Budget: From 01/2008 to 12/2010 - CHF 5,249,000 (approx. US$ 6,561,512 USD)

Partners:

Organization and Personnel Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), People’s Committees of Hoa Binh and Cao Bang provinces.

Implementing Agencies:

Organization and Personnel Department (MARD), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Department of Planning and Investment (DPI), Department of Finance (DoF), Department of Home Affairs (DoHA), Economic and Technical High School (ETHS), Provincial Political School (PPS), selected District and Commune People’s Committees (DPC/CPC).

Facilitating Agency: Helvetas, Switzerland

Project Location: Hanoi, Hoa Binh and Cao Bang – Vietnam

Background:

One of the most challenging tasks in upland areas of Hoa Binh and Cao Bang provinces is to strengthen institutional capacity to deliver public services related to agriculture production and marketing at the commune level. The number of Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) staff at commune and village level is small and their capacity in delivering demand-driven services needs to be improved to respond to diversified needs of local people. There are also clear indications of uneven access of disadvantage groups including poor and women to agriculture production and marketing services.

To overcome such constraints and improve public service delivery in agriculture and forestry related services (e.g. extension advisory services, input supply and marketing), the PS-ARD program focuses on capacity building support of public institutions in the ARD sector, not only in the two provinces but also through the governmental system at central level (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).

Overall Goal:

Contribute to the improvement of livelihoods in the upland and ethnic minority areas of Hoa Binh and Cao Bang in terms of food security, income and environmental sustainability.

Current Objective:

Contribute to building up efficient and effective decentralized public service delivery systems and processes in agriculture and rural development.

Approaches:

The Program approach is based on a three-stage concept with the intention to mainstream the inroads that have been made by the three projects in past phases.

In Stage 1, Extension and Training Support Project (ETSP) and Community Based Governance – Extension – Market support (CB-GEM) and Supporting Public Administration Reform in Cao Bang (SPAR-CB I) have tested concepts and processes in selected communes and villages and some success stories were applied on a district-wide scale. From 2008 onwards, PS-ARD focuses on Stage 2 to broadly test and apply examples – through governmental departments – to districts in Cao Bang and Hoa Binh. In the subsequent Stage 3 then, after the PS-ARD will have come to an end, the involved governmental departments and organizations will be fully applying the successfully tested processes and concepts to the entire province.

Result Expected:

Component 1: ODP/MARD

• Outcome 1.1: The organisational system of the ARD sector is analysed and reform needs are identified.
• Outcome 1.2: New structure in the ARD sector is piloted and mainstreamed.
• Outcome 1.3: Capacity development systems in the ARD sector are improved.

Component 2 (Hoa Binh) and 3 (Cao Bang)

• Outcome 2.1: Service delivery in agriculture and rural development is improved.
• Outcome 2.2: New, participatory SEDP procedures at the local level are established.
• Outcome 2.3: Systems and capacities for financial management at commune level are built up.
• Outcome 2.4: Provincial capacity building systems are strengthened.

Component 3: PMSU

• Outcome 3.1: Program implementation is coached and technically supported, and Component 1 is properly managed.
• Outcome 3.2: Program is monitored, controlled and results are centrally disseminated.

Contact:

Public Service Provision Improvement in Agriculture and Rural Development (PS-ARD)
298F Kim Ma Street, GPO Box 81, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: +84 4 843 1750, Fax: +84 4 843 1744
Email: helvetas@hn.vnn.vn