ACIAR Vietnam Future Program

ACIAR has now been working in Vietnam for 15 years. During this time we have completed more than 100 projects across the country. There are very few agricultural research institutes we have not worked with in Vietnam during this time. ACIAR is proud to have contributed to building capacity in agricultural research, and contributing some technical solutions to increase food security and incomes for farmers.

The future program in ACIAR will change its focus slightly. While ACIAR will continue to work in forestry, fisheries, horticulture and livestock production, a new program for Vietnam will be an increased focus on Agribusiness. Additionally, we will be aiming to link activities together in a single project and focus on selected geographic regions. The increasing focus will on be two regions, where poverty has persisted and where Australian agricultural technical skills have a clear ability to assist in development:

- South Central coast, with an emphasis on research to underpin profitable but sustainable crop cultivation and livestock production systems in challenging environments (poor, sandy soils and under water limiting conditions) and research on the development of sustainable mariculture systems for high value species;
- North-Western highlands, where opportunities exist for selected horticultural products (high-value temperate fruits, flowers and indigenous vegetables), livestock and forestry products.

Both fisheries and forestry cooperation, while differing in regional focus, have a common emphasis on improving incomes for farmers and the processing industry by targeting higher-value products and markets. The fisheries program focuses on mariculture and aquaculture, emphasising nutrition and high value species. The Forestry program will have an increased emphasis on genetics, silviculture and processing technologies for higher-value wood products.

The workshop in Quy Nhon reported on page X was the first step in development of a program in this region. For the North-West region, ACIAR currently is conducting a short term study to identify particular research opportunities that may fit with ACIAR’s focus and Australian expertise, and also to train local staff in more effective communication methods for ethnic minority farmers. Following this study a program development workshop, similar to Quy Nhon, will be held in the North-West in August this year.

Over the last 15 years of working in Vietnam, our focus has been on the institutes in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. With our program in the future, we intend to have a greater focus on funding research activities which have a structured or more formal collaboration with provincial centres, district level agricultural staff and directly with farmers. We intend to fund projects that allow researchers to do more active research in the rural areas engaged with farmers from an earlier point. Together with an increased agribusiness program, we hope this strategy will ensure more effective research and better uptake of results.

While this geographic focus will mean a reduction in research activities in some regions, ACIAR feels it necessary to concentrate its efforts in a few locations. ACIAR is a relatively small donor, and it is more efficient for administration and management of projects to be working in fewer provinces. This approach has been developed and agreed with our main stakeholders in Government and research partners in Vietnam.