Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

Five-year Synthesis Report
Part 1: Poverty Trends and Key Themes of Rural Poverty Reduction
Diversified intensive commodity production. The strategy of diversifying and
combining short-term and long-term crops was common to households who reported
improved living conditions (such as combining rice and tea in Ban Lien-Lao Cai, maize
and coffee in Cu Hue-Dak Lak, rice and vegetables in Thanh Xuong-Dien Bien, rice and
subsidiary crops in Thuan Hoa-Tra Vinh). In mountainous ethnic minority communes,
diversification helps households manage risk and increases the effective use of labour
and land. In lowland Kinh dominated communes the introduction of new varieties and
farming techniques has increased crop yields, helping many households escape from
poverty (Box 1.1).
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BOX 1.1. Escaping from poverty thanks to the application of improved
techniques in production
Mr. D.T.M’s family from Huong Tan village, Duc Huong commune (Vu Quang, Ha Tinh)
suffered a series of traumatic events. In 2006 Mr D.T.M’s wife had an accident. In
2007, his father was hospitalized due to serious illness, and in 2008 his child also
suffered serious illness. Mr D.T.M used all his savings for medical treatment.
In early 2009, Mr. D.T.M. was elected as head of the Village Farmers’ Association
Branch, and had an opportunity to take part in training courses on subsidiary crop
production. Thanks to investments in manure and by sowing a more suitable density
of seeds, the yield of his peanuts increased from 0.15 to 0.19-0.2 ton/sao. In 2009,
after making a profit of 20 million VND Mr D.T.M bought more cows and rented another
two sao of land for farming. In 2010 his household made a profit of 50 million VND.
He rented another four sao of land and bought a corn threshing machine. In 2011,
he rented one mau of land (from villagers’ 5% allotted land and from households with
a shortage of labour) and bought a milling machine. He estimated he would make a
profit of 80 million VND in 2011. Improved production techniques helped Mr D.T.M’s
household escape from poverty.
Relative
living
standards
Well-off
Effective application of
peanut farming techniques and
investment, profit of 20 million
Head of Farmers’
Association Branch, took
part in training courses
Average
Poor
Wife
illness
Father
illnes
Children
illness
Continue d applying
advanced
techniques and
leased more land,
profit of 50 million.
Invested in maize
threshing machine
Rented more
land, bought a
milling machine.
(estimated profit
of 80 mil)
Extremely
poor
s
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Accumulating capital from livestock breeding. Cattle breeding plays an important
role in the lives of rural farmers, particularly those in mountainous and ethnic minority
areas. It is a profitable investment and provides draught and manure for agricultural
production. At the monitoring points, most of the loans granted by the Social Policy Bank
in the past five years were used by households to invest in livestock. Accumulation from
livestock helps households invest in building houses, purchasing property, expanding
productive land, and investing in children’s education (Box 1.2). However, the profit
rate from cattle breeding is low (buffalos and cows only gives birth once a year), and is
subject to adverse weather and disease. Two cold spells in 2008 and 2011 destroyed
the livestock of many households. Pig and poultry breeding are similarly vulnerable.