Oxfam Hồng Kông (OHK) tạiViệt Nam

Development of Cattle CBOs in Ky Son, Nghe An

•Background to OHK in VN•Summary of the CBO cattle programme in Ky Son district•OHK partnerships for development•CBOs•Programme actions for cattle raising•Results•Phase 2: risk reduction and marketing•Sustainability and replication•Factors for success •Conclusions

Oxfam Hong Kong• OHK has worked in Vietnam for over 20 years • OHK vision: “envisions a Vietnam where all

citizens are free from poverty and have equal access to rights and opportunities to improve and secure their lives and livelihoods”

• OHK works in Quang Tri, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Dak Nong Provinces

• OHK works with partners, in NA these partners include provincial and district PCs as well as 2 LNGOs; ACEP and PED.

Where we work

OHK principles of development work with Ethnic Minority

Communities • True participation – not just a box we tick

– Our priorities are lead by participating communities – We value their aspirations and work towards helping

to realize them – We understand they are the experts in their

environment – When ever possible community meetings are

conducted in local language• We strengthen cultural pride and combat

negative stereotyping so that the different cultural groups can take an equal place in modern society

• We value the existing/traditional leadership systems in communities and work with them

•We should bring technical advice on livelihood options from outside of the experience of the community but should never impose them as the only viable choice. •Development is an holistic process and no one action or project exists in a vacuum. Ie there are many components that lead to development and it is the combination and integration of these that lead to success (income, food security, health, society, culture, education, market access, equality, leadership, etc.)

OHK principles of development work with Ethnic Minority Communities

Programme summary• OHK began working in the development of the cattle

sector in Ky Son in 2003• Ky Son has poverty rate of 78%; OHK communes have

poverty rate up to 96%• The programmes all involve the creation of CBOs within

communities• These CBOs are given technical support in best

practices in cattle raising• Cattle are provided via a loan scheme, with repayments

monitored by the CBOs• Partners with OHK for developing and implementing

these models in Ky Son are ACEP and the district PC.

OHK Partners• District PMT/PC

– Partnering with the PC allows OHK to coordinate its actions with other government resources; such as the extension/ vet depts….etc

– For replication, once the PCs have the capacity and depth of understanding on all issues then replication is relatively simple.

– As an NGO our resources are limited and so we work by a system of evidence based advocacy, as the best actor for wide scale development actions in Vietnam is government.

– We do pilot, test and draw in skills that can best suit this context and then promote successful ideas through government partners.

OHK Partners cont.

• ACEP– Advancement of Community Empowerment and

Partnership, established in 2004 is a Local NGO. – The vision of ACEP is “equality through opportunities”– OHK has partnered with ACEP for 4 years– We feel that this organization excels at CBO

formation and capacity building. – They are an excellent technical resource that

supports the implementation of CBO based development models.

Inter-partner coordination • As the role of district is fundamental to success and as local NGOs

can add great technical skills to implementation OHK will often work by bringing the two partners together for joint implementation and mutual benefits and learning. Thus the coordination model looks something like this:

OHK

ACEP

DPC

CBO

With this model all actors are interdependent but maintain defined roles in implementing and M&E.

Programme actions • Participatory planning and

design • CBO formation • Capacity building

– Improved techniques for cattle raising

– Roles and responsibilities – Coordinated activities and

planning– Vetnary care– Finance– Leadership

• Cattle loans • Monitoring and evaluation, CBO

support Training for CBO members on cattle

CBOs• Community Based Organizations, are defined as “an

organisation set up by community or a group of people who share common interests to represent and/or work for a common goal ” And in this case are synonymous with producer groups.

• Why use CBOs in this case:– Coordinate training– Share resources and joint planning– Mutual support and shared learning– Ease of monitoring – Voice in numbers, so able to better access resources

Operation and responsibilities of CBOs

•Regulations•Re-payments •Operational funds•Roles and responsibilities (vet, lead, treasurer)•CBO links•Monitoring •Meetings and learning•Training •Vet care and vaccinations•Insurance and replacement after loss A CBO member is feeding his cow

The Cattle Development Loan Models

Loan: Return: Remaining:

1yr

5yrs

$ $ + $ (0.35%)

Installments over 5yrs

Results of CBO formation and increases in cattle herds and

income • Initial investment by OHK:

12.000USD/CBO• Costs of replication by district partner: • CBOs formed in VN: 50• CBOs in Ky Son: 20• Increase in herd sizes KS: 500 cow (from

203 cows initially)

Next stages in the programme

Risk reduction and market:• Problem identification:

– Producers are not able to generate optimum returns for their produce

• Poor negotiation skills• Selling at less efficient time in the cattle’s life cycle • Cattle used as a bank and sold when emergencies

require• Losses due to disease

Way forward

• Partnering with ACEP as lead implementers with DPC as well as drawing on the expertise of OHK PPM unit, 2008 has seen the implementation of the next phase of this programme:

• The development of certified disease control areas, and the building of a market orientated CBO network to add on to the existing producer CBOs.

CBO•Voice•Regulation•Coordination•Capacity Building

Production•Vetnary services •Efficient herds •Improved production practices•Improved herd quality

Markets•Certification•Regular sales•Structured Trade•Better price at sale•Wider market access

CBO marketing model

CBO

CBO

CBO

CBO

TechnicalService

CBO

Buyers

DPCOHK ACEP

Delivery & sales

CBO

Central “umbrella”

CBO &sales unit

Buyers

Buyers

Certified Disease Control Zone

Vet deptAgric.ext’n.

Gov. supportProg’s

Sustainability and replication• Environmentally viable• Self replicating

– Cattle – CBO

• Capacity building, training and vet care are sufficient to ensure success

• Robust and risk conscious with inbuilt insurance mechanisms and risk reduction strategies

• Market links ensure profitability and quality ensures market

Factors required for success• Participatory planning• Strong management and self regulation by CBOs • Strong relationships and support between partners• Coordinated action • Government partnerships for replication and support and LNGO for

technical input and capacity building• Market analysis and market viability• Environmentally sustainability• Culturally acceptable and appropriate• Strong community and willingness to work together • Monitoring and evaluation that is dynamic and plans that are flexible

enough to adapt when needed• Support mechanisms that don’t allow participants to drop further into

poverty from loss of investment (contingency fund and CBO managed compensation)

Conclusion• Understanding the situation in all its complexity is

essential to finding appropriate solutions. • The poorest of the poor are those without options. • The key to successful and sustainable development

is the provision of options and choices. • Holistic EM community development is hard work

and involves long-term processes with few quick results (thus is not ‘sexy’). Therefore need to commit to the long term.

• Creating an enabling environment where individuals and communities are valued as equals in society and can make informed decisions to pursue the development paths and lifestyles they choose is the most successful route to sustainable development.