value and exporting focused commodities. Recommended areas for engagement are: processing, post-harvest (crop production), food safety, post-harvest handling (fisheries and animal sciences), timber production (forestry).
4. Value adding in agriculture
‘High tech’ approaches to reduce input cost and post-harvest losses as well as processing, preservation and more profitable markets were identified as a focus for value adding in agriculture. Participants also recommended that ACIAR should focus on major commodities (as in MARD’s list of priority crops).
Detailed report on outcomes of the discussion and follow-up tasks for ACIAR, MARD and research institutions can be found at the next pages.
ACIAR Vietnam – Strategy Discussion (SD) 2015 outcomes report
A- Objectives of the SD
1. Review the current ACIAR program, discussing achievements, issues/challenges and opportunities arising from the current projects, and options to improve the program; and
2. Discuss key trends for collaborative research in agriculture between the two countries
B- How were these objectives achieved?
In the SD, we
1. Reviewed and discussed changes in agricultural research strategies, priorities and trends in Vietnam;
2. Review and discuss recent changes in Australia’s development strategy;
3. Review the current agreed strategy for collaborative research between ACIAR and Vietnam
4. Present the current portfolio of projects that are being implemented under this strategy and receive feedback on adequacy and gaps;
5. Strengthen relationships with key partners through this communication.
C- Main outcomes of the SD
Key strategic changes
Australia: Moving from traditional diplomacy to economic diplomacy, promoting private sector engagement, and human resource development with emphasis on women’s economic empowerment.
Vietnam: Restructuring toward value adding, better preservation and trade. Transition of focus from quantity to quality and better farmers’ incomes from agricultural production. Promoting the development of private sector.
Changes from both sides align well with each other.
A higher level message from the meeting was that ACIAR should reflect the above, concentrating on the needs of small and medium farmers and how to enhance their incomes through improved production and marketing processes. Emphasis of projects should shift more from on farm, to whole of market chain.
The discussion focused on the following four main points:
1) Partnership
ACIAR projects provide a mechanism for collaboration between Vietnam, Australia and other countries to work on cross-cutting and cross-border topics such as climate change and trade.
ACIAR should strive to develop stronger partnerships with VN institutes and provincial extension agencies to validate effectiveness of research outputs in outscaling. Work with farmer groups rather than individual farmers.
Vietnam would like to see fewer but larger projects with targeted topics. Vietnam will identify priorities and propose to ACIAR what is needed.
Project list should be negotiated between both sides from the designing phase (at least to senior government officials).
It is advised that we should log in the portfolio list of the Government Program early to have greater involvement in project design.
Co-funding
ACIAR and Vietnam should continue to work on agreed priorities. A suggestion was made that ACIAR should log into the Vietnam government’s portfolio list for counterpart contributions as one batch and well in advance of projects’ start to allow the Vietnam government to consider options for co-funding.
ACIAR can also consider options for integrated sources of funding: Central Government, other donors and private sector. Provincial Governments may be able to provide funds through extension activities aiming at the dissemination of research results.
Guidelines on payment of salaries for partner researchers by ACIAR are needed given the recent autonomy of research institutes within the national agricultural research system. This autonomy means they are required to seek salary contributions for staff when working on specific projects.
Communications
The workshop identified the need for improved communication:
• Project to project: knowledge sharing; operational lessons learnt
• Project/program to DARDs: Research result dissemination and validate research results in larger scales.
• Project/program to high level officials: outstanding outcomes from projects; policy briefs, priorities for future collaboration between ACIAR and Vietnam, Concept Notes submission to Government portfolio list.
• Strategic discussions: we should consider developing a longer term strategy (5-10-15 years). In addition, big changes may happen after 2 – 3 years, and our annual reflections provide the opportunity to decide when we need to hold a workshop to develop a new strategy.
• Information dissemination of projects should be strengthened, including recommendations about improved technical packages that can be more widely disseminated.
Human Resources Development
Capacity building is of great benefit for Vietnam institutes.
ACIAR should open opportunities for more researchers. In some particular institutes, the chance to work with ACIAR projects is only for and within a small group.
The issue of brain drain from small to bigger institutes and from remote areas to cities was raised in the workshop.
Training opportunities sometimes impose burden on institutes and may impede project implementation.
One of participants’ suggestions is to foster exchange (working) program, even for people not in ACIAR projects
2) Economic Development
Capacity building for women: (ACIAR) research should pay attention to gender, provide strong support for poverty alleviation and women empowerment (although MARD and MOST do not feature women in science and technology strategies).
Projects should take into consideration the context of sectoral restructuring toward suitability of farming conditions to climate change and market change.
Location: Apart from North West, South-central Coast, and Mekong Delta, it is proposed that we should consider Central Highlands for livelihood of poor people and for market opportunities. An additional area that might be considered is the Red River Delta where research could target generating higher incomes from winter crops.
Disease management and quarantine are important.
Standards and knowledge need to meet international standards in free trade agreements.
3) Private Sector Engagement
• Understand enterprises’ needs in research and delivery of information;
• Involve enterprises in the project design, prioritisation of added value products (for farmers) and co-funding for some research;
• Keep focus on benefits for farmers and fair profit distribution among the value-chain components;
• Enterprises are likely to be interested in market, market information (especially across border, developing and working with farmer groups) and high value and exporting focused commodities. Rice and Maize were mentioned as examples;
• Should work with them on processing, post-harvest market chains and linkages along the chains (cooperatives);
• More research on food safety, post-harvest handling and transfer research results to enterprises (particularly for fisheries and livestock diseases);
• Large potential for timber production;
• Explore research opportunities with start-up businesses, SMEs on high tech approaches and free trade agreements.
4) Value Adding in Agriculture
• ‘High tech’ approaches to reduce input cost and post-harvest losses;
• More value adding through processing, preservation and markets;
• Should work on major commodities. Check the list of priority crop with MARD;
• Should work with farmer groups/cooperatives rather than individual farmers and disseminate approaches for group forming as well as market linkages.
D- What next?
For ACIAR
• Conduct high level consultation for Program’s priorities (strategy 2020 – vision 2030) in 2015-16. Involve Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) from early stage of program and projects’ designing phase;
• New Concept Notes (from 2017 onward) are to reflect newly agreed priorities;
• Develop fewer, larger projects, in which private sector is engaged, value adding research is emphasized, and role of as well as benefits for farmers (especially women) are targeted. Cross-country research may be considered with caution of coordinating complication;
• Explore further co-funding options and advanced registration of portfolio list;
• Organise strategy discussion on a 2-year basis;
• Create platform for project-to-project information sharing (for example: annual workshop for project coordinators in Vietnam);
• Provide more opportunities for researcher exchanges between the two countries.
For Vietnam Government
At Ministry level (MARD, MOST, MPI)
• Support high level consultation for program priorities (strategy for 2020-vision 2030);
• Evaluate and approve portfolio list for new ACIAR projects (from 2017 onward), reflecting the agreed priorities;
• Participate in ACIAR strategy update and discussion;
• Use research results (from ACIAR projects) as evidence-based inputs for policy updates or refresh.
For Vietnam institutes
• Update strategy for international collaborative research;
• Strengthen partnership with other institutes for stronger research capacity;
• Improve human development plan for their own institutions;
• Participate in ACIAR strategy update and discussion;
• Improve communication about institutes’ research capacity and project outcomes;
• Enhance collaboration with enterprises for validation and adoption of research results.