Stage two of the Development of the Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for Dien Bien Province in period 2011-2015/2020 with a vision to 2030
Funded by the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Programme Support by the Government of Denmark, the Dien Bien Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) determined to develop a comprehensive agriculture and rural development (ARD) strategy for the Dien Bien province which will enable authorities to make strategic planning and budgeting interventions in agriculture.
The objectives of the ARD Strategy were:
- To plan provincial agricultural development in the 2011- 2015/2020 period with a vision to 2030
- Agricultural development planning must be linked to the new orientations of agricultural development (Tam Nong);
- Agricultural and development planning must include all provincial/district and commune level plans, programmes and approaches that affect agricultural and rural development
- Agricultural development must be suitable to other economic sectors of the locality and in accordance with customs of ethnic groups in the province.
In a first phase the following focus areas were defined:
- Enhanced Agricultural Productivity and Efficiency
- Increased Value-added from Agro-processing and Rural Employment
- Enhanced Coverage and Quality of Forest Resources
- Enhanced Rural Environment
- Complementary Investments Identified in Other Sectors
ORGUT was contracted to provide the second and final stage of the Strategy. This second stage produced land use planning, agricultural production planning (cultivation and animal husbandry); forestry production planning; aquaculture planning; technical infrastructure planning to serve agricultural production and an assessment of current levels of government support to Agriculture and Rural Development. This was specified in eight programs covering (i) Crop Intensification and Diversification; (ii) Industrial Crop Expansion; (iii) Agro-processing and Rural Employment; (iv) Forest Management and Development; (v) Livestock and Fisheries; (vi) Rural Infrastructure; (vii) Identification of Public investments in Other Sectors; and (viii) Rural Vocational Training and Capacity Building.
Approach
- The strategy was developed using a Logical Framework approach
- The strategy was buildt on the following four strategic approaches:
- Participatory methodologies
- Making Markets work for the poor (M4P) in combination with value chain analysis
- Demand-driven support in combination with packages to stimulate production from a holistic (not sector-based) view.
- Policy and regulatory changes.
- The Strategy in particular addressed the following cross-cutting issues: environment, gender, ethnic minorities.
The main objective of the strategy was defined as ”Improved quality of life and living conditions for rural people of Dien Bien, especially the poor through socio-economic development in an environmentally sustainable manner”.