RAS-L Archives

Moderated conference on rural advisory services for family farms: 1-18 December 2014

RAS-L@LISTSERV.FAO.ORG

Options: Use Forum View

Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Reply To:
Date:
Wed, 3 Dec 2014 13:12:16 +0100
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (56 lines)
I am Huu-Nhuan Nguyen, a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, Australia and a lecturer at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA). I am currently working on developing a holistic framework for assessing impacts of agricultural research for development (AR4D) projects which aims at both understanding fully the contribution of AR4D to development and utilizing impacts towards influencing development policy, decision making and practices for regions with similar socio-economic and natural conditions to the Northwest Highlands of Vietnam. I am very interested in the conference topic "Tailoring rural advisory services to family farms".

Regarding Question 4.2 in the conference background document about the current gap in rural advisory services for small farmers, from my research experience, I would like to share my observation about agricultural extension system of Vietnam.

Over the past two decades, the agricultural extension system has been transformed into a more diversified system in Vietnam but weaknesses still remain:

1. Overall agricultural extension trend:

- Agricultural extension services in poverty stricken regions have been mainly provided by the government. 

- The purely formal supply of extension services has been initially complemented by an informal extension system shifting focus on meeting the needs of farmers. Since the late 1990s, the bottom-up driven extension initiatives (e.g., training visits, Farmer Farm Field schools, Integrated pest management, integrated crop management, farmer-scientists) have been promoted by development organizations and NGOs making positive impacts to rural communities (Van de Fliert et al., 2007). However, to date, these innovative approaches have been done mainly at only a small scale. 

- Paid agricultural extension services by individual scientists or service companies have been accepted by some large scale and more commercial agricultural farms with individuals or organizations.

- Other private and voluntary extension actors (mainly private agricultural input companies) also participated in providing extension services, but their involvement is still limited (e.g., mainly through information dissemination activities, demonstration of new crop varieties or organizing study visits for farmers). 

- Roles of agricultural cooperatives in family farms have been decreasing in low lands and agricultural cooperatives even do not exist in many rural upland areas.

2. Current gaps in existing extension services

- Extension services for rural areas are still weak in both quantity and quality delivery. I agree with Mahesh Chander in Message 1 that there is a weak relationship among researchers - extension staff - farmers, especially in extension activities in most poor regions.

- Dominant top-down communication strategies with poor feedback mechanisms lead to low interactions with farmers. As also emphasized by Syed Hassan Raza in Message 3, participation is the most important for any extension activities to improve social economic and environmental conditions for rural areas. However, top-down communication of formal extension results in passive participation of farmers in solving their own problems.

- The existing agricultural extension system has a limited role in facilitating people's access to markets or providing useful information on commodities. They provide mainly agricultural production techniques and input distribution through trainings, workshops, farm demonstrations and material or financial supports to farmers for economic improvement focus.

- Many extension staff lacks necessary experiences, communication skills and knowledge in working with minority ethnic groups leading to inefficient information and technological transferring (Hoang et al., 2006, p. 514). 

- Lack of capacity in agricultural marketing and household economic analysis of extension staff is also a key factor that slows down local agricultural commercialization process in poor regions.

- Better-off households tend to have more access to extension services as well as information due to their having better livelihood resources for farm production and businesses (Clement & Amezaga, 2008, p. 273) 

- A majority ethnic group (e.g., Kinh people) is likely to benefit more from extension activities because languages and handouts of extension activities are normally written in national language. 

- Producer organizations (agricultural cooperatives, farmers' associations) have limited roles in tailoring rural advisory services to family farms in poor regions.

Nguyen Huu Nhuan
PhD Candidate
University of Queensland, 
Australia
Mobile:+61 450 268 689
Email: huunhuan.nguyen (at) uqconnect.edu.au
          nguyennhuan1977 (at) gmail.com
 
References:
- Clement, F., & Amezaga, J. M. (2008). Linking reforestation policies with land use change in northern Vietnam: Why local factors matter. Geoforum, 39(1), 265-277. 
- Hoang, L. A., Castella, J.-C., & Novosad, P. (2006). Social networks and information access: Implications for agricultural extension in a rice farming community in northern Vietnam. Agriculture and Human Values, 23(4), 513-513-527. doi: 10.1007/s10460-006-9013-5
- Van de Fliert, E., Ngo, T. D., Henriksen, O., & Dalsgaard, J. P. T. (2007). From Collectives to Collective Decision-making and Action: Farmer Field Schools in Vietnam. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 13(3), 245-256. 
 
[To contribute to this conference, send your message to [log in to unmask] For further information, see http://www.fao.org/nr/research-extension-systems/res-home/news/detail/en/c/264776/   

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the RAS-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=RAS-L&A=1

ATOM RSS1 RSS2