Vietnam

Australia’s strategic approach to aid in Vietnam targets three core areas: human resource development, economic integration and environmental sustainability. ACIAR’s Vietnam strategy is directly in line with the core area on environmental sustainability, but also encompasses the core component of human resource development. Vietnam’s 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 to date have primarily influenced the urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and adjacent regions, but rural areas are lagging. Vietnam will continue to have a comparatively high percentage of rural population over the next decade or two, and 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. The small scale of production on individual farms, the fragmented land holdings and increases in input costs are significant problems but also conceal huge potential. Ethnic minority groups and those in remote regions are particularly affected and the Vietnamese Government is providing greater focus on programs to assist these groups. ACIAR’s program is designed to address some of these major areas where Australian expertise has the ability to impact positively.

ACIAR’s program in Vietnam supports technical and agribusiness research to enhance smallholder incomes from selected areas of high-value agriculture, aquaculture and forestry. In recent years the program has focused on three geographic regions where poverty has persisted and where there are threats to sustaining the agricultural natural resource base.

These are also geographic regions where Australian agricultural technical skills have an ability to assist in development:

Mekong Delta, which is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and change. A program focusing on climate-change adaptation and mitigation in rice systems in this region has been developed, and the emphasis of interventions at the farm scale complements catchment-level and whole-of-(Mekong)-basin programs on water and climate change supported by AusAID and other donors.

South-central coast, where research to underpin profitable but sustainable crop cultivation and livestock production systems in challenging environments (poor, sandy soils under water-limiting conditions), and research on the development of sustainable mariculture systems for high-value species, is ongoing.

North-western highlands, where opportunities exist for selected horticultural products (high-value temperate fruits and vegetables), sustainable production of cash crops (maize), and livestock and forestry products. Parallel research will focus on improving supply chains from smallholder farmers to more valuable markets.

Linkages to the programs of AusAID and other donors working in these regions are regularly identified and supported. ACIAR’s projects are increasingly multidisciplinary, and there will be a particular focus on linking central research institutes with provincially based research and extension departments. ACIAR has a program of annual consultations with major partner organisations in Vietnam to discuss program strategies and new projects. Regional consultations to establish specific priorities for cooperation in south-central coastal Vietnam were held in March 2008 and for the north-western highland regions in September 2008. A formal consultation on research priorities for the fisheries program was conducted in March 2011. The full record of the consultations is available at <aciar.gov.au>.

The following key areas were identified as medium-term research priorities:

Securing rice-based farming systems in the Mekong Delta through resilience to the negative impacts of climate change: (provincial focus: Bac Lieu, An Giang)

• Development of rice germplasm and agronomic approaches for rice-based farming systems to adapt to the impacts of inundation, salinisation and drought
  
• Capacity building in greenhouse gas measurement and nutrient input, and agronomic strategies for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
  
• Risk assessment of climate change to rice production in the Mekong Delta region, and analysis of technical and policy approaches to reduce emissions from rice-based systems
  

Optimising resource management for profitable and sustainable agricultural production in south-central coastal Vietnam: (provincial focus: Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh)

• Analysis of markets and supply chains to identify critical points for selected commodities, to focus technical intervention for delivery of market impact
  
• Enhancements in supply-chain performance, including assessment of incentives for improved quality at the farmer level, for example better postharvest handling
  
• Development of sustainable cropping systems and agronomic practices that target available markets
  
• Sustainable irrigation practices that make greatest use of on-farm water resources and protect groundwater resources from salinisation
  

Poverty reduction through market engagement for smallholder farmers in the northern and north-western highlands: (provincial focus: Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai)

• Better integration of smallholder farmers into profitable markets for high-value crops through market and supply-chain analysis
  vImproving production and processing technologies for temperate fruit and vegetables
  
• Improved natural resources management to sustain crop productivity and profitability on sloping lands through improving crop, nutrient and land management
  
• Quantifying soil fertility changes under different cropping systems, and integration of local knowledge to improve management
  
• Improved management and marketing systems for smallholder ruminants and pigs, and improved feed availability and integration of appropriate forage varieties into the farming system
  
• Improved management of reproduction and disease prevention and control
  
• Enhanced capacity of local service providers (public and private sector) through alternative methods of delivery
  

Development of high-value aquaculture industries: (regional focus: Mekong Delta (Can Tho, Bac Lieu), central coast (Khanh Hoa), north-eastern Vietnam (Hai Phong, Quang Ninh))

• Introduction of cost-effective and environmentally friendly aquaculture feeds
  
• Development of profitable and environmentally responsible grow-out technologies for marine cage culture and pond culture of lobsters, and hatchery production and grow-out of molluscs
  
• Transfer of existing knowledge from ACIAR aquaculture projects to producers, government extension agencies and universities
  

Towards higher value plantation forestry products: (regional focus: northern Vietnam (Phu Tho), central Vietnam (Quang Tri), southern Vietnam (Bin Duong))

• Development of sustainable high-value technologies for fast-growing forest plantations suitable for smallholders, particularly on degraded soils
  
• Improvement of plantation wood-processing efficiency, especially for small eucalypts and acacias, through development of engineered products.