ADDA in Vietnam

ADDA Vietnam Projects

• The IPM Project (1998 - 2005).

• The Organic project (2004-2012)

• The Community Dev Project (2006 – 2014)

• The Legal Aid project (2008-2014)

• More Trees (subcont. by DFE 2010 - 2013)

• Community Based Farmer Groups, Tanzania (2009 – 2015)

Approach

1. Establish a team of facilitators, incl. training (ToT)

2. Conduct season long training (FFS)

3. Establish Interest Groups among the FFS graduate (only interested people participate)

Approach

• The preferred approach is to create a team of locally based and known facilitators who speaks the local language and Kinh

Approach

• Then provide technical training to farmers through participatory training methodologies (Farmer Field Schools)

Approach

• The Farmer Field School training provides the farmers with technical knowledge which usually enable the farmers to increase their income significantly

Approach

• and it also clearly display the advantages of collaboration to the participants.

• Therefore the farmers like to form the “Farmer Interest Groups”

Basic Principles of FFS

• The farmers are participating in weekly meetings during a full cropping season.

• They learn important ecological principles by managing learning plots and experiments themselves.

• 30 farmers form an FFS that is facilitated by two trainers. The discussion between farmers is the pulling force in FFS

Basic Principles of FFS

• The FFS approach uses discovery based learning methods to improve the farmers' agro-ecological knowledge.

• Each FFS has one IPM plot managed by the participants, one experimental plot and one plot cultivated in the way normally used by farmers.

• The farmers will observe the biology through AESA, and make drawings of their findings. No books are used

Agro-eco-system-analysis

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Agro-eco-system-analysis

Thai FFS (Dien Bien)

H’mong FFS (Lai Chau)

The Community Development Project

• Target group: Ethnic minorities• Implemented in 6 provinces

(Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Son La, Hoa Binh, Nghe An and Ha Tinh)

• Local team of facilitators (72+36)

• Farmer Field Schools (Maize, vegetables, and Climate Change) (500 +300 +300)

• Community development groups (300+250)

FFS field

Impact on Maize Farms

Maize FFS

• Farmers who have participated in a maize FFS have improved the income from maize cultivation with 40 % on average.

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Maize FFS

• 40% increase of net income for 15,000 trained farmers,

• 1,245 kg extra / 0,6 ha maize field).

• Net profit is 3,145,000 VND / farmer.

• In one year this is 2,625,000 USD

• Total costs of project is 2,168,000 USD over the 4 years.

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Maize FFS

• Farmers who have participated in a FFS have improved their collaborative skills

• The FFS are very useful as a tool for sustainable group formation

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Group establishment

Time

Creating the “group feeling” through FFS 3-4 months

Consolidating the group App. 6 months

Success or failure

Group dynamic

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Income generating activities

• Production planning• Contract negotiation• Production cost reduction• Common production• Service deliveries • Organise credit• Procurements• Marketing• Take over parts of the value chain

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Chicken group in Lai Chau

Tooth pick group, Hoa Binh

Community Development

• The final step of project approach is when the groups are taking the lead for community development activities

• Only possible in close cooperation with the FU and the local authorities

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Group activities

ActivitiesNumber of

groups

Maize production, procurement and sales90

Pig fattening - raising pigs81

Chicken raisers -meet production and broilers29

Pig breeding groups – selling piglets24

Producers of other crops (peanut, rice, sugarcane, cana20

Producers of other livestock (Buffalo, cattle, fish, bees)19

Vegetable production 16

Duck and other poultry production9

Handicraft and processing (weaving, toothpicks, cassava )5

Total 293

Group C.D. activities

Province No C.D. activities Total Budget

Local funds

Project funds

Dien Bien 1 Drinking water supply 75 30 45

2Garbage collection and treatment 72 9 61

Lai Chau 1 Water supply 100 59 41

3 Irrigation trenches 252 157 95

Ha Tinh 2 Road construction 146 66 80

Hoa Binh 1 Drinking water supply 41 13 28

2 Road construction 132 61 71

Nghe An 1 Irrigation trenches 59 31 28

3 Road construction 239 145 94

Son La 1 Bridge construction 37 24 13

Total 17 1155 599 556

Community road

Conclusions on Groups

• The groups need to embark on business opportunities and income generating activities

• The groups can serve as vehicles for organising other community development activities provided that external funding is available

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End of presentation

Thank you