Vietnam

Vietnam has undergone significant economic growth in recent years and is expected to achieve 'middle income' country status soon. Much of the significant economic growth in agriculture (and the rest of the economy) is due to market competitiveness and demand for exports. The benefits of the significant economic growth have primarily influenced the urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and adjacent regions, but there has been little trickle-down to rural areas. Vietnam will continue to have a comparatively high percentage of rural population over the next decade, and so issues of rural poverty and structural adjustment remain at the top of the policy agenda. Productivity on a land or labour basis is still very low, and the small scale of production on individual farms, fragmented land holdings and increases in input costs are significant problems. Ethnic minority groups and those in remote regions are particularly disaffected, and the Vietnamese Government is providing greater focus on programs to assist these groups.

During 2008-09 the program was re-shaped to address a targeted number of major areas where Australian expertise has the ability to impact on smallholder livelihoods. New programs addressing management of soil, water and livestock systems constraints for improved incomes in south-central coastal Vietnam, and development of highvalue agricultural products from highland north-western Vietnam, have been formulated to address socio-economic and marketing issues as well as specific technical constraints. Australian technical expertise in managing poor soil fertility and limited water will be crucial to the program in southcentral coastal Vietnam, while Australian expertise in temperate agriculture (including horticultural and livestock production) will be valuable in north-western Vietnam. ACIAR will also continue to seek greater involvement of the private sector and NGOs in projects, linkages with other R&D activities and donors, and development of closer linkages between central Vietnamese research organisations and province-based research and extension capacity. Our program aligns with the Vietnamese Government's 2006-10 Five-Year Agricultural and Rural Development Plan, particularly the first strategy (improvements in agricultural productivity, product quality and marketing) and second strategy (development of processing for agricultural and forest products). ACIAR also aligns with the Paris Declaration and Hanoi Core Statement by integrating its work closely with Government of Vietnam programs and other donors wherever possible.