Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs
Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs
Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs
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Five-year Synthesis Report<br />
Part 2: <strong>Challenges</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Rural</strong> <strong>Poverty</strong> <strong>Reduction</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Viet</strong> <strong>Nam</strong><br />
Sell<strong>in</strong>g and buy<strong>in</strong>g practices of the poor<br />
Cash shortages and limited access <strong>to</strong> formal credit means that the poor often<br />
have <strong>to</strong> borrow rice, food, necessities, seeds and fertilizer from shops and sale<br />
agents on unfavourable terms. When sell<strong>in</strong>g their produce <strong>to</strong> shops and sales agents<br />
<strong>in</strong> part repayment of loans they often have <strong>to</strong> accept prices up <strong>to</strong> 10% lower than the<br />
market price. The poor also lack the means <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>re or preserve produce so are forced<br />
<strong>to</strong> sell at prevail<strong>in</strong>g prices.<br />
89<br />
4.2. Impacts of price <strong>in</strong>crease on livelihoods<br />
Impacts on productivity<br />
Intensive commodity rice farmers <strong>in</strong>creased <strong>in</strong>come. In the K<strong>in</strong>h villages <strong>in</strong> Thanh<br />
Xuong-Dien Bien with a high level of <strong>in</strong>tensive farm<strong>in</strong>g, fertile land <strong>in</strong> Dien Bien valley,<br />
favourable weather conditions, good irrigation for two rice crops a year, farmers often<br />
harvest bumper crops with average rice yield of above 6 <strong>to</strong>ns/ha/crop. With the current<br />
price, the <strong>in</strong>come (without calculat<strong>in</strong>g labour) of rice farmers <strong>in</strong> Thanh Xuong-Dien Bien<br />
from the ma<strong>in</strong> rice crop <strong>in</strong> 2011 was 30% higher than that <strong>in</strong> 2010 (Figure 4.1).<br />
FIGURE 4.1. Production account<strong>in</strong>g of 1 ha of rice <strong>in</strong> Thanh Xuong - Dien Bien<br />
SOURCE: Statistics provided by people and sales agents of Thanh Xuong commune-DB, November 2011<br />
Coffee growers had <strong>in</strong>creased <strong>in</strong>comes. In Cu Hue-Dak Lak, the average price for<br />
coffee beans rose by 50% between <strong>in</strong> Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2010 and Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2011, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>comes by 20%. Some farmers s<strong>to</strong>red coffee, wait<strong>in</strong>g for higher prices.<br />
Commodity maize producers had reduced <strong>in</strong>comes. Input prices (seeds, fertilizer,<br />
services and labour) <strong>in</strong>creased faster than the price offered for the first maize crop (from<br />
April <strong>to</strong> July) <strong>in</strong> 2011 <strong>in</strong> Cu Hue-Dak Lak. Farmers calculated their <strong>in</strong>comes <strong>to</strong> be 10-15%<br />
than <strong>in</strong> 2010.<br />
Cassava producers saw their <strong>in</strong>comes from their ma<strong>in</strong> crop <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> 2011,<br />
but fall follow<strong>in</strong>g the second crop. In Xy commune-Quang Tri, the price of fresh<br />
cassava <strong>in</strong> late 2010 and early 2011 was 2,200-2,400 VND/kg - an <strong>in</strong>crease of about<br />
40% over the same period of 2010. From mid-2011, the price of cassava fell <strong>in</strong> response