IntroductionSADU Vietnam is a project implemented by CIAT and partners, with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The project has supported the development of agro-enterprises in upland rural communities in Hoa Binh, Dak Lak, and Thua Thien Hue Provinces of Vietnam, with the aim of generating sustainable income and employment opportunities for ethnic minority and other poor farming households. SADU Vietnam manages to achieve impact, both in terms of livelihood impacts and in mainstreaming the development of agro-enterprises, by a careful balance of development and research.

Tiago Wandschneider and SADU Project Partners in Vietnam

SADU Vietnam, CIAT Asia, 46 Vong Thi, Tay Ho District, Hanoi, Vietnam

Small-scale Agro-enterprise Development in the Uplands of Vietnam (SADU VN)

The financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is acknowledged gratefully .

Project activities:The main activities of SADU Vietnam have included:• Development of 6 value chain pilots:

Cassava, Cattle, Potato, Persimmon, Chayote, and Banana

• Documentation of approaches, processes, and lessons• Sharing of lessons• Development of manuals• Training, mentoring, and advisory services Value Chain Interventions:

• Market linkage development• Transition to more commercial and competitive

production systems• Collective action for market access• Development of commercial support services and

input distribution chains• Improvements in the design and implementation of

contract farming schemes• Market-oriented diversification

Emerging results:• More resilient, competitive, and sustainable smallholder

production and marketing systems• Direct income benefits to more than 2,000 resource-poor

and ethnic minority farming households• Marketing extension curriculum developed for:

- National Agricultural and Forestry Extension Centre (NAFEC)- College for Managers of Agriculture and Rural Development

(CMARD)- Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry

• Lessons:- Entry points for intervention- Working with agribusiness for pro-poor innovation- Strategic use of subsidies for scalability and sustainability

Develop impact-oriented, pro-poor value chain pilots

DEVELOPMENT

Assess processes, outcomes, impacts and lessons

RESEARCH

Mainstream approaches, tools and lessons

DEVELOPMENT