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VIET NAM VIET NAM COUNTRY PROGRAMME EVALUATION COUNTRY PROGRAMME EVALUATION MAIN MISSION MAIN MISSION 3 – 24 March 2011 3 – 24 March 2011 Preliminary Review of Findings Preliminary Review of Findings Office of Evaluation, IFAD 21 March 2011

IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

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International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD) Vietnam Evaluation, Main Mission, 3 – 24 March 2011 – A Preliminary Review of Findings .The evaluation team concluded, based on the evidence on the ground, that IFAD’s programme is adding substantial value to the Government of Viet Nam’s efforts to reduce rural poverty.

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Page 1: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

VIET NAM VIET NAM

COUNTRY PROGRAMME EVALUATIONCOUNTRY PROGRAMME EVALUATION

MAIN MISSION MAIN MISSION

3 – 24 March 2011 3 – 24 March 2011

Preliminary Review of FindingsPreliminary Review of Findings

Office of Evaluation, IFAD

21 March 2011

Page 2: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Management and StaffingManagement and Staffing Luciano Lavizzari: Director, Office of Evaluation (IOE)

Anne-Marie Lambert: Lead Evaluator (IOE)

Basil Kavalsky: Consultants’ Team Leader (IOE)

Ganesh Shivakoti: Consultant (IOE), Agricultural Production, Natural

Resource Management and Environment

Jicheng Zhang: Evaluation Research Analyst (IOE), Market Integration

and Enterprise Development

Oanh Nguyen: Evaluation Research Analyst (IOE), Programme

Management

Uyen Vu Ngoc: Consultant (IOE), Gender, Ethnic Minorities, and

Community Development2

Page 3: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Mission ScheduleMission Schedule3-4 March 2011: Meetings with national ministries and

mass organisations in Hanoi6-18 March 2011: Field visits to IFAD Programmes in:

Bac Kan Ben Tre Ha Giang Ha Tinh Quang Binh Tra Vinh Tuyen Quang

21-24 March 2011: Wrap up meetings and remaining meetings in Hanoi

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Page 4: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Remaining MilestonesRemaining Milestones

5 September: Share draft with Government for comments

3 October: Governments comments to IOE on draft report

End October: Finalise draft evaluation report and share

with all partners

End November: CPE National Roundtable Workshop

January 2012: Finalise CPE Agreement at Completion

Point, publish report 

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Page 5: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Scope of the CPEScope of the CPE

Three COSOPs

Ten projects (recent approvals not covered)

Non-lending activities

◦A large number of grants – global and regional grants

covering Viet Nam and some country specific grants

◦ Policy dialogue, knowledge management, and partnership

building (for the most part not free standing but implicit

in the kind of activities it supports)

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Page 6: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Evaluation CriteriaEvaluation Criteria Relevance Effectiveness Efficiency

Rural poverty impact◦ Household income and assets◦ Human and social capital and empowerment◦ Food security and agriculture productivity◦ Natural resources and environment (and climate change)◦ Institutions and policies

Sustainability Innovation, replication and scaling up Gender equality and women’s empowerment

Performance of partners

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Page 7: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Overall finding of the evaluationOverall finding of the evaluation

The evaluation team has concluded, based on the evidence on the ground, that IFAD’s programme is adding substantial value to the Government of Viet Nam’s efforts to reduce rural poverty.

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Page 8: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Targeting PovertyTargeting PovertyIFAD supports provinces, districts and

communes with a relatively high poverty incidence often associated with a large weight of ethnic minorities in the populations of those localities.

IFAD targets women in many projects because this has been demonstrated as one of the most effective instrumentalities for addressing rural poverty.

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Page 9: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Integrated Rural Development ModelIntegrated Rural Development Model

IFAD supports poverty reduction through a range of

programmes at the commune level that are undertaken

together so as to derive synergies.

These programmes operate on both the supply side -

building the capacity and providing financial resources

for investment by the rural poor; and the demand side -

linking producers to markets.

It also supports the enabling environment by helping

improve the coordinated delivery of government services

to the poor. 9

Page 10: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

1.1. Decentralisation, Coordination and Building Decentralisation, Coordination and Building Management CapacityManagement Capacity

Projects work directly with provinces with PPCUs generally reporting to a

steering committee headed by the Chairman of the Provincial People’s

Committee

Line departments associated with the project at all levels

Project implementation is responsibility of Commune PCU

Project invests heavily in building capacity of staff at all levels to promote

poverty reduction and implement programmes effectively

PCU coordinates contributions to project implementation of line departments

and builds capacity to deliver

Key Issue: How best to institutionalise this integrated approach of

coordinating support provided by the PCU and the line departments to

delivering services for poverty reduction, and make it sustainable. 10

Page 11: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

2. Small-Scale Infrastructure using Participatory 2. Small-Scale Infrastructure using Participatory Planning and Commune Development Funds Planning and Commune Development Funds

Villages submit project proposals and commune project unit prioritises on the

basis of established criteria.

Projects are for the most part integrated into the commune SEDP

Resources mainly used for access roads and small-scale irrigation

Programmes use more rigorous procedures than those under Government’s

programme 135

Key Issue: IFAD and the Government need to work towards a uniform

approach to strategic planning and project implementation procedures.

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Page 12: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

3. Demonstration Models of Farm Production3. Demonstration Models of Farm Production

Programmes aim at enhancement of food security and income

diversification through the support of:

◦ Animal breeding and health models including new forages production

◦ Models of major cereals, cash crops and vegetables

◦ Forest production models including issuance of forest land use

certificates

◦ Adaptation trials, farmer field schools facilitated increase in food

production and efficient use of farm labor

Key issue: How to develop market-oriented production models

including private sector engagement.

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Page 13: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

4. Micro-finance4. Micro-finance Savings and credit groups

◦ Provide the poor with a practical means of credit

◦ Enable small-scale farm activities

◦ Create linkage with banks

◦ Institutionalize mutual support mechanisms

Micro-credit through banks◦ Raise attention to the poor

VBSP engages in low-interest lending to SCGs VBARD provides market-interest loans to small business

◦ Go only part of the way in filling the gap in addressing needs for credit

◦ Build formal credit record for the previously unbankable

◦ Provide potential for upgrading the SCGs and CIGs

Key Issue: VBSP provides only very limited amounts of credit – too small for anything beyond the simplest activity; VBARD requires collateral for all loans . This leaves most poor farmers who want to expand the scale of their commercial activities without sufficient credit.

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Page 14: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

5. Market Access and Micro Enterprise5. Market Access and Micro Enterprise• A step forward in market access

◦ Improved awareness through market based planning

◦ Increased market-oriented productions(CIGs)

◦ Inter-village roads connecting to local markets

◦ Gap in supporting physical markets, market information, and enabling

environment

• Micro-enterprise development

◦ Limited capacity at local levels and few successful cases

◦ Gap in food and agri-processing in the value chain

◦ Limited engagement with the private sector

◦ Potential of co-investment with village trade leaders to create employment

Key Issue: How can business capacity for entrepreneurship be

developed and programmes build links with small and medium

private operators?14

Page 15: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Efficiency and Programme ManagementEfficiency and Programme Management Timely project effectiveness and completion

◦ Effectiveness lags are well below the regional average

◦ Projects were either completed by the original closing date or extended but

for no more than one year.

Programme management costs are in line with the region.

Projects are generally multi-components. Decentralization requires lots

of coordination among activities and levels. Effective project

coordination enhances project efficiency.

Some projects cover more than one province, and there is no strategic

basis for the combination of provinces in each project

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Page 16: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Efficiency and Programme Management Efficiency and Programme Management (cont.)(cont.) Financial management: The authorized allocation into the designated account is

too small and projects tend to run dry during the high implementation phase.

Bottlenecks in the flow of funds impede progress.

Procurement: IFAD thresholds are lower than government standards.

Procurement takes time given the weak procurement capacity at the commune

level, however these rigorous procedures promote better governance and more

efficiency.

M&E system in general has captured financial and physical progress. Indicators

in many cases are still confined to the output level and are quantitative. Efforts

are being made to update the results chain, include more qualitative measures

and aggregate to outcome and impact levels. Overall assessing impact is still

challenging.

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Page 17: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Impact of the Viet Nam-IFAD CooperationImpact of the Viet Nam-IFAD Cooperation

IFAD looks at impact in terms of a number of domains:

◦ Household Income and Assets

◦ Agricultural Productivity and Food Security

◦ Institutions and Policies

◦ Natural Resource Management and Environment

◦ Human and Social Capital and Empowerment

◦ Gender Equality

Often difficult to attribute impacts to the IFAD programme in a

context of rapid overall growth and an increasing number of

Government programmes to support poverty reduction17

Page 18: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

A. Household Income and AssetsA. Household Income and Assets

Accurate data is a challenge given the inflation in Viet

Nam which makes historical comparisons of poverty

difficult

Impact studies suggest projects are raising incomes of

poor households

Greater attention is needed to the near-poor who are at

risk of falling back into poverty

Impact on household assets has been mainly through

livestock and forest land ownership

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Page 19: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

B. Institutions and PoliciesB. Institutions and PoliciesImportant achievements through pioneering:

◦ Participatory planning

◦ Decentralised project management

◦ Improved coordination for poverty reduction at different levels

of government

Programme 135 effectively builds on IFAD’s approach

Focus on forest land use as an instrument for poverty

reduction has been another important contribution

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Page 20: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

C. Food Security and Agricultural ProductivityC. Food Security and Agricultural Productivity

Overall, the projects have helped to increase cereals and

vegetables production both by increasing productivity and

cropping intensity through the provision of both inputs and

infrastructure development

Food security for poor and ethnic minorities have been increased

between 1 to 5 months

In addition, animal and aquaculture development may have

contributed to improved nutrition status of the beneficiaries, but

this needs to be confirmed.

However, there is further scope for adaptive production

technology development at local level suitable for the poor and

marginal farmers20

Page 21: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

D. Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change D. Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change

A significant development in preparation of land-use maps and distributing land title certificates to the ethnic minorities

Forest land allocated for conservation and management to the individual households in the community

Climate change adaptation mechanisms such as salt tolerant varieties development efforts and shift from rice to coconut planting underway among the poor coastal communities

Adaptation of Good Agriculture Practice through organic farming or IPM for safe use of insecticides and pesticides not to pollute land and water.

However, there is so far a lack of a strategic approach integrating communal planning and land-use planning. There is scope for a number of environmental interventions, such as exploring the potential for bio-gas as a substitute for fuel-wood, promotion of poor farmers’ exploitation of NTFPs, and awareness & participation of poor in understanding role of forest for conservation in a holistic manner.

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Page 22: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

E. Human and Social Capital and EmpowermentE. Human and Social Capital and Empowerment

The capacity building activities result in visible improvement at

individual level (awareness and skills of staff; technical and

managerial capacity of community members; and private

business beneficiaries in some projects);

Community self-management capacity and grassroots democracy

are stronger in project areas, though the degree of improvement

observed varies across projects (commune development board,

CIG, credit-saving groups, women’s livelihood clubs, association

of private producers and traders).

However, the issue is how to improve quality of the organisations

supported by the project (management, sustainability, benefits to

members).22

Page 23: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

F. Gender Equality and Ethnic Minority DevelopmentF. Gender Equality and Ethnic Minority Development

Projects have empowered women as well as women’s

organisations at grassroots level through improved living

conditions and livelihoods, access to credit, employment

opportunities and services.

However, women’s business and access to market is

inadequately supported and encouraged overall

The objective for ethnic minority support is not always explicit in

the project guidelines and data are not always separated by ethnic

groups; It could be useful to strengthen monitoring of ethnic

minority participation and development

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Page 24: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Sustainability, Innovation and Scaling UpSustainability, Innovation and Scaling Up

Issues of sustainability and scaling up have not yet received the attention

they merit

COSOP will need to focus on reaching a consensus on a strategic

approach to IFAD’s engagement in Viet Nam over the long term

IFAD could do more to bring the project and provincial level experience

to the national level

Stronger partnerships with other donors and with the private and

cooperative sectors may need to have more prominence in the strategy

going forward for scale up and sustainability of market integration

programmes

Selection of provinces for engagement seems arbitrary and there is no

exit strategy at the project level 24

Page 25: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

IFAD’s non-lending activitiesIFAD’s non-lending activities In addition to its lending, the evaluation covers activities such as:

◦ Policy Dialogue - IFAD could do more to assist the Government to strategise

its approach to rural poverty through building on its project experience

◦ Partnerships - IFAD could do more to promote partnerships for scaling up the

programmes it supports

◦ Knowledge Management – IFAD has a substantial programme of

knowledge management in place, but could promote more systematic sharing of

knowledge across projects through strategic selection of the provinces it supports.

IFAD also provides grants – both regional grants that include Viet Nam

and country-specific grants. These are playing a useful role in building

knowledge sharing and partnerships, especially in the area of

agricultural research, and this role could be further enhanced by

strategic development of a grant programme as part of the COSOP. 25

Page 26: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

Key Questions to be Addressed in Upcoming COSOPKey Questions to be Addressed in Upcoming COSOPA. Programme Design QuestionsA. Programme Design Questions

Should IFAD adopt more explicit targeting of the poorest of the

poor, ethnic minorities, women and youth?

Is the model of covering one or two unrelated provinces

efficient and compatible with scaling up IFAD’s programme?

Could these programmes be more closely aligned with GOV

programmes so as to leverage its support more effectively?

How can the important coordination role in addressing rural

poverty of the PPCU, DPCU and CPCU/CDB be

institutionalised?26

Page 27: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

B. Programme Content QuestionsB. Programme Content Questions

What is the optimal model for providing credit to the

rural poor and what role should the VBSP, Agribank

and the Women’s Union play?

How can the effectiveness of approaches to market

integration and enterprise development be enhanced?

Is IFAD paying enough attention to issues of

environmental management and climate change in its

programme?

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Page 28: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

C. Programme Management QuestionsC. Programme Management Questions

Should IFAD be doing more to build both financial and knowledge partnerships with other donors?

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Page 29: IFAD Vietnam Country Programme Evaluation March 2011

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

Government for its support of the mission

Viet Nam Country Presence Office

Project authorities in the provinces visited who

provided extraordinary support to the mission

and whose commitment to the task of rural

poverty reduction made a deep impression

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