nghe an - world banksiteresources.worldbank.org/intvietnam/resources/nghean_ppa... · in may 2002,...

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)11th Floor, Daeha Business Center,360 Kim Ma street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi, Vietnam.Tel: (84 4) 831 5005Fax:(84 4) 831 5009Web site: http://www.jica.go.jp/

Participatory Poverty AssessementNghe An

2003

Institute of Sociology, Vietnam National Center forSocial Sciences and Humanities27 Tran Xuan Soan Street,Hanoi, Vietnam.Tel: (84-4) 972 7970Fax: (84-4) 978 4631

Photos: JICA, World Bank library

Poverty Task Force

i

Nghe An Participatory

Poverty Assessment

JulyAugust2003

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Foreword by Poverty Task Force

InMay 2002, theGovernment ofVietnam finalized itsComprehensive PovertyReductionandGrowthStrategy(CPRGS)andembarkedonaprocesstomaketheCPRGSa realityat local levelsofGovernment.Through informationcampaignsand a series of regionalworkshops, officials from key nationalministries havebeenexplainingtorepresentativesfromlocalauthoritieshowlocallevelplanningprocesses could be made more propoor, more evidencebased, moreoutcomefocused, better aligned to resource allocation decisions and bettermonitored. During 2003 the Poverty Task Force (PTF) supported Participatory PovertyAssessments(PPAs)intwelveprovincesinVietnam.ThesePPAsusedacommonresearch frameworkandmethodology to investigate issuesaroundpoverty thatwerenotwell capturedby theavailablequantitativedate.The intentionwas toproduce researchwhich could be used, together with data from the VietnamHouseholdLivingStandardsSurvey,toinformtheCPRGSsecretariatonprogressto date in implementing theCPRGS. The PPAswere also designed to provideinformationfornewregionalandnationalstudiesofpovertyandthesehavenowbeen published separately. The regional poverty assessmentswill, in turn, beused as an instrument in building capacity in propoor planning processes atsubnationallevelsofGovernment.

Eight donors contributed financial and human resources to support the PPAsunderlying thepreparationof this report and its complementaryRPAs. Theseare theADB,AusAID,DFID,GTZ, JICA, SCUK,UNDP and theWorld Bank. Eachofthedonorsplayeda leadingrole inoneoftheregionsofVietnam. Thedistribution of regions amongdonors, summarized inTable,was based on thedonors trajectory in the field. By choosing regions where they arewellimplanted,throughprojectsandtechnicalassistanceactivities,donorscouldtakefulladvantageoftheinsightsaccumulatedwhileworkingthere.

Several teams conducted the PPAwork in 43 communes scattered across theentire country. Among them were two international NGOs (Action Aid andSCUK) and various local NGOs and research institutes, including CRP, theInstituteofSociology(IOS), theLongAnPrimaryHealthCareCenter, theRuralDevelopmentServiceCenter(RDSC)andVietnamSolutions. Inaddition,twoofthedonorscarriedouttheresearchbysettingupteamsoflocalresearchersundertheirdirectmanagement. ThelocalknowledgeandexpertiseoftheseNGOsandresearch institutes was key to the quality of the exercise. A coordinatingmechanismwas setup for thePPAs. Members ofmost of the research teamswereinvolvedindrawinguptheresearchframeworkandestablishingacommon

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understanding ofwhatwas to be achieved from the field research. The latterwas piloted by several of the teams and the research outlinewasmodified toreflectthe lessons learned. Thefinalresearchframeworkcoveredthefollowingareasofinvestigation:

Perceptionsofandtrendsinpoverty,povertydynamicsandvulnerability; Progressinstrengtheningdemocracyatthegrassrootslevel,especiallythe

degree towhichpoorhouseholdscanparticipate inameaningfulway inplanningandbudgetingprocesses;

Challenges in the delivery of basic services, focusing on how poorhouseholdsinteractwithserviceprovidersandhowpoorhouseholdscanbeempoweredtoclaimtheirrightstobasicservicesmoreeffectively;

The currentmechanisms for delivery of social assistance (linked to thetargetingworkabove)andhowtheymightbeimproved;

HowthereformofthepublicadministrationistakingplaceatlocallevelsofGovernment;

The challenges ofmigration and the link between householdmobility,povertyandaccesstoservices;and,

Informationabouttheenvironmentofthepoorandhowitischanging.

ThesePPAsarenowbeingpublishedasaseries.Aseparatereportwillsynthesisethefindingsacrossthe43communesandprovideamoreaggregatedanalysisofthese themes. Another report summarizes the approach to the research, themethodologyuseandsetsout thedetailedresearchquestions.

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Table: Partnerships for the Regional Poverty Work

PPAs Region Provinces included in the

region Donor in charge of

the RPAs Province District Communes

Team in charge of the PPAs

Bao Thang

Ban Cam Phong Nien

Lao Cai

Muong Khuong Pha Long Ta Gia Khau

Ageless Consultants

(funded by DFID)

Vi Xuyen

Cao Bo Thuan Hoa

Northeast Uplands

Ha Giang , Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh

Northwest Uplands

Lai Chau, Son La, Hoa Binh

DFID and

UNDP

Ha Giang Dong Van Sang Tung Thai Pin Tung

Action Aid

(funded by UNDP)

Hai Duong Nam Sach Nam Sach Nam Trung

Dan Phuong Tho An Lien Ha

Red River

Delta

Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Ha Tay, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh

WB Ha Tay My Duc Te Tieu

Phuc Lam

RDSC (funded by WB)

Nghi Loc Nghi Thai Nghe An

Tuong Duong Tam Dinh

IOS (funded by JICA)

Hai Lang Hai Son Hai An

North Central

Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue

GTZ and JICA

Quang Tri

Gio Linh Gio Thanh Linh Thuong

Team comprising MOLISA, ILSSA and independent researchers

(funded by GTZ)

Son Ha

Son Ba Son Cao

Central Coast

Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa

ADB

Quang Ngai

Tu Nghia Nghia Tho Nghia An

Vietnam Solutions (funded by ADB)

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Table: Partnerships for the Regional Poverty Work (continued)

PPAs Region Provinces included in the region

Donor in charge of the RPAs

Province District Communes

Team in charge of the PPAs

Son Ha

Son Ba Son Cao

Central Coast

Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa

ADB

Quang Ngai

Tu Nghia Nghia Tho Nghia An

Vietnam Solutions (funded by ADB)

EaHleo Eaheo Ea Ral

Dacrlap ao Nghia Quang Tan

Central

Highlands

Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak

ADB

Dak Lak

Buon Ma Thuot city Ea Tam town

Action Aid (funded by ADB)

Binh Chanh District An Lac Township Tan Tao

HCMC

District 8 Ward 4 Ward 5

SCUK (Funded by itself)

Ninh Phuoc Phuoc Hai Phuoc Dinh

Southeast

HCMC, Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Binh Than, Ba Ria-Vung Tau

WB

Ninh Thuan

Ninh Son Luong Son My Son

CRP (Funded by WB)

Tam Nong Phu Hiep Phu Tho

Dong Thap

Thap Muoi Thanh Loi

Thanh Phu

My Hung Thoi Thanh

Mekong River Delta

Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Kien Giang, Can Tho, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau

UNDP and AusAid

Ben Tre

Mo Cay Thanh Thoi

Long An Primary Health Care

Centre (Funded by UNDP and AusAid)

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Acronyms and Abbreviations DOLISA DepartmentofLabor,InvalidandSocialAffairsGSO GeneralStatisticsOfficeJICA JapanInternationalCooperationAgencyIOS InstituteofSociologyMOLISA MinistryofLabor,InvalidandSocialAffairs MPI MinistryofPlanningandInvestment NCSSH NationalCenterforSocialScienceandHumanity PPA ParticipatoryPovertyAssessmentPSO ProvincialStatisticsOfficePTF PovertyTaskForceVHLSS VietnamHouseholdLivingStandardsSurveyVLSS VietnamLivingStandardsSurvey

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Acknowledgement ThisreportontheNgheAn:ParticipatoryPovertyAssessment isaproductofmany people. In addition to the research team,who played the key role,wewouldliketohighlyappreciatetheactiveandefficientparticipationofstaffatalllevels, from provincial, district, commune to village levels. In particular, thereportwascompletedwith important inputs fromhundredsof localpeople, themajority of whom are the poor. This report could not have been completedwithoutvariousformsofinputsfromlocalofficialsandthelocalpeople.Takingthisopportunity,wewouldalsoliketoexpressoursincerethanksforthesupportoftheNgheAnProvincialPeoplesCommittee,DepartmentofPlanningand Investment,Department of Labor, Invalids and SocialAffairs, the PeoplesCommitteesofNghiLocandTuongDuongDistricts,thePeoplesCommitteesofNghiThai (NghiLocdistrict)andTamDinh (TuongDuongdistrict)communes.Our thanksarealsosent tostaffrepresentingvariousagencies,officesandmassorganizationsinNgheAnprovincefortheirprecioustimespenttoworkwiththeresearchteam.Inputsfromthesepeopleviainterviewsanddiscussionswereveryvaluable. We would like to highly appreciate precious comments made byrepresentatives from various departments and agencies, local authorities at alllevels in theworkshopheld inVinhonDecember 11, 2003 for thedraftof thisreport.OurthanksarealsoconveyedtohundredoflocalpeopleandstaffofThaiBinhandThaiCatvillages (NghiThaicommune,NghiLocdistrict),QuangYenand Dinh Huong villages (Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district) whoactivelyparticipatedintheresearch. We highly appreciate the participation of associated researchers from VinhUniversity.Theiractiveparticipationsstrongly facilitated thesuccessof the fieldstudyandtheresearch.Lastly,weexpectthisreportcontributetofuturediscussiononpovertyreductioninNgheAnProvinceandVietnamasawhole. OnbehalfoftheResearchTeamDr.TrinhDuyLuan DirectorInstituteofSociology

FumioKikuchi ResidentRepresentativeJICAVietnamOffice

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Table of Contents ForewordbyPovertyTaskForce. ................................................................................. iiiAcronymsandAbbreviations......................................................................................vii Acknowledgement........................................................................................................... x ExecutiveSummary .............................................................................................................. 1 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 12

BackgroundoftheNgheAnPPA........................................................................ 12 MethodologyofthePPA ....................................................................................... 13 CharacteristicsofthePPAsite.............................................................................. 15

Chapter1:PovertyanditsDeterminants ...................................................................... 22 Currentperspectives .............................................................................................. 22 Causeofpoverty:localperception...................................................................... 26 Classificationoflivingstandardatcommunelevel ........................................ 28 Trendsofpovertydynamics ................................................................................. 36 Risks........................................................................................................................... 39

Chapter2:CurrentPatternsofParticipationinLocalDecisionmaking.............. 41 Chapter3:BasicPublicServiceDeliveryMechanismtothePoor ......................... 48

Education .................................................................................................................. 48 Health ........................................................................................................................ 53 Agriculturalextension ........................................................................................... 62

Chapter4:CoveragebySocialAssistanceProgram ................................................... 67 Chapter5:DeliveryofPublicAdministrationServices............................................ 73 Chapter6:MigrationandEnvironment ........................................................................ 76

Migration .................................................................................................................. 76 Environment ............................................................................................................ 85

Chapter7:PeoplesRecommendationstoPovertyReductionEfforts................... 91 Actionstodirectlyreducepoverty...................................................................... 91 Democracy,participationandempowerment .................................................. 94 Offeringeducationsupporttothepoor ............................................................. 94 Providinghealthcareservicesandhealthinsurancecardtothepoor ....... 95 Providingagriculturalextensionservicestothepoor .................................... 95 Providingsocialrelief ............................................................................................ 96

APPENDIX:ListoftheResearchTeamMembers ......................................................... 97

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Executive Summary 1. Poverty and Its determinants

AccordingtotheVHLSS2002/03,thegeneralpovertyrateoftheNorthCentralis43.9%,andthatofNgheAnProvinceis43%.Thefoodpovertyrateisaccordingly17.5% for the region and 16% for Nghe An. As for the poverty rate in 2000calculatedbytheNgheAnPSO,19.7%,andthatoftheDOLISAbyJune30,2003inNgheAnwas14.7%.DOLISAalso indicated that theprovincewas trying todecrease the poverty rate to less than 13%. In Nghi Loc and Tuong Duongdistricts, two survey sites of this study, the poverty incidence in 2000was asfollows(source:NgheAnPSO).

1.1. Inhabitants are better-off in recent years,especiallyintermsoftheirspirituallives.Thereisaslightimprovementinmateriallife.However,theimprovementisuneven andnot stable.Most (7588%) thenonpoor and abouthalfof thepoorconfirm that theyarebetteroff in recentyears.A smallnumber of the poor (6%),however, thinks that theyareworseoff.Whilsthouseholdsarebetteroff thanksto their business development, their wealth is unstable. Thanks to improvedliving standards, children are better cared and educated. Lives of women,however,havenotremarkablychangedcomparedtothatofmen.1.2. Reasons for improved living standards in recent years.Most inhabitantsthinkthatimprovedlivingstandardscanbeattributedtothefollowing:

Integrationofpeoples livelihood intomarket in conjunctionwithmoreeffectiveagriculturaldevelopmentpolicyatlocallevel;

Moreloansgrantedtopeople; Theintroductionofnewscienceandtechnology,holdingtrainingcourses,

agricultural promotion and donating of new seedlings and animalbreeds;

Localdevelopmentprojects; Livestockbreedingandaquaculturearesuccessfuldevelopment Infrastructureispartiallyimproved.

Thefactthatmanypoorhouseholdshaveaccesstoloansfromvarioussourceshasbeenmentionedsomemanytimes.Nonpoorhouseholdsareoftenabletoborrowmorethantheirpoorcounterparts(from5to10millionVNDfortheformer,andamaximumof3millionVNDforthelatter).Nonpoorhouseholdsalsoutilizetheirloans more efficiently because they have manpower and skill. Some poorhouseholdshavealsoaccessedloans.However,becauseoflackofknowledgeandtechnology,smallscopeforinvestmentandshortloanamortizationperiods,theycannotutilizeloanseffectively.

Nghe An Participatory Poverty Assessment

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1.3 Determination of poor households at the locality. Poor household areidentified based on the local income level, considering the poverty reductiontargetasassignedbyhigherlevelsofauthority.Inaccordancewith theclassificationof livingstandardsatNghiThaicommune,52%ofhouseholdsareclassifiedaspoorwhile thispoverty incidence is25%aspersurveyresultsoftheNgheAnPSOin2000.Povertyincidenceis70.8%inTamDinh, amountainous communewhile it is 61.2% according to the communesclassificationand68.22%accordingtoNgheAnPSOin2000.Asamatterof fact,apart from the income levelcriterion,which isonlyaroughmeasure, local people also adopt the following criteria to identify poorhouseholdsonthefollowingcriteria: Householdswithelderlypersons Householdswithschoolchildrenandashortageoflabor Householdswithchronicallyillpersons Householdswithoutassets,capital,poorhousingconditions HouseholdspurelydoingagriculturewithoutanyothersourceofincomeSelfassessmentofinthetwolocations,therefore,isverymuchdifferentfromtheaverage level of the province. Selfassessment of local people shows that theincidenceofpoverty in two locations isapproximately50% (employinga lowercriteria)while theaveragepoverty incidence in theprovince is14.7% (NgheAnPSO,asof30June2003).1.4. Poor household selection process.The selectionprocessesat two researchlocations are basically identical although socioeconomic conditions, povertyincidence, and ethnic composition differs from one location to another. Localpeopleknew that theyhad toselect therightfamilies inorder toprovidecertainbenefits and supports to them. The selection process started from listing poorhouseholdsbasedon their incomes, then submissionof results to theParty andFatherland Front for approval, and finally, public selection. This process wasconsideredbylocalpeopleas,democraticandtransparent.Sympathy,partialityor lobbying practices (wrong families, criteria) might have occurred, but veryrarely. Atargetnumberofpoorhouseholdswereassignedtoeachcommune,accordingtowhich number of poor householdsmust be reduced every year in order toshowachievementinthehungereradicationandpovertyreductionmovementtohigher level.Or itmaybe that thegovernmentcouldnotafford tosubsidizeallpoor households. Hence, achievement or emulation factors have affectedselectioncriteriaandresults. Most interviewees (81%) responded that theyhaveparticipated in the selection

Executive Summary

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process, and thispercentagedoesnotdiffermuch amonggroups (male/female,poor/nonpoor,Kinhethnicity/minoritygroups).1.5. Benefits of Poor Households. Poor households are aware of 4 followingprivileges given to them: Tuition fee exemption/rebate for secondary schools;health insurance certificates; exemption from agriculture tax; and access toconcessional loans. Among these 4 privileges, access to concessional loansseemstobethemosteffectiveforthepoor. InTuongDuongmountainousdistrict,poor households further benefited fromotherschemessuchasgrantsofiodinesalt,grantsofmedicine,healthinsurance,textbooks and notebooks. People are made aware of these benefits throughmeetingsor communicationswith communeworkers.Thepoor alsoknow thattheyshouldcontactcommuneworkersiftheyaretoreceivesuchbenefits. However, policy implementation in some locations was neither good, nortransparent.Atsomelocations,localbanksandorganizationsarehesitanttolendmoney to the poor because they are afraid of possible bad debts.As a result,unfavorablepolicy implementationalso limitedeffectivenessofthesepolicies intermofpovertyreduction.1.6. Creating non-farming jobs for the poor Theaccessofpoorhouseholds tononfarmingoccupations isstill limited.Thereare only a small number of household enterprises in these areas. The poor,therefore,couldnothavesufficientopportunitiestofindjogsintheseenterprises.Anumberofpeoplehavebeenmovingtootherprovincestodobusinessinordertogainastable income.However,onlynonpoorhouseholdsareabletorunbusinessbecausepoorhouseholdscannotaffordtopayforinitialcosts.

Some traditional occupations such as bamboo and cane knitting have beenrecovered,which employed some employees from poor households.However, thesebusinesseshavenotexpandedsufficientlybecauseofashortageofrawmaterialsand lack of access to markets. Aquaculture is a new occupation in coastalcommunes.However,onlymiddleincomehouseholdscanrunthisbusinessbecausepoorhouseholdsdonothavethecapital,skillandmanpower. 1.7. The poor often encounter risks: calamities resulting in crop loss, animalepidemics; diseases (partially because environmental pollution); house burning(housesofthepoorareoftenmadeofinflammablebamboo).Thepoorbelieveina likelihood of escape from the poverty, but they are alwayswary of risks,especiallyinabsenceofeffectivecountermeasuresagainstrisks. Inordertomitigaterisksinbusinessandlife,thepoorthinkitnecessarytodothefollowings:(1)todiversifytheirlivelihoods,(2)tobegivenlongtermconcessionalloans,(3)tosavetheirmoney,(4)tobetrainedinthetransferoftechnology,(5)tobeselfreliantandhelpeachother(in termsof labor,wayofdoingbusiness).To


4

thisend,thepoorexpectthestatetoeffectivelyimplementthehungereradicationandpovertyreductionpolicy. 1.8. Local experiences in escaping from poverty.At both communes in thesurvey, certain lessons about escaping from poverty have been explained bypeople and commune workers. These include family solidarity, a sense ofadvancement, avoidance of laziness; knowledge of running business; access toloansandeffectiveloanutilization;selfrelianceandsaving.2. Current patterns of participation in local decision-making Peopleknewalmostallofthecommuneofficials.Butthoseofficialsonlycametovisit commune officials onlywhen they saw it as necessary.Among issues ofDecree29, top3 issues that localpeople know themost(from6070%)are: thepoliciesofpovertyreductionloans,contributions,andpublicworksconstructionplans. Therateofpoorandverypoorhouseholdknowingabouttheseissuesisverylow around 2025%while this rate is from 70100% among nonpoor households.MinoritypeopleandwomenknowcommuneofficialslessthanKinhandmendo. Womenand thepoor rarelyattendvillagemeetings.Men stillplayadominantroleinsocialaffairs.Womenonlyattendmeetingswhenmenarenotavailable. 3. Basic public services delivery mechanism to the poor

Education

3.1. Mass involvement in education has improved in localities.NgheAnhasbeenactivelyinvestingineducation.Apartfromtuitionfees,manyexpensesandcontributionshavebeenmobilizedfrompeoplesuchasmoneytobuynotebookstextbooksandeducationaltoolkits,schooluniforms,contributionsforupgradingschool facilities, improvement of teacher salary (teaching subsidy), youth fund,parentsfund,medicalinsurance,etc.Parentsassociationsbridgesbetweenschooland families, through which families and people participate in educationalactivitiesaswellassuperviseteachingandlearningactivities.Schoolstreatthevoiceoftheparentsassociationasareferenceforitsmanagement.Thisimpliestheinvolvementofpeopleineducationalactivitiesatlocallevel.Therateofhouseholdsattendingparentalmeetingsisratherhigh(71.0%),evenamongpoorhouseholds. 3.2. Barriers to mass involvement in education and participation of the poor

1. Contributionsarestillverycostlytothepoor.Therefore,poorpupilsarelikelyto drop out. This also creates the inferiority complex for poor pupils

Executive Summary

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becausetheyareremindedbeforetheclassoflatepaymentoftuitionfeesandothercontributions.

2. Expenses and contributions at semipublic schools aremuch higher,which arecostly to middleincome households. Because poor pupils usually havemodest learning outcomes, they have to attend semipublic schools.Consequently,theyhavetopayhighertuitionfees,anditresultsinmoredropouts.

3. Because thepoor rarelyparticipate inparentsassociations, theirvoicesareoflittleimportance.

4. Educational supportpoliciesare less effective.Especially inmountainousareas,thesesupportsarenotadequateenoughtomaintainpoorpupilsschoolingandensureeffectiveantiilliteracy.

Insomecases,regulationsoftuitionfeerebatesandexemptionsarenotfollowedtofamilyplanningpolicy,whichmakesitimpossibletosupportpoorhouseholdswithnumerouschildren.

3.3. Illiteracy and anti-illiteracy activities for women and the poor. In TamDinhmountainous commune, there aremany illiteratepeople andpeoplewhohave lapsed into illiteracy in every age group, even those of 20 years old. Amajority of them are women, who used to be literate but have now becomeilliterateagainduetonouseitforlongtime.

Peoplesuggestthattheyshouldhavemoreaccesstoliteracyclassesbymeansof(1)simpleencouragementsuchasprovisionofoilforlamps,notebooks,textbooks,pens,or(2)organizationofliteracyclassesduringtheirfreetime. Health care

3.4. Health care services at the commune have improved, but not sufficient. Improvement of Commune Health centers should be continued. In particular, the capacity and professional ethics of commune health-care workers should be improved.Many people, even the poor, go to see private doctors becauseprivatedoctorsaremorequalifiedandthepoorallowthemtodeferpayment.

3.5. There are certain impediments in granting of medical insurance certificates for the poor.Asamatteroffact,noteverypoorhouseholdhasbeengrantedmedicalinsurancecertificates.Itisverycumbersomeandtimeconsumingtoprocessmedicalinsurancecertificates.Eachmedicalinsurancecertificateisonlyvalidforthecertificateholder,andcannotbeusedbyothermembersofthefamily.

3.6. The use of Medical insurance certificate does not bring practical and visible benefits for the poor.Medicalinsurancecertificatescannotbeusedinthecaseofhigherreferral,even for theemergency.In themountainousand isolatedareas, it takes long timefor localpeople to travel to thecommunehealthcentre,and theuseofmedical insurancecertificatemightnotbe thebestchoice for thepoor.


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Medical insurance certificates areonly effective for resident treatment, acuteorchronicsicknesses.Butcertificatesmustbeusedatthedesignatedlevel.However,these cases are less than caseswhere certificates are notusable or ineffectivelyused. Generally, medical insurance certificate has not yet brought into play itseffectivenessasasocialserviceinsupportforthepoor. Agriculture extension 3.7. Agriculture extension services have assisted the development of local production TheCommunes agriculture extensionprogram hasmade agricultural activitiesmoreefficientthroughtheprovisionofnewbreeds,NPKfertilizer,insecticide,etc.Someproductscanbeboughtoncredit,whichpartiallysupportspoorhouseholds.Many training courses on breeds, animal husbandry and aquaculture wereconducted.Households have actively attended these courses because they lackknowledgeandtheywishtoincreaseproductivity.

3.8. However, capacity of the poor in absorption and application of agriculture extension knowledge is very limited.Inpractice,thepoorhavelittlechancestoapplytheiracquiredknowledgebecausetheyarelesseducatedandinformationisnot relevant to theirbackground.Thepoor stillhave inferior complex in activecontactwithagricultureextensionworkers.3.9. Women have actively participated in agriculture extension services, especially those from nonpoor households. The situation women do, menstudy is prevalent. Recently, the Womens Union has paid attention toencouragingwomens participation in agriculture extension services.Althoughpoorwomenaremoreawareofthis,theirparticipationisstilllimited.3.10. Agriculture extension services should respond to needs of the poor, such as

1. Helpincreaseincomeanddiversifysourcesofincometofightagainstpoverty,helpthepoortodealwithfrequentriskssuchasdrought,insects,epidemics.

2. Providemarketinformation,supportproductselling.

3. Provideagricultureextensionserviceswithdeferredpaymentforthepoor.

4. Coverage by social assistance program

4.1. Formal social relief system has in part affected those under policy coverage. Social relief, however, affects to a limited extent poor households, who are not covered by policy.Poorhouseholdsfacemanydifficultiesandriskssuchascrop loss,epidemics,sickness,etc.Theyaregiven little formalsupports.Theyhave to count on themselves and otherpeople in community.Traditional/informalsocialreliefnetworkinruralareasseemstobeeffectiveandplaysasignificantroleintherecentcontext.

Executive Summary

7

4.2. Sudden supports are often belated, small and less effective. Familiesunder policy coverage, elderly people are thosewho receive regular supports.Thesesupportsaremadefromcommunebudgetonceortwiceayear.Other social relief schemes applied to poor households are rebate and exemption fromcontributions such as exemption from agriculture tax, exemption from publicworks, rebate of school building contributions for pupils, etc. EthnicMinoritypeoplearealsogiven exclusive supportsorprogramssuchas tuition fees rebate, freeprovision of primary textbooks and other supports from Program 135 orresettlementprogram. Selection ofhouseholds forgranting supportswasmadeprettywell.Peoplegivepriority to thepooresthouseholds.A contingency fundcontributedbypeoplehasbeenestablishedatonevillage.However,littlepeopleknowthisfundorknowhowtouseit. 4.3. People and local officials thought that social relief schemes only assistspartiallythepoorinovercominginitialdifficulties. Besides,socialreliefprogramsformountainousareasseemtocreateandmaintainpassivityorawaitforhelpfromhigherlevelsorsocialorganizationsamongapartofthepoor. In general, people view the implementation of social relief programs asrelativelyfair.However,poorandverypoorhouseholdsunderestimatethefairnessoftheseprograms. 5. Public Administration Services

5.1.Currently,peopleatthecommunelevelknowwheretogoandwhomtomeetif they want to have their documents certified. In general, people find theadministrationproceduresatcommune level tobequite favorable.Sincevillageofficialsandpeoplehaveclosecommunitycontacts,peoplesometimesare inthehabitof coming toofficialshouses toget signatures, and they feelhappywithsuch a work style of village officials. Not only people, but also owners ofsmallsizedenterprisesaregivenfavorableadministrationprocedures.5.2.Peopledonotcomplainabouttheattitudeofcommuneofficialsorfeestobepaidwhentheygothroughadministrationprocedure.Peopleseemtoappreciatetheonedooradministrationservices.Atremoteareas, it istimeconsumingforpeopletogotovillage/district,andsometimestheydonotmeetrightauthorities. 5.3. The fact that communeworkerswill become government officialwill notaffectsignificantlyrelationshipbetweenvillagestaffandpeople.However,peoplerequest that village staff must be professionally qualified, formally trained,maintainworkingtimeandbeprestigioustopeople. 6. Migration and environment


8

Migration 6.1. There are fewmigrants fromNgheAn so far.A small number of peoplemigrated toadjacentareasorotherprovinces/cities todoshorttermorseasonalbusiness.Majorityofpeople (over90%)migrated toothercities/areas for longerterm (more than1year),and theyworked for enterprises, companies.Recently,laborexportisconsideredasanewtypeofmigration. Malemigrantspredominate(male61.7%,female38.3%).Youngpeopleaccountforover 70%, and children account for 28.3%. About 71.2% migrated to otherprovinces, and 3.4% migrated as labor export. Members of middleincomefamilies oftenmigrate farway, down to the south. They remitmoney to theirfamilies,butnotmuch.There is littlewomenmigratingfaraway,but theyremitmoremoney to their families.Membersofpoor familiesdonot travel farawaybecause theydonothave initialcapital.Theyoftenmakeendsmeet inadjacentareasbysimplejobssuchasbreadselling,scratchcollection,etc.

The main reasons for migration inflow are marriage, employment at localestablishments.The main reasons for migration outflow areeconomicreasons.

6.2. Impacts of migration on local situation

Themostpositiveand important impact isthatalmostmigrantshavehelpedraisingincomeandreducingpovertyfortheirfamiliesand locality.However,sincetheyhave littlecapital, theyhave todosimple jobswith low income.Therefore, theycannotsupporttheirfamiliesmuch.Besides,migrationhelpsimproveawarenessand change way of thinking and doing of people to make them moreselfconfidentandactive.

Negative impact is thatmigrantsmay facedifficultiesatworkplacebecause theylack information and knowledge.Migrants sometimes facediscrimination fromindigenouspeoplebecauseofdiscrepanciesinrace,language,andlifestyle.Someethnicminoritypeoplecomplain thatKinhmigrantsmakesomechange in theirlivingconditionsandlifestyle,landuseandgiverisetosocialevils.

6.3. Implementation of migration policy is not very good. Some migrationpolicies are not practical or not well implemented, resulting in difficulties ordisadvantagesformigrantfamilies.Sinceimmigrationproceduresarecomplexformigrant families, they couldnot join communityand rarelybegivenprivilegesfrom thegovernment.Dueattentionhasnotyetbeenpaid tomanagementandsupervisionofmigrantsatdepartureanddestination.

6.4. Migration trend and long-term solution.Recently,domesticmigrationflowtoprovinces/citiesisincreasing.Laborexportisanewtrend,whichisconsideredaseffectiveforlocaleconomicdevelopment.However,migrationandlaborexportisonlyatemporarysolutionwhenthelocalityisnotabletogeneratemanyjobsonsite. In principle, they consider it necessary to develop local and household

Executive Summary

9

economiesinasustainablemanner,andthusskillsandcommunicationabilityoflaborersshouldbeimprovedinimmediateandlongterm.

Environment 6.5. Peoples awareness of environment and environmental issues. Peopleliving in locations under the survey do not have a clear perception ofenvironment.However, theyareawareofsomeenvironmentproblems throughconcrete examples. According to their opinions, there are three majorenvironmental problems at Tuong Duong and Nghi Loc, i.e., water resourcepollution,arable landpollutionand severe climate.Apart from that,peoplearealsoawareofhygienicsafety.

Almost half of interviewees are using springwater (minority people at TuongDuongdistrict),whichisnothygienic.InNghiLoc,peoplearefacingfreshwaterresources pollution problem because of untreatedwastewater fromVinhCity.Thisproblemhasadverselyaffectedpeopleshealthandproductionactivitiesofthelocality.Industrialwastewateralsopollutesarablelandandwatersurfaceforaquacultureactivitiesatthelocality.

6.6. Local environment protection

Althoughpeoplearestillpoorandnotknowledgeable,localpeoplehaveasenseofenvironmentprotection.Meanwhile, localgovernment isyet tohaveconcreteenvironmentprotectionmeasures,andisdependentoninterventionsfromhigherlevels.

AtTuongDuongdistrict,manypoorhouseholdsareexploiting forest resourceswithout consideringeconomicandenvironmentalproblems in the future.Localpeople think education in forestation and forestprotection shouldbedeliveredmore forpeople to improve their awareness.At the same time, local economicdevelopmentwillhelppoorhouseholds to runbusiness to reducedeforestationpractices. Participatory approach to forest protection is a new and effectivemannerimplementedrecentlyinNgheAn.

6.7. Social relations in environmental issues.Therehavebeenmanifestationsofenvironmental conflicts among benefit groups: ordinary people andentrepreneursat localityhavehaddifferentassessmentsof impactsproducedbyenterprisesproductionactivitiesonenvironment.Morethanhalfofintervieweesconfirmed that wastes from enterprises have adverse impacts on their livingenvironment. Environmental issues have been addressed by people throughvillagemeetings,orthroughproposalstodistrictandprovincialgovernments,oreven litigation.However, thesevoicesofconcernseemnot tobestrongenough.Meanwhile,entrepreneurs,whenbeingasked,alwaysconfirmthattheirbusiness


10

almostdoesnotcreateanyenvironmentalimpactsorconflictstothecommunity. 7. Peoples recommendations on actions for poverty reduction 7.1. People's suggestions on direct actions to reduce poverty

1. Buildand improveagricultural infrastructure toreducerisksofcrop lossandepidemics.

2. Equipthepoorwithrelevantknowledgeofscienceandtechnologysothatthey canmaster knowledge.More attention should be paid to businessmanagementknowledge,householdeconomyandcosteffectiveness.

3. Improveaccessofthepoortoloanswithlongermaturity. 4. Developnonfarmoccupationsandsupplementaljobs,encouragethepoor

tolearnfromeachothertodevelopnewoccupations. 5. Foster a sense of selfreliance among thepoorwith the support of local

governmentintermsofinfrastructure,jobplacement,etc. 6. Implement policies properly, develop projects in the locality with

community participation to ensure a transparent and publicimplementationprocess.

7.2. People's suggestions on Democracy, participation and empowerment

1. Commune staff should be more capable, responsible, enthusiastic andintimatewithpeople.

2. Strengtheneducation,knowledgeandthoughtsforpeople.3. Improveinformationflowstopeoplethroughmeetings,directinformation

diffusionandmassmedia. 7.3. People's suggestions on educational supports for the poor

1. Moreinvestmentforschoolsinordertoreducepupilscontributions.Endcollectingschoolbuildingexpensesatareaswherethepoorandminoritygroups are living. Poor pupils everywhere should be exempted fromschoolbuildingexpenses.

2. DeveloptheStudyPromotionFundforpoorpupils,especiallypoorpupilswithgoodstudyoutcomes.

3. Reductionoftuitionfeesatsemipublicschoolsandclasses.4. Subsidies inkind (textbooks, papers, pens, notebooks, accommodation,

rice)forpoorpupilsfromremoteandmountainousareas.

Executive Summary

11

5. Removalofcumbersomeprocedures,whichdefine thatpoorpupilshavetopaytuitionfeesinadvanceandthanitwillberefundedonlyaftertheirfamilyarecertificatedasthepoorhousehold.

7.4. The provision of Health care certificate for the poor:Shouldexpirefor2yearsand the certificate shouldbemore significant.Certificategrantandusageprocedure should be simplified so that the poor canmake use of healthcareprivileges. The certificate should allow other family members to access tohealthcareservices. 7.5. Provision of agriculture extension services for the poor should be changed:

1. Agricultureextensionservicesshouldpaymoreattentionstosuchissuesasmarketprice,productselling,andinformationoncreditborrowing.

2. Agricultureextensionworkersshouldbeformally trainedbeenthusiasticandwillingtoworkwiththepooreverydayonfarm.

3. Trainthepoorbyahandsonmannerinthemostnecessaryknowledge;provideonsiteservices,deferredpayment,etc.

4. Agricultureextensionservicesshouldbeintegratedwithcreditlendingforpoorhouseholds.

5. Linkagricultureextensionprojectswithforestationprojectsatmountainousdistricts.Supportthesustainableuseofforestresources.

6. Linkagricultureextensionactivitieswithtechnicalimprovements. 7. Makeuseofsoilresourcetoincreasesourceoffoodstuffforminority

people,whodonothavehorticulturepractices.

7.6. Social relief isverynecessaryforapartofthepoor,especiallyforthose,whoexperiencesuddenrisksorlittlelaborcapability.Inordertoimproveeffectivenessoftheseprogrammes:

1. Measures of support must be clear, transparent and communityparticipationbased,especiallypoorhouseholdsthemselves.

2. Focuson longterm antiriskmeasures suchasdiversificationof sourcesofincome, development of nonfarm activities, provision of marketinformationandproductselling,etc.

12

Overview Background of the Nghe An PPA Objectives and issues of the PPA With the aim to update information on poverty and to support theimplementation of national development strategies at central and local level, aseriesofstudieshavebeenconductedbythePovertyTaskForcewhichconsistsofthegovernmentagenciesanddonors(theWorldBank,otherdonors,andNGOs).Thosestudiesfocusonevaluatingthesituationofpovertyineightregionsofthecountry(namely,TayBac,DongBac,theRedRiverDelta,theNorthCentral,theCentral,theCentralHighlands,theSouthEastandtheMekongDelta).Thisstudyconsistsofthefollowings:

1. Quantitative data analysis on regional poverty and inequality profilesbasedontheVHLSS2002

2. Assessmentoftargetingindicators3. ParticipatoryPovertyAssessment(PPA)

Under this framework, a series of PPA aim to describe an overall picture ofpoverty in each region as well as to provide inputs to develop the VietnamDevelopment Report for 2004 titled Povertywhichwas presented at 2003 CGmeeting.Findingsof thisPPAalsoareexpected toprovide inputs forNgheAnprovincetoformulateitsannualsocioeconomicdevelopmentplan. This PPA conducted in Nghe An Province is one of 12 studies in selectedprovinces and cities. The study was conducted by a research team from theInstitute of Sociology, the National Centre of Social Science and Humanitiescommissionedby the Japan InternationalCooperationAgency (JICA) inAugustandSeptember,2003. Agreatnumbersocialtargetsandpovertyreductiontargetshavebeenmeasuredinhouseholdsurveysthroughtheuseofquantitativeindicators.However,manyaspects and gaps in the picture of poverty must be filled by qualitativeinformation.ThisPPAwasconducted in response to theseneeds. Inaccordancewith the time frameagreedamong thePovertyTaskForcemembers, this studymainlyfocusedon5keyissues,including:

1. Povertyanditsdeterminants 2. Currentpatternsofparticipationinlocaldecisionmaking 3. Basicpublicservicedeliverymechanismstothepoor 4. Coveragebysocialassistanceprograms 5. Deliveryofpublicadministrationservices

Overview

13

Twoother issuesare included inthisstudy,forexample,howmigrationandtheenvironmentinfluenceonpovertyreductioninthecommunity. ThestudywasstronglyandactivelysupportedbyNgheAnProvincialPeoplesCommittee,DepartmentofPlanningandInvestment(DPI),DepartmentofLabor,InvalidsandSocialAffairs(DOLISA)andotheragenciesandmassorganizations,aswellasagenciesandoffices inNghiLocandTuongDuongDistricts, inNghiThaiandTamDinhCommunesthatwereselectedtobesurveysites.Ateamof lecturersfromVinhUniversityalsoparticipated inthisresearch.Withrich knowledge about local poverty, their inputs and participation greatlyenrichedthefindingsoftheresearch. Methodology of the PPA Method ThefollowingcommonmethodshavebeenappliedinthisPPA:

1. Collecting secondary data and information from staff working at theprovincial,district,communeandvillagelevels

2. Conducting indepth interviews (staff having responsibilities relevant tothestudytopicandsomekeyhouseholds)

3. Conducting focusedgroupdiscussionsregarding6 topics thatare inputsfor6issuescoveredinthereport

4. Holdingmeetingstoclassifypoor/richhouseholdsinthevillagestoenabletocomparewithresultsfromVHLSSthatwasconductedin2002

5. Informal talks and observation in the field to providemore inputs forpoverty assessment in the research sites (observations in terms ofinfrastructure,housinganddailylifeofthelocalpopulation)

In addition, a questionnairewasdesigned to conduct facetoface interviews inlinewiththeTermsofReferenceofthisPPA.Thequestionnairewasdesignedonthebasisof the studyobjectives/topics.160households living inNghiThaiandTamDinhcommuneswereinterviewedwiththisquestionnaire. Sample size AfterdiscussedwiththeNgheAnPeoplesCommittee,theDPIandDOLISA,twodistrictshavebeenselectedforthisPPAassites:theoneisTuongDuongDistrictwhich is located inamountainousarea.Theother isNghiLocDistrictwhich islocatedinthecoastalarea.In Tuong Duong District, Tam Dinh commune was selected. In the selectedcommune, twovillageswere selected:QuangYen andDinhHuongvillages. InNghiLocdistrict,NghiThaicommunewasselectedwithThaiBinhandThaiCatvillages.Informationrelatingtothosetwodistrictsispresentedlateron.


14

Administrative levels in the study Methods applied

Province District Commune Village Households

Total number of interviews

Number of respondents/

Participants in the interview

Total number of participants in the interview

Secondary information collection

1 x 1 1 x 2 1 x 2 1 x 4 0 9 2 18

Semi-structured individual interview

15 x 1 15 x 2 15 x 2 2 x 4 10 x 4 villages

123 1 123

Focus-group discussions

0 0 3 x 2 0 3 x 4 villages

18 12 216

Households classification

0 0 1 x 2 1 x 4 1 x 4 villages

10 30 300

Other PPA methods 0 0 1 x 2 0 1 x 4 villages

6 12 72

Total number of samples

16 32 48 16 60 166 729

Overview

15

Characteristics of the PPA site

Nghe AN Province NgheAnProvince is located in theNorthCentralRegion.TheprovincebordersThanhHoaprovinceintheNorth,HaTinhprovinceintheSouth,LaoPDRintheWestandtheEasternSeaintheEast.Theprovinceisdividedintocoastal,highlandandmountainousareas.Theprovincecoversanareaof16,487.29squarekm.TheborderwithLaoPDR is119km longandhasanationalbordergate,NamCam,located on highwayNo. 7A. The coast is 84 km longwhich is convenient forbeaches(CuaLobeach).CuaLoportwasconstructedtoenable10,000tonshipstoenter.

HighwayNo.1A,HighwayNo.7A,theHoChiMinhHighway,HighwayNo.46,HighwayNo.48and theNationalRailway run through thisprovince.HighwayNo.1Aand theHoChiMinhHighway connect theNorthand theSouthwhileHighwayNo.7AandHighwayNo.48connecttheEastandtheWest.

VinhisthemajorcityoftheprovinceandCuaLoisaprovincialtown.Thereare7lowlanddistricts, includingDienChau,QuynhLuu,NghiLoc,HungNguyen,NamDan,Do Luong and 10mountainous districts, including Thanh Chuong,AnhSon,YenThanh,NghiaDan,TanKy,QuyChau,QuyHop,QuePhong,ConCuong,TuongDuonngandKySon.Roads forcarsandvanshavenotyetbeenconstructed in10communesof4mountainousdistricts:KySon,TuongDuong,QuePhongandAnhSon.

Statistics collected from the Provincial Statistics Office (PSO) found that thepopulationinNgheAnin2002was2,943,570,outofwhichfemalesare1,502,520.Thenaturalpopulationgrowthratewas1.6percentin2002andthepopulationoftheworking agewas 1,638,345 people (female accounting for 828,736 people).304,110people live inurban areas and 2,639,450people live in the rural areas.Thereare16ethnicminoritygroupslivingintheprovincewiththetotalnumber401,050people.TheThai have the largestpopulationwith 283,129people;Thoethnicgrouphas57,736people includingbothDanLaiandTayPoonggroups;KhoMu ethnic group has 28,687 people andHMong group has 27,640 people.Poorhouseholdincidenceinthe10mountainousdistrictsis23.9%.

Thetotalrevenueoftheprovince in2002wasVND10,870,701ofwhichrevenuefromAgriculture,ForestryandFisheryaccountsfor40.4%.25.8%ofrevenue isgenerated by industry and construction. Revenue from services accounts for33.9%. Themonthly average per capita incomewasVND 240,000 in 2001, ofwhich themonthly average income was VND 603,000 in the areas and VND208,000inruralareasrespectively.

Educationandhealthcareserviceshave reachedvillages.Thereare678primaryschools with 375,265 pupils in the 20022003. There are 489 lower secondaryschools locating in the province with 319,962 pupils and 84 upper secondaryschoolswith 121,434 pupils. There is oneUniversity in the province. There are


16

6,000hospitalbeds. Nghi Loc District NghiLocdistrict is located in theSoutheastofNgheAnprovince.Located inaplainarea,thenaturalareaofNghiLocdistrict is739.09squarekm.TheDistrictbordersDienChaudistrictintheNorth,YenThanhintheWest,CuaLotownintheEast andVinhCity in the South.HighwayNo. 1 runs through thedistrict.Although thedistrict is close to the coast, theamountof rainfall is the smallestcomparedtootherdistricts intheprovince.Land inthisdistrict,particularlytheareaof land located in theWestofHighwayNo.1, isnot fertile.Onlypeanuts,sesameandsweetpotatoescangrow.However,theyieldisverypoor.BesidesthatNonagriculturaltradeshavenotdevelopedinthisdistrict.Therefore,NghiLocisconsideredoneofthepoorcoastalcommunesinNgheAnprovince. There isonedistrict town,QuanHanh,and33 communes in thedistrict.QuanHanh is theadministrativecentreof thedistrict.Thereare3mountainousand4coastal communes. The population of the district is 213,996 people of which109,055arefemale.Thepopulationintheworkingageis119,530,outofwhichare60,853female. Agriculture,fisheryandaquiculturearekeyindustriesinthedistrict.Keycropsinthe area are rice,peanuts, sesame, andmaize.The averageproductivity of riceproductionpercapitais310kilogramsannually.Thereare33enterpriseslocatingin thedistrict.Total revenuegenerated from these industries in2002wasVND153,832million.Thereare37primaryschoolswith27,024pupilsand5 juniorsecondaryschoolswith8,481pupilsinthe20022003.According to the statistics collected from the survey on hunger and povertyconductedbytheprovincein2000,theincidenceofpoorhouseholdsofNghiLocDistrict is 17.4 percent and the average percentage of poor households in theprovinceis19.7percent.Nghi Thai Commune NghiThaicommuneislocatedinthelowlandarea,5kmawayfromVinhCityintheNortheast.Thecommuneis20kmawayfromtheNghiLocDistrictcenter.Thereare11villagesinthecommunewiththetotalpopulationof8,200with1,776households.A totalof4,019peoplearenowofworkingage.Education levels inthis commune are poor, and then it is very difficult for people living in thiscommune to absorb modern and advanced technologies with their currentbackground.Nghi Thai is a poor agricultural commune. Severe natural conditions havesignificantlylimitedagriculturalproductioninthecommune.Thenaturalareaofthecommune is905.4hectares,ofwhich,paddyricearea is264.3hectares.113.0

Overview

17

hectare is used for raising other crops. Lands for forestry account for 124.6hectares. Asphalt roadsarenotyetavailable in the commune. Intercommunal roadsaremadeofsandandsoil,andthenthosearenotconvenientfortraveleveninthedryweather.Carscanonlyreach8outof11villagesinthecommune.

ThereisonehealthcenterinNghiThaicommunewith5staffincluding3nursesand2assistantdoctors.There isoneprimaryschoolwith945pupilsstudding in30classeswith15classrooms.There isalsoa lowersecondaryschools located inthiscommunewith849pupils,studyingin19classes.Pupilshavetostudyintwoshifts in 12 classrooms. Facilities and equipment in those two schools are verypoor.Pupilsarestudyinginanoldbuildingandteachingaidsarehardlyavailable.Themajorityoftheteachersgraduatedfrompedagogicalcollegesandonlyafewofteachersareuniversitygraduates.

NghiThaiisoneofthepoorestcommunesinthedistrictduetopoorproductioncapacity, dependency on natural conditions, poor educational level and littleopportunitiesofnonagriculturalactivities. It isestimated that the incidenceofpoorhousehold inNghiThai commune is 25% (according toPSO andDOLISA in 2000).With the aim to achievepoverty reduction, agricultural andproduction activeshave been promoted by the commune. The following activates have beenimplemented:

Newkindsoftreeshavebeenintroduced.Newvarietiesoftreeswithhighyieldshavebeenintroduced.Theareaofpaddyricehasbeenreduced,andthen rice is substituted by a new variety of peanut. In addition,morevegetablesandotherhighqualitycropsareraisedtosupplyCuaLoTownandVinhCity.

Anewkindofhybridcowhasbeenofferedtothehouseholds.Themodeloffarmsraisingchickenandducksforeggsispromoted.

Promotingnonagricultural employment:developingbamboo and rattanproductsandhandicrafttrades.Now,thousandsofpeopleareengagedinhandicrafttradeswiththeaverageincomeofVND400500,000permonth

AcertainproportionoftheworkforcehadbeenmigratedtoHoChiMinhCitytoworkinfootwearorgarmentindustries.Otherworkershavebeensentabroadasforeignworkers.

Nghi Thai commune is entitled to various hunger eradication and povertyreductionprogramssuchastheVietnamGermanyLoanprogramwiththebudgetofVND500million.Anotherproject,whichisfundedbytheWorldBankwiththebudget of VND 2.7 billion, aims at upgrading commune infrastructurecommencedin2002.

Tuong Duong District TuongDuongisamountainousdistrictlocatedintheWestofNgheAnProvince.It isoneof thepoorestdistricts in theprovince.TuongDuong is 200km away


18

fromVinhCity,andsharesaborderwithLaos.

Theareaofcultivated land in thiscommune is1,026.07hectares,ofwhich1,916hectares isused for regular cultivation.Theareaof landbeing irrigated isverysmall.21,846hectaresofforestisbeingcaredforbythecommune.ThepopulationofTuongDuong is72,000people living in13,717householdsofwhich35,684are female.Theannualpopulationgrowth rate is1.6percent.Thenumberofpeopleofworkingageis28,600people,outofwhich13,553peoplearefemale.Withregard to theethnicgroups living inTuongDuongcommuneby June30th,2003, approximately two thirds of the population is of Thai ethnicity. Kinhaccountsfor9%andtheremainingarefromKhm,HmongandTay.

Totalpopulation: 72,888 peopleOfwhichThai 53,714 (73.7%)KhMu 8,520 (11.7%)Kinh 6,548 (9.0%)HMong 2,866 (3.9%)Tay 564 (0.8%)Hdu 515 (0.7%)Others 161 (0.2%)

The district is comprised of two communes and 1 provincial town,Hoa Binh.Thereare545kmofroads,ofwhich38kmareasphaltedand507kmarepavedwithrock.Inaddition,thereare99kmofwaterwaysinthedistrict. There are 24 health care centers including 1 hospital, 3 intercommunal healthcentersand20communehealthcenters,withthetotalof193beds.Thereare272healthworkers including17universitygraduates,68whohavegraduated fromsecondary technical health care school and the remaining are nurses andmidwives.Thereare58schoolsintheareaincluding39primaryschools,17lowersecondaryschools and two upper secondary schools. There are 163 classes at thekindergarten level, 853 classes atprimary level, 306 classes at lower secondaryleveland41classesatuppersecondarylevel.Thereare1,462teachersteachinginthoseinstitutionsandthenumberofpupilsatalllevelsis22,218. Revenue generated from productions in the district in 2002was VND 127,108billion (constantprice in 1994).The total annual revenue keeps growing in therecentyearswiththerateof1015%.Theeconomicstructureisasfollows:

AgricultureForestryFishery: 53.6% (ofwhichforestryaccountsforonethird)

Overview

19

Handicraftandconstruction: 37.4%Commerceandservices: 9.0%

Recently, economic structure is changing with the development of forestry,agriculture and fisheries. The proportions of industry and handicrafts andcommerce and services are also increasing.Handicraft and construction in thisareafocusesonproducingmaterialsforconstruction,foodprocessingandtimberprocessing.686peopleareconductingsmallbusinessandofferingprivateservices(accountingfor2.4%ofthelabourforce).Totalfoodproductivity(riceequivalent)is11,384tonsoverthecultivatedareaof11,916hectares.Theaverageproductivityis0.117tonsperhectare.

TuongDuongisoneofthedistrictswiththehighestincidenceofpoorhouseholdsinNgheAnprovince,takingonlyafterKySondistrict.Dataofthesurveyconductedin2000byPSOandDOLISAshowsthatincidenceofpoorhouseholdsinTuongDuongwas61.2%.Reportsfromthedistrictshowthatthepoorhouseholdsinthecommuneare46.2%.bythefirsthalfof2003with33,471poorpeople,areductionof2.9%comparedtothelasthalfof2002.

29,649poorpeople(equivalentto88.6%ofthepoor)havebeenofferedhealth insurancecertificates.

Loanshavebeenofferedto3,738householdswiththeamountof(debitof)VND9,957billion.UnduedebtsnothavebeenpaidaccountforVND762million.TheamountofVND903.4millionhasbeenofferedtojobplacementprogrammes.Thedistricthasallocated32 tonsof rice to itspopulationduringdifficultmonths tosave itspopulationfromhunger.Thedistrictalsospent theamountofVND120milliontoprocurefemalecalvesfor8extremelydifficultcommunesin2002.Giftshavebeensentto68victimsofAgentOrangeand32poorhouseholds.

The hunger elimination and poverty reduction program has substantiallyimproved the livelihoods of the communes population, particularly the poor.However,loanshavenotbeenutilizedandadvancedtechnologieshavenotbeenapplied in thedaily life.Furthermore,cooperationamongconcernedagencies isnotstrongoreffectiveenoughinimplementingparticularprogrammes.

Tam Dinh Commune TamDinhisamountainouscommuneinTuongDuongdistrict.Thecommuneislocated200kmawayfromVinhCityand20kmawayfromHoaBinhtown(thedistricttownofTuongDuong).Thenaturalareaoflandinthiscommuneis13,600hectareswith68.8hectaresofpaddyrice.Theyraisetwocropsayear.However,thereisnoirrigationsystemavailableinthiscommune.Thereare7,462.3hectaresofforestlandincludingthePuMatnaturereserveareaalongHighwayNo7.Themajorityofthelocalpopulation(accountingfor98.8%)isofThaiethnicity.

Thecommunecomprisesof7villages,includingQuangPhuc,QuangYen,Quang


20

Thinh, Dinh Phong, Dinh Tien, Dinh Thang, and Dinh Huong. Travel andtransportinthesevillagesareverydifficultinsomecases.Inordertocometothecommunecentre,localpeoplehavetotakeboats,andthenwalkortakemotorbiketaxies. There is no marketplace in the commune center. There is one lowersecondary school, two primary schools and other kindergarten classeswith thetotalnumberof1,133pupils.Compulsoryprimaryeducationisbeingpromotedinthecommune.

Thereare779householdslivinginTamDinhcommuneatthemomentwith3,934people,outofwhich1,888peoplearefemale.1,573peopleinthecommuneareofworkingage.

HighwayNo.7runsthroughthiscommune.VillageslocatedalongtheHighwayarebetteroffandthesevillagesaretargetsofthePuMatproject.VillageslocatedontheothersideofLamRiverarepoorerduetopoortransportsystemandalackofpaddyfields.Thosecommunesdonotoftenhaveaccesstomassmediaduringthe flooding season.During the growing season, local people often go to theirterracedfields,bringingbambooshootsanddriedmeatsforfood.

Total revenue fromagricultureand forestproduction in2002wasVND1,604,464thousand. The average income per capita (rice equivalent) is 239.7 kg andVND35,000 (money equivalent) per month. Seven hunger eradication and povertyreductionprogramsandtheProgrammeNo135arenowongoinginthecommunesince 1998 with the total budget of VND 609.5 million. 229 households arebeneficiaries of the programs (accounting for 37.4 percent of the communehouseholds).Agreatnumber ofworkshopshavebeen conductedby thePuMatProject to transfer the technical knowledge in afforestration, planting orchards,growingrice,raisingbuffaloes,pigs,andducksanddeveloping31hectaresofforestgardens.

TamDinh is one of themost difficult communes inNgheAn province underProgram135.However, livelihoodsof the localpopulationhavebeen improvingoflate.In2000,findingsofthesurveyconductedbyPSOandDOLISAindicatedthattheincidence of hunger and poverty in Tam Dinh is 68.2 %. Reports of the communeindicated that there were 503 hungry and poor households in 2000 with the averageincome of less thanVND 80,000 permonth (accounting for 61.6% of the communeshouseholds).Theproportionofhungryandpoorhouseholdswassubstantiallyreducedto38% in2002.Over50%ofthepoorhouseholdshavemanagedtoescape frompoverty.Communereportsshowthat213poorhouseholdshaveescapedformpovertyoverthelasttwoyears.

Accordingtocommunestaff,loansofferedbythegovernmenthaveimprovedthelivelihood of the community. Following Decree 02 issued by the governmentregardingplantationdevelopment,theamountof loanshas increasedbyVND5to10million.Agricultureextensionactiveshavealsobroughtpositivebenefitstothelocalpopulation.Incaseswheremembersofthefamilyhavemigratedtootherplacesandcountriestowork,thefamilycanreceiveremittancesthathelpthemto

Overview

21

rapidlyescapefrompoverty.

In2003,1,393healthinsurancecardshavebeenofferedtothepoor.26householdshaving victims of Agent Orange have received supports. The commune hasallocated2,500kgofricetothepoorforhungereradication.9,248kgofiodinesalthas been provided to the community, and each pupil has received from 611notebooksfortheirstudy.

22

Chapter 1: Poverty and Its Determinants

Current perspectives Situation and trend of poverty reduction in Nghe An Province Similarly to other provinces,NgheAn has gained substantial achievements inhunger eradication andpoverty alleviation for the lastdecade.However,beingcharacterized as a province with severe climate, poor socioeconomicdevelopment,slowgrowthrateandover50percentofdistrictsandcommunesaremountainous ones,NgheAn is classified as one of the poor provinces of thecountry. At the VLSS 1992/93 and 1997/98, data on povertywas not disaggregated byprovince, and only its data by region is available at present. Thus, seeing thepoverty rate in theNorth Central at the time, general poverty rate are 74.5%,48.1%,andfoodpovertyrateis35.5%,19.0%respectively.AccordingtotheVHLSS2002/03,generalpovertyrateis43.9%,andfoodpovertyrateis17.5%. In early 1996, byMOLISA standard, poverty incidence was 36 % (if the oldpoverty linewasapplied)whilst thenationalpoverty incidencewas24percent.Particularly, poverty incidence in themountainous areaswas over 60 percent.ResultsoftheSurveyonPovertyconductedbyPSOshowthatpovertyincidenceinNgheAnprovince in 2000was 19.7%.However,dataprovidedbyDOLISAshows that the poverty rate was 14.7 % by June 2003, of which 0.12 % ofhouseholdsareentitledtosocialreliefprograms.Itistargetedthatbytheendof2003,povertyincidencewilldecreasetofewerthan13percent. One of the targets in Provincial target programme for hunger eradication andpoverty reduction is to decrease poverty rate to less than 10% by 2005 (byMOLISA standard). To achieve these objectives, Nghe An Province considerintroducingthefollowingmeasures:

1. Toraiseawarenessonhungereradicationandpovertyreduction 2. Toimplementhungereradicationandpovertyreductionprojectsand

programmeseffectivelyreachingtothepoordirectly 3. Tosupportthepoorintermsofhealthcare,education,agriculture,forestry,

fisheryextensionandtransferofadvancedtechnologies4. To strengthen the capacity of staff engaging in hunger eradication and

povertyreductionactivitiesatthecommunelevel.

Characteristics of the poor According to the intervieweeof thisPPA,generallyspeaking, livingstandard inNgheAnProvincehasbeenimprovedmainlyintermsofculturalandspirituallife.

Chapter 1: Poverty and Its Determinates

23

However,livingconditionshaverisenalittleintermofmateriallife.Thenumberof household having transport means such as motorbikes and bicycles hasincreased because those are needed for people to do business.However, theseimprovementsarenotseenevenlyinNgheAn.Accesstoaudiovisualequipmenthas improved inthecommune.Atpresent,80percent of households own TV sets although those are only blackandwhile(pricesrangebetween100,000150,000VNDperunit).Thesesetsenablethemtolearn about current events and access other information.Many localities in theprovincealsoorganizecultural,sportingandsingingeventsfortheyouth.Bothmiddleage respondents and old age respondents in two selected surveyareas shared the same view with regard to the material and spiritualimprovements in their communities. This view is also shared by Thai ethnicminority living inTuongDuongandKinhpeople living inNghiLocDistrictasfollows.

Livingstandard isbetter than threeyearsagobecause theStatehasprovidedsmallloansforthepeopletouseittopartiallyimprovetheirstandardsofliving.Butontheotherhand,theyalsoowelargedebts;iftheyselltheirhouseholdappliancesandotherthings topay thesedebts, then theywillbecomeverypoor.Their living conditionshaveactuallyimprovedthankstoloans,butwhenthedebtpaymentcomestoitsdue,peoplefallbackintopoorandhungersituationagain.Somehouseholdshavebecomeslightlybetteroff,butafterpayingdebts, their livingconditions returnback to thecommon level. It can be said that the peoples living standard have gotten a littlebetterineconomicterms,buttheimprovementisnotevidentandisuneven.(Focusgroupdiscussion,male,aged70,NghiThaicommune)Intherecentyears,thankstothegovernmentandlocaladministrationsprovisionofinformationandknowledge,livingstandardinvillagesandcommunesisbetterthanbefore. There is change in the economy although its insignificant. Transportationmeans,road,electricity,schoolandhealthfacilitiesshowamarkedimprovement.But,thereislittlerecordedimprovementinagriculturalcultivationandlivestockbreedingbecauseherearelimitationsinregardtothelandintheprovince.Thereisnovarietyin breeding animals.Crops production is hampered in a haphazardmanner, and apropermodelforplantingtreesisyettobeformed.(Male,aged49,Thaiethnicity,TamDinhcommune,TuongDuongdistrict)

As livings standard improves both culturally andmaterially, local people saidthatchildrenaremainlybeneficialmostbecauseofbettereducation services. Incontrast,womenslivesdontchangesomuch.

Life is better and everybody enjoys the improvement.Childrens conditions aremore improved comparedwith others in term of education because they receivemore and better care. (Focus group discussion,male, aged 37,Nghi Thaicommune)


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Local perception of the factor for poverty reduction in the past Inthisregard,themajorityofpeopleattributetheimprovementtothefollowingreasons:

Integrationofpeoples livelihood intomarket in conjunctionwithmoreeffectiveagriculturaldevelopmentpolicyatlocallevel

Moreloansgrantedtopeople Theintroductionofnewscienceandtechnology,holdingtrainingcourses,

agriculturalpromotionanddonatingofnewseedlingsandanimalbreeds Localdevelopmentprojects Livestockbreedingandaquaculturearesuccessfuldevelopment Infrastructureispartiallyimproved

Analysis of 160 quantitative questionnaires shows that local people living inTuongDuongandNghiLochavementionedvariousreasonsforimprovementsintheirlives.Themostcommonreasonswereasfollows.Theseareobjectivesone.

Factors PercentageInvestmentmadebytheGovernment 90.2%Havingdevelopmentprojectsexecutedintheprovince 67.9%Applyingmoderntechnicalknowhow,techniques 65.6%Fundingfromdonors 58.5%Betterelectricityandwatersupply 58.4%Developedmeansofcommunication 58.0%Moreemploymentsgenerated 55.7%Improvedtrainingandeducationservices 53.3%

Loanisoneofthereasonsforimprovinglivingstandardsandreducingpovertyformany poor household. In Nghi Thai commune, those households that have adecent and average living standardwere able to borrow, bymortgaging theirproperty,morecapital thanpoorhouseholds (Theywereentitled toborrow510millionVND).As for poor households, they borrowmoney from theWomensUnionorothermassorganizations:eachmayborrow3millionVNDatthemost.Usually, they use this capital for livestock, thus generating income for theirfamilies.

AhouseholdisclassifiedaspoorinThaiBinhvillage.Therearefivedaughtersinherfamilywithnoproperty.Lastyear, shewasgiven3millionVNDasa loanat lowinterestratefortwoyears.Sheusedthefundstobuyacalfatthepriceof3millionVND.Afteroneyear,shesolditfor4millionVND.Sheusedthesumtobuyanewcalfandspenttheresttocoverthe familysotherspending.Thisyear,her family isexcludedfromthelistofpoorhouseholds.

On the one hand, external supports provide resources for the local people to


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improve their livelihood.However, itmightmake localpeoplepassiveand relysolelyontheexternalresourcesratherthantryingtomobilizeandutilizeinternalstrengthsandresources.

PeoplesliveshavegottenbetterthankstoloansgrantedbyGovernmentandprojects(likePuMat).Previously,peoplecouldborrow12millionVND,butnowtheycanget 510 million VND in loans thanks to the governments Decree 02 on farmdevelopment (of course not all households are entitled to borrow so much).Furthermore, information dissemination and education about agriculturaldevelopmenthasbroughtpartialefficiencytosomehouseholdsbecauseithelpsthemknow(1)whatplantstheyshouldgrowand(2)whatanimalstheyshouldraisesoasto obtain the highest economic efficiency. Also, a number of families (about 120households)havechildrenworking in farawayplaces likeHoChiMinhCity,BinhDuong province,Hai Phong andNamDinh cities or working abroad as foreignlabourers. Their children remit money home to support their families (nearly 3millionVND per household on an average). (DeputyChairmanof thePeoplesCommitteeofTamDinhcommune)

Disparity of living standard between the poor and the non-poor Concerning uneven improvement,we can see differences in theways that thepoor and the nonpoor assess the improvements in their lives in recent years.Whilethemajorityofthenonpoorhaveapositiveevaluationofimprovementoftheir living standard, only a half of the poor perceives improving their livingstandardpositively.Someofthepoorevenperceivetheirsituationgettingworsethan before. This was especially stated in a focus group discussion of poorhouseholds.Figuresfromaquantitativesurveyofover160householdsinthetwocommunesalso show the same situation: 5055 % of poor households felt that life hasimprovedwhile7588%ofnonpoorhouseholdssharedthesameview.Similarly,approximately6%ofpoorhouseholdhavesameviewthatlifehadbecomeworse,whileonly1%ofthenonpoorhouseholdsgroupgavethesameanswer.Even for thosehouseholds thathave enjoyedbetter living conditions thanks totheirdevelopmentofproductionandbusiness,aquantitativesurveyshows thatthese improvements are unstable. The case of a male, a director of a smallenterpriselocatedinNghiThaicommunecitedbelowcanserveasanexample.

Myassessment is that the economic lifeofhouseholds inmyvillage in recentpastyearshasimprovedalittleeachyear.Thisisduetoincomegainedbygrownchildrenwhomoveawaytodobusinessandsendtheirearningstotheirrelativesathome.Thelatterusethese fundstoexpandtradeandhandicrafts,thuscreatingmore jobs.Myfamilyhashadacarpentryworkshopfortenyears.Itsasidelinebutitsearningsaremuchhigherthanfarming.Myworkshopemploys45workers,allofwhomarelocalpeople.Therevenuefromitsworkshopfluctuatesbetween20and30millionVND.Ibuy wood in my hometown and from the State agencies. The land used to theworkshopbelongs tomy family. I carry outbusiness in apopularway: if someonewants tohave some carpentrydone, thenwewill come todo thework for them. Icannot expandmy business now.My employees income is rather high: each gets


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800,0001 million VND per month. The whole village has over 10 carpentryworkshops likemine. The peoples demand for the carpentry is growing, but itsdifficult todevelop the tradeasrawmaterial israre.Thepricesofrawmaterialarehighwhilethepricesof finishedproductsarecheap;thatswhywehavetotakeourremunerationasprofit.IcannothaveaccesstorawmaterialsbecauseatpresenttheState prohibits the exploitation ofwood andwe can onlymake use of sources notprohibited.Withthiswoodsupplysituation,itssureIhavetolimitproduction.Asmycarpentryworkshopisasmalloneandoperatesathome,Ihaventgonethroughanyprocedureswiththecommunesadministration,norhaveItopayanytax.Thecommunesadministrationagreesto letpeopleconducttheirbusiness.(Male,aged47,completedtheseventhgrade,ownerofacarpentryworkshopinThaiBinhvillage,NghiThaicommune)

Cause of poverty: local perception Agricultural production Withregardtodifficultiesexperiencedbythecommune inpovertyalleviation,afarmer,KinhethnicityinTuongDuonghadthefollowingcomments:

There has not beenmuch improvement in the communes living standard so farbecausemost of the inhabitantsheredepend on terraced fields.Aswehavenowetfields,wehavetorelyonnature.Intheyearswhenfarmingisfavorable,peoplehaveenough food to feed themselves for68months,but themajority (twothirds of thepopulation) lack food to keep them alive for between 68 months. Thanks to theGovernmentsgrantingof loans(ourcooperativealonereceiveda100million loan),people in the communehave been able touse the borrowed funds to raise commonanimals.This alsomade living standard a little better. (Focusgroupdiscussion,male,aged47,Kinhethnicity,DinhHuongvillage,TamDinhcommune)My familydoes farming,whichdependsentirelyontheweatherandnature.Oneofmy sons has to do another jobwith a lowwage.Each day, after paying all of hisexpenses,he gives the family5,000VND.As such, I can savemymoney to buy asmallbuffalo,abikeortorepairthehouse.(Female,aged52,ThaiCatvillage).

In-effective use of loan Anumberofotherpoorhouseholdsalsoreceivedloans.Buttheefficiencyoftheloanswas limited because of poor technical knowledge, restricted investmentsduetolimitedcapitalandattimesshortloandurations.AfarmerinNghiLochasfollowingcomment:

RecentlytheSocialPolicyBankalsohaslent2millionVNDtoeachpoorhousehold.Some familiesused the cash tobuy calvesothers raisedpigs,which improved theirlivestoadegree.However,thedurationoftheloansisveryshortandinterestmustbepaidmonthly.Forexample, iftheypurchasedacalf,theywouldhavetosell itveryquickly inordertorepaythedebt intime.Ifthey failtomakerepaymentwhen it isdue,thebankwillfinethembychargingahigherinterestrate,sothepoorwillbeina


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miserable condition too. I think the policy to help the poor is appropriate, but thedurationoftheloansgiventothemistooshortandtheycannotmanagetopaythemintime.(Male,aged53,inThaiBinhvillage).

Althoughitisnotstipulatedinwrittendocuments,householdsinthetwovillagesofNghiThaicommunesharescommonunderstandingthatifacertainfamilyhasborroweda loanfromonesourceandwasunabletopayitall,thefamilywouldnotbeentitledtoanotherloanfromothersources.Duetothislimitation,thepoorwereattimesunabletohaveaccesstosourcesofborrowingreservedexclusivelyfor them at lowinterest rates. This is an unfair regulation recognized by localstaff. Escaping frompoverty isabigchallenge forpoor farmersandethnicminoritiesliving in themountainous district like TuongDuongwhose education level ispoorandthefamilyarehavingalotofchildreneveniftheyhavereceivedgrantsandloansforpovertyalleviationprograms.

Imdisabled:oneofmylegswascutoffasatimberfellonandbrokeit.Myfirsttwodaughters havemarried andmy three sons are going to school.The familys totalproperty isvaluedat500,000VNDanda threecompartment thatchroofedhouse isalsoestimatedat500,000VND.Threeyearsago,ourfamilyreceived1.5millionVNDloanfromthelocalWomensUniontoraisecowsandhefailedtopaythedebtintimebecausehehadtosellthecowtocoverthemedicaltreatmentforoneofhissons.Onemonthago,Iwasgivena2milllionVND loan fromtheSocialPolicyBanktoraisepigs;howeverIcouldtakeonly500,000VNDbecause1.5millionVNDwasdeductedfromthepreviousloan.Ourfamilyhas900m2ofricegrowingland,1hectareofforestand200m2 ofsubsidiaryfoodcrop.Everyyearourfamilylacksfoodforsixmonths.Our family has a poor households book but has not yet received any assistance,exemptions or reductions. I have a health insurance card but I haventused it formedicaltreatmentbecausethecardcarriesmynamewhilemysonistheonewhofellsick.Idonotknowhowtousethecardbecausenoonehastoldmehowtouseit.Thecommunehasorganisedatrainingcourseonacreditprojectwhichmywifeattendedbecause Iwasdisabled.Thosehouseholdswithadecent livingconditionwereoftenable to borrow more money than poor households because they had property tomortgage.ButIknownothingaboutthepolicyforthepoor,andseldomlistentotheradio or watches TV. I practically only learn about State policies and otherinformationthroughtheheadofthecommune.(Male,poorpeasantinTamDinhcommune, aged 43, of Thai ethnicity, finished secondary school,with fivechildren)

Husbandless families

AmongthepoorhouseholdsinthetwovillagesofNghiThaicommune,therearemany familieswithout husbands: they are eitherwidowed, divorced, or havebeenleftbyhusbandswhohavegoneawaynevertoreturn.Afamilyisclassifiedasthepoorbecauseherhusbanddiedalongtimeago,herchildwasdisabledandshealonehastobringhimup.


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Womens situation Althoughlivingconditionsareimprovedingeneral,livelihoodofpoorfemalesinthecommunehasnotbeenimprovedmuch,comparedwiththatofmales.

Women still lead a difficult life because theymust do all of thework in livestockraisingand farmingalthough their livesalso improves. (Focusgroupdiscussion,female,aged45,NghiThaicommune)Men have enjoyed more benefits from development over the past three years. Incontrast,Womenhavetoworkharderbecausetheyhavetobringupchildrenandhavemoreworktodo.Innormalmonths,peoplestillhavericeandsweetpotatoformeals.ButinJanuaryandFebruary,mostofwomeninthecommunehavetocatchcrabsandshellfish,whichisveryhardandmiserable.(Focusgroupdiscussion,female,aged40,ThaiBinh)

Pessimistic perception and Resignation of the poor While explaining the causes of poverty and hunger, local people and officialsoftenmentionthepoorsperceptionofresignation.Infact,thepoorareaffectedbyan inferioritycomplexwhichmakes themresigned to theirfate.Liferequiresthem tobe resourceful, toknowhow tomanage and to calculate themeans toescapefrompoverty.

AsadeputychairmanoftheNghiLocdistrictsFarmersUnionhassaid:

Theyhavetopondertheirconditionand findmeasures[toescape frompoverty].Nootherpersoncanhelpyoubutyourselfandothermeasuresarebutadditionalimpacts. Agroupofthepoorhascroppedupwhoareresignedtotheirfateandlazylazyinworkandinthinking.

Others Many people who responded to the interview said that the harsh naturalenvironmenthashadanimpactonallpeopleinthearea,andespeciallyrestrictspoor households ability to escape from poverty.Householdswith an averagelivingstandardcopedbetterthanpoorhouseholdsbecausetheyhavesomefundstodosmallbusiness in themarket inorder tosupplementdaily income,chieflywhen therearedroughtsand floods.Somehouseholds thathavememberswhohavemoved todobusinessoutsideof theprovinceare thought tohaveamorestableincomealthoughtheyfeelitssupportisinsignificant.

Classification of living standard at commune level

IntworesearchsitesofthisPPA,therearetwowaysofcriteriaforclassifyingthepoorand thehungeratcentraland local level,especiallydistrictandcommunelevel.Theobjectivesofitsclassificationisdifferentatcentralandlocallevel,thus


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itscriteriaand thepoverty ratecalculatedbasedon themarealsodifferent.Forexample,according to theVHLSS2002/03, thegeneralpovertyrateof theNorthCentral is43.9%,and thatofNgheAnProvince is43%.Thefoodpovertyrate isaccordingly17.5%fortheregionand16%forNgheAn.

Asforthepovertyratein2000calculatedbytheNgheAnPSO,19.7%,andthatoftheDOLISA by June 30, 2003 inNgheAnwas 14.7%. InNghiLoc andTuongDuongdistricts,twosurveysitesofthisstudy,thepovertyincidencein2000wasasfollows:(source:NgheAnPSO)

NghiLocDistrict 17.4%NghiThaiCommune 25.0% TuongDuongDistrict 61.2%TamDinhCommune 68/2%

Local criteria of classification of the poor: Income-based In contrast with statistical analysis at central level, the selection of poorhouseholdsatvillageandcommunelevelshastakenplacewithspecificpurposesinmindandhasbeenconductedinadifferentway.

InNghiThai commune, the classification of the living standard of communespeopledoesnotfollowthenationalcriteria.However,itisfixedbythecommunePeoplesCommittee,whichiscalculatedaccordingtotheaverageincomeofeachhousehold per month. The following table 1.1 shows this commune levelcriteriaoverthevariousperiodsasfollow:

Table 1.1: Criteria for ranking households: Case of Nghi Thai commune

Period Households with decent

living standard

Households with average

living standard

Poor households

Hungry households

1999 120,000VND 100,000VND 70,000VND 40,000VND

2000 & 2001 140,000VND 110,000VND 80,000VND 60,000VND

2002 150,000VND 120,000VND 80,000VND 65,000VND

Ineachvillage,thecriteriaofpoorhouseholdsdependontheaverageincomeofeachvillage.InthetwosurveyedvillagesofThaiBinhandThaiCat,thepovertyratesofhouseholdsare8.3% and 8.8% respectively.Thesepoorhouseholds areselectedbyfamiliesinthecommune,usingcriteriabasedontheaverageincome,for instance,of35,000VNDamonth inThaiCat.Acitizen inNghiThaihadthefollowingcommentinthegroupdiscussion.


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We have 12 householdswith an income of 35,000VND downward amonth.This35,000VND threshold isworked out among these households themselves.Becausetruly speaking, our locality is building a cultural village, if there aremany poorpeople,wellberatedlow,sowehavetobringdownthatpovertyline.Thereductionis made by people in the village and not stipulated by the commune (PeoplesCommittee).Thecommunehasfixed75,000VNDasthecriteriaforpoorhouseholds.(Male,aged37,inThaiCatvillage)Thevillagehas136households; if calculated bynational standard, there are about100 poor households. 6870% of households have an income of less than 100,000VNDpermonth.TheclassificationofpoorhouseholdsisconductedbythecommunePeoples Committee. When it comes to the village level, the Fatherland FrontCommitteeisinchargeofthisclassification.PoorhouseholdswillthenbeselectedbythePartycellandthePeoplesCouncil,basingonfamilycircumstancesandincomelevel.Itisstipulatedthathouseholdswithincomebelow100,000VNDpermonthwillbe classified as poor households but in fact those who have income of30,00040,000VND permonth in the village is considered as the poor.Also, poorhouseholdsshouldhavenopropertyandtheirmembersshouldbestruckbydiseasesandconstantillness.Assuch,thesuggestedpoorhouseholdsarebynatureinhungersituation.(Focusgroupmeeting,inThaiCatvillage,NghiThaicommune)

Local criteria of classification of the poor: Poverty ranking Aside from imcome criteria in classification at local level, the research teamconducted selfassessment to grasp peoples perception onwho is the poor.Localpeopleconsiderthefollowingsasanumberofothercriteria(whicharealsothecausesofpovertyandhunger)tojudgehouseholdpoverty.Theseincludethefollowings:

Householdsthathaveelderlyandsinglepersons Households that have a great number of children going to school and

onlyfewwhoengagein productivelabor Householdswhosemembersareconstantlystruckbydiseasesorillnesses Householdsthathaveneitherpropertynorcapital Householdsthatknowonlyfarmingandhavenoothersourcesofincome

Aspoorhouseholdshavenolabourstrength,experienceinconductingbusiness,norcapital forconductingbusinesswecanseethattherearemanycausestopoverty.As they are poor, they get poorer. Those welloff households have capital andexperience in doing business, thatswhy they get rich. (Female, aged 39, Focusgroupdiscussionofthepoor,QuangYenvillage,TamDinhcommune).

Assuch,thepeoplesperceptionofpovertycriteriaisobviouslynotmerelybasedonincomeinfoodorincash.Alongsidethesenorms,therearemanyothernormswhichpeopleuse toselectpoorhouseholds,suchashousingquality,householdappliancesandmeansofproduction,diseaseand illness.Thisalso indicates thediversityinthemanifestationofpovertyinvariouslocalities.


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Anotherpoorfemalewhoisyoung,ThaiethnicitylivinginTamDinhcommune,TuongDuongreferredtocriteriatorecognizepoorhouseholdsinthecommune:

Housesareonstiltsandhaveathatchroof.Familysincomeisnotstable.Thereisneitherpoultrynordomesticanimalsbutonlysomechickensandducks.Thereisneitherfurniturenorutensilinthehouseandwelackevenpotsandsaucepans.Ifthere is a lean harvest, then thewhole familywill be hungry.Money is verydifficulttoearnhere.Whenthereisnofoodinthefamily,theywillhavetogotothe forest to cutneohouzeaua and sell it to buy rice.Life is in a very difficultcondition, if they arepoor, theydonothave enough rice to eat and clothing towear.Thesearecriteriatoclassifypoorhouseholds.

Ifmeasuringpovertysituation in the twovillagesofThaiBinhandThaiCat (inNghiThaicommune)basedonthisperceptionbasedclassification,theresultsareasfollows:

Betteroffhouseholds 8.5%Averagehouseholds 37.5%Poorhouseholds 43.5%Hungryhouseholds 8.5%

According to thisassessment, in total52%ofhouseholds in the twovillagesarecategorizedasthepoor(ontheotherhands,theresultsofasurveyconductedbyNgheAnprovinces StatisticsOffice in 2000 show that thisproportion inNghiThaiwasonly25%).

InthetwovillagesofTamDinhcommune(TuongDuongdistrict),thepercentageofthepoor(poorandhungryhouseholds)risesto70.8%(ontheotherhands,thetotalpovertyrateis61.2%accordingtothecommunesclassificationanditsrateis68.2%accordingtoNgheAnPSOin2000).

Table 1.2: Ranking households made by people in 2 village of Tam Dinh Commune

Village Total

number of households

Rich and well-off

Households

Average Households

Poor Households

Very Poor Households

100 5 31 56 8 Quang Yen

100% 5% 31% 56% 8%

85 0 18 25 42 Dinh Huong

100% 0 21.2% 29.4% 49.4%

185 5 49 81 50 Total

100% 2.7% 26.5% 43.8% 27.0%


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We have also conducted interviews of representatives from 160 household(including all people invited to take part in focus group discussions and caseinterviewsduringthetimeofmakingPPAanumberofotherpeople).Theresultsoftheselfassessmentofhouseholdlivingstandardsshowthefollowing:

Wecanseebelowthatthepeoplesselfassessmentofpovertyinthesetwoareasismoderatelyconsistentanddiffersgreatlyfromtheaveragefiguresfor thewholeof the province.According to the peoples selfassessment (using their ratherpoorstandardnotedabove), theaveragepercentageofpoorhouseholds in theareasisnearly50%.

Table 1.3: Self-ranking of the living standard of 160 households in the two communes

Gender of participants Living standard Total

Male Female

Very poor 5.6% 2.2 % 10.1%

Poor 41.0% 34.8% 49.3%

Average 50.9% 58.7% 40.6%

Rather rich 2.5% 4.3% 0%

Total 100% 100% 100%

Actual process of identifying poor households Inbothresearchareas,althoughthelevelofpovertyandethniccompositionsarequite different, the process of assessing poor households is basically same.Generallyspeaking,democraticandequalprocessesareensured.Thisisbecausepeopleknowthatappropriateassessmentshouldbeconductedinordertoselectthe right people entitled to preferences and assistance provided by thegovernment lateron.However, itstillhassomevariation.InQuangYenvillage,TamDinh commune,TuongDuongdistrict, the fivemass organisations of thevillage (including Fatherland Front organization,WomensUnion,YouthUion,FarmersUnion,WarVeteranUnion) introduced a list of 40 households (eachorganisationrecommendedeightpersons)in2002.AsforDinhHuongCommune,the commune managerial board, which comprises representatives from theadministrationandmassorganizations,putforthalistforconsideration,andthenheldameetingwithlocalpeopleforendorsement. TheassessmentwasevenstricterinNghiThaicommune(NghiLocdistrict).First,communeofficialsworkedoutalistofpoorhouseholdsbasedonfamiliesincomewhichwasthenendorsedbythePartycellandtheFatherlandFront.Later,thelistwasputforthforthepeoplesselection.Peopleappreciatedthisprocessasbeingequalandopen. AmalefarmerinNghiThaicitedthat:


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The Party cellmade the specific assessment, after that the listwas subject toendorsementbytheFatherlandFrontandmassorganisationsinthevillage.Suchassessmentwasmadebytheseorganisations,butpeoplehavetoseeiftheselectionofpoorhouseholdswasrightorwrong;theinclusioninandexclusionfromthelistwereactuallydecideduponbythepeople.Generallyspeaking,theassessmentwasdemocraticwithopenvoting.(Male,aged37,ThaiBinhvillage)

Although the assessment was strict, people were not always meticulous incomparinghouseholdscircumstances.Insomecases,theygaveprioritytothosehouseholds thathavememberswhowere frequently affectedby illness so thattheyareentitledtofreemedicalconsultationsandtreatment.Somepeopleconsiderthatthenumberofpoorhouseholdshadbeendeterminedfromthedistrictandcommune levels,basedonwhetherthecommuneisrichorpoor.Thenumberofpoorshouldreduceeachyearsoastoshowachievementsinthemovementtoeradicatehungerandreducepoverty:

Theymake an allocation of thenumber ofpoorhouseholds in thisvillage and thatvillage, based onwhether this village is poorer or richer than that village and theassessment is temporarily judged on that basis. (Male, aged 47, in Thai Binhvillage)

Amalefarmerhasfurtherexplanation:

Whenweclassifyourvillagebyourselves inorder tocomparewithother localities,the number of poor households must be up to 130 poor households. However,according to thedirection of commune administration and thepolicy board,peopleneedtoselectthepooresthouseholdsamongthepoorfamilies.Asaresult,thenumberof the poor households limits to only 12 households. According to previousjudgments, they were hungry households. However, now with the new hungereradicatingpolicy, theyareclassified intopoor,nothunger... (Male,aged37,ThaiCatvillage).

Due to the tendency to care for achievements only and formalisticcompetition, theprovincial,district and commune levels all try to restrict andimpose thepercentageofpoorhouseholds in localities.To this end, they sometimesallocatesomequotastothelowerlevel.Acommunalstaffconfirmedthat:

Atpresent, allpoorhouseholds in the communehavebeen issuedpoorhouseholdsbooks,butitspossiblenumberofpoorhouseholdsisrestrictedbyhigherlevel.Inonecase,thecommunewasallocated350poorhouseholds,butthenumberselectedbythepeopleislargerthanthat.Thesolutionispoorhouseholdsmusttaketurntobelistedonto poor households books. (Chairman of TamDinh communes FatherlandFront)

AvillageheadinTamDinhcommunediscussedwithusduringtheinterviewon


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theassignedtargetforpovertyreductioninhisvillage:ThecommuneassignedQuangYenvillagewiththetargetofreducingthenumberofpoorhouseholdby15households.Butwhenthereductionwasassessedbythepeople,they judged that it had not taken place.The number of households escaping frompovertycouldnotexceedm

nghe an - world banksiteresources.worldbank.org/intvietnam/resources/nghean_ppa... · in may 2002,...

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