Budget: From 01/2003 to 12/2007 - CHF 9'566'000 (approx. US$ 7'358'462)

Cumulative Budget: From 05/1994 to 12/2007 - CHF 23'906'000 (approx. US$ 18'389'231)

Line Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) – Vietnam

Partners:
Forestry Development Department of MARD, People’s Committees, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Hoa Binh, Thua Thien-Hue and Dak Nong Provinces

Implementing Agency: Helvetas, Zurich – Switzerland

Project Location: Hanoi and provinces of Hoa Binh, Thua Thien Hue, Dak Nong – Vietnam

Background:

Despite economic reforms implemented for several years, the upland and remote areas remain the poorest regions in Vietnam. The Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy of the Government is focusing on agriculture and forestry extension in disadvantaged areas to ensure that poor and ethnic minority people improve their livelihoods. The Extension and Training Support for Forestry and Agriculture in the Uplands (ETSP) is specifically concentrating on this focus in the three target provinces and at central level which particularly addresses forest dependent farmers in upland and remote areas. It has three fields of intervention:

• Poverty reduction;
• Sustainable Natural Resources Management;
• Capacity Building.

Overall Goal:

Provide cost-effective, demand-driven systems of extension and training to upland farmers in order to contribute to sustainable natural resource management and improved household livelihoods.

Current Objectives:

• Improve livelihoods through introduction of needs-based extension methods and content and strengthen local institutional capacities;
• Develop effective and sustainable extension and training services;
• Assist Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the development and coordination of appropriate research, extension, education, and training systems;
• Consolidate selected achievements of the Social Forestry Support Program (SFSP).

Results Achieved and Expected:

The Mid Term Review of 2005 and the appraisal mission of 2006 showed impressive results at all institutional levels (commune-district-province-central level). During the year 2007 ETSP upscaled its best approaches & methods at various levels and coached the planning through a working group approach of a new programme called Public Service Provision Improvement for Agriculture and Rural Development, PS-ARD 2008 to 2010 at central level and in the two provinces Cao Bang and Hoa Binh. The agreements for this aligned programmatic approach was signed in December 2007.

Highlights:

ETSP established quite a number of new methods and approaches which are now institutionalized or embedded in provincial and national strategies. The last year 2007 is a consolidation period with a compilation of all important data. Special sharing events in December 2007 in the three provinces and at the central level will help further spreading the achieved results to a broad audience.

Information and Publications:

Household income survey and attitude change, various CFM reports and training materials, Organizational assessment and development tool box, Output based payment system update, SFSP impact analysis, Five years’ of ETSP experience in MARD newsletter, two DVD data compilation 2003 – 2007, one CFM process movie, ProDoc of new phase called Public Service Provision Improvement Programme in Agriculture and Rural Development, PS-ARD, 2008 - 2010.

Further information can be obtained from the web site of ETSP http://www.etsp.org.vn

Contact:

ETSP Project Management Unit – La Thanh Hotel  
218 Doi Can Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
 
Tel. :  + 84 4 832 98 33 
Fax :  + 84 4 832 98 34 
E-mail:  etsp.office@hn.vnn.vn

Note: This office will be closed by 31.12.2007. The new PS-ARD office will operate from the representative office of Helvetas in Hanoi (http://www.helvetas.org.vn/ )