Báo cáo khoa học nông nghiệp " Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed " MS10 potx

1 Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development CARD PROJECT REPORT 030/06 VIE Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed MS10: Project Completion Report August 2010 1 Table of Contents 1. Institute Information ___________________________________________________ 2 2. Project Abstract _______________________________________________________ 3 3. Executive Summary ____________________________________________________ 3 4. Introduction & Background _____________________________________________ 4 5. Progress to Date _______________________________________________________ 5 5.1 Implementation Highlights ________________________________________________ 5 5.2 Smallholder Benefits______________________________________________________ 7 5.3 Capacity Building ________________________________________________________ 8 5.4 Publicity________________________________________________________________ 8 5.5 Project Management _____________________________________________________ 8 6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues___________________________________________ 9 6.1 Environment ____________________________________________________________ 9 6.2 Gender and Social Issues __________________________________________________ 9 7. Implementation & Sustainability Issues ___________________________________ 10 7.1 Issues and Constraints ___________________________________________________ 10 7.2 Options________________________________________________________________ 10 7.3 Sustainability___________________________________________________________ 10 8. Next Critical Steps ____________________________________________________ 10 9. Conclusion __________________________________________________________ 10 10. APPENDIX I ______________________________________________________ 12 11. APPENDIX II _____________________________________________________ 13 2 1. Institute Information Project Name Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed Vietnamese Institution Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development Vietnamese Project Team Leader Dr Nguyen Do Anh Tuan Australian Organisation University of Western Australia Australian Personnel Ms Sally Marsh, Dr Donna Brennan, Professor John Pluske, Dr Greg Hertzler (left UWA in Jan 2008), Dr Jo Pluske Date commenced 1 st May 2007 Completion date (original) 30 th April 2009 Completion date (revised) 30 th April 2010 Reporting period 1 st November 2008 – 30 th June 2010 Contact Officer(s) In Australia: Team Leader Name: Ms Sally Marsh Telephone: +61 8 6488 4634 Position: Research Assistant Professor Fax: +61 8 6488 1098 Organisation University of Western Australia Email: spmarsh@cyllene.uwa.edu.au In Australia: Administrative contact Name: Ms Erica Hodgson Telephone: +61 8 6488 1757 Position: School Manager Fax: +61 8 6488 1098 Organisation Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia Email: Erica.Hodgson@uwa.edu.au In Vietnam Name: Ms. Nguyen Thi Thinh Telephone: +84-4-37282551 Position: Researcher – Market Analysis Unit Fax: +84-4-37280489 Organisation Center for Agricultural Policy – Institute of Policy and Strategy Email: ntthinh2008@gmail.com 3 for Agriculture and Rural Development (CAP-IPSARD) 2. Project Abstract 3. Executive Summary The research work and documentation of the project have been successfully completed. Project activities during the 20 months since October 2009 to project completion included: • completion of analysis of the feedmill survey data, and writing a report of the descriptive statistics from the survey data (first draft finished in January 2009); • development of further survey questions specific for livestock producers, and implementation of this survey in November and December 2008; • data entry, cleaning and analysis of the survey data from livestock producers and incorporating these results into a report; • updating secondary data for the research reports; • research for and writing of a report exploring the policy role of IPSARD/CAP; • training for two CAP staff at UWA in August 2009 for 3 weeks; • stakeholder workshops held in Hanoi (December 2009) and Ho Chi Minh City (January 2010) to discuss results and invite comment; • completion of a Training Manual based on the project activities; and • writing of policy briefs for a final project workshop in Hanoi (May 2010) with a policy focus. Documents submitted to the CARD office in this period include: • Two detailed reports on the research work: o Small-Medium Enterprises in the Livestock Feed Sector in Vietnam: Vol I Livestock feed production; and The objectives of this project were to: 1) Build capacity at IPSARD in agricultural marketing research, specifically the value chain, industrial organization and production economics; 2) Understand the role and performance of SMEs in the animal feed sector in other countries and draw lessons for Vietnam; 3) Provide a quantitative assessment of the factors affecting the competitiveness of the animal feed industry in Vietnam; and 4) Provide policy recommendations to the government with regard to the efficiency of firms operating in the livestock feed sector, and provide advice to SMEs competing in the livestock feed sector. Standard agricultural economics techniques were used to quantify the characteristics of the animal feed industry, and to identify issues and opportunities for small enterprises in the animal feed supply chain. Two project research reports have been completed, documenting the results of the research assessing the factors affecting the competitiveness of SMEs in the livestock feed sector, and the use of industrial feed by livestock producers. Four policy briefs have been completed with recommendations from research results on the topics: Quality Control, Competitiveness of SMEs, Constraints facing SMEs, and Use of Feed. The capacity assessment demonstrated that there were positive impacts of the project on capacity of IPSARD/CAP staff, and a Training Manual has been completed. 4 o Small-Medium Enterprises in the Livestock Feed Sector in Vietnam: Vol II Feed use by pig and chicken livestock producers. • A Training Manual based on the research work undertaken. • A Policy Pathways Report outlining the role of IPSARD/CAP in policy formulation. • A report of the project’s impact on capacity of IPSARD/CAP staff based on benchmark and end-of-project assessments. • Four policy briefs based on the research work: o Quality control in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam; o Competitiveness of small-medium enterprises in the livestock feed production sector in Vietnam; o Constraints facing small-medium enterprises in the livestock feed production sector in Vietnam; and o Use of industrial and mixed feed by livestock producers in Vietnam. 4. Introduction & Background The underlying aim of this project was to investigate the circumstances under which SMEs in Vietnam can operate at an efficient level and compete with other firms or not, especially in the context of the globalization process. This project seeks to gain benefit from Australian collaboration in designing methodology that can be used in ongoing work at IPSARD. In this study the animal feed industry is being used as a case study, but the methods and lessons learned will be applicable in other areas of agricultural marketing. The proposed training and supervised research exercises will provide the IPSARD/MARD with a suitable methodology for ongoing work in quantitative policy analysis. The research approach used in the project has been captured in a Training Manual. The project was carried out using a combination of training courses, and supervised research exercises combining collection of secondary data, field work, analysis and synthesis of findings in reports and policy briefs. Training focussed on building skills and experience in market analysis, including value chain analysis, production economics, industrial organisation and analytical techniques. Field work was undertaken in seven provinces incorporating the three regions (Mekong Delta, South East region and Red River Delta) to cover a broad cross section of performance of animal feed enterprises. Local stakeholders were involved throughout the process, and findings communicated through workshops held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Specific activities and outputs under the project objectives included: Objective 1 : Build capacity at IPSARD agricultural marketing research, specifically in analysis of the value chain, industrial organisation, and production economics • Training workshops at IPSARD on survey and data collection techniques; and market analysis, including value chain analysis, production economics, and industrial organisation. • Training on data management techniques including: data entry in Microsoft Access, data cleaning in Stata, techniques in Microsoft Excel and Word. • On-the-job training for IPSARD staff on assessment of competitiveness of SMEs and other firms in the Vietnamese animal feed value chain. 5 • Development of a manual on how to conduct a study of competitiveness of SMEs that can be used in other studies to be implemented by IPSARD in the future. Objective 2 : Understand the role and performance of SMEs in the animal feed sector in other countries • Desk-top literature search and review of the nature, experiences and lessons of the animal feed industries in other countries, and the role of SMEs in the animal feed sector globally. • A study tour to Thailand to assess the organization of the livestock feed sector, and its applicability to Vietnam. Objective 3 : Provide a quantitative assessment of the factors affecting the competitiveness of the animal feed industry in Vietnam • Collection of secondary data to provide an up-to-date assessment of the animal feed industry in Vietnam, and, opportunities and challenges facing the sector. • Detailed surveys of livestock feed enterprises and livestock producers conducted in three regions to examine the value chain of the animal feed industry including an assessment of characteristics and costs of production, the nature of information and product flow, quality control standards and processes. • Compilation of two detailed reports on the research work: Small-Medium Enterprises in the Livestock Feed Sector in Vietnam: Vol I Livestock feed production and Vol II Feed use by pig and chicken livestock producers. Objective 4 : Provide policy recommendations to the government with regard to the efficiency of firms operating in the livestock feed sector, and provide advice to SMEs in the sector. • Four policy briefs were written on the topics: o Quality control in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam; o Competitiveness of small-medium enterprises in the livestock feed production sector in Vietnam; o Constraints facing small-medium enterprises in the livestock feed production sector in Vietnam; and o Use of industrial and mixed feed by livestock producers in Vietnam. These policy briefs were presented and discussed at a workshop held in Hanoi in May 2010. • Workshops were held in Ho Chi Minh City in January 2010 and Hanoi in December 2009, to report and discuss the findings of the research work with local stakeholders and with policy makers. 5. Progress to Date 5.1 Implementation Highlights Implementation highlights since October 2008 include: Implementation of the livestock producer surveys: A survey of pig and chicken producers was conducted as part of the overall project. The main objective of this producer survey was to get overall information on production characteristics of livestock producing households, and more importantly, 6 detailed information on feed use. Pig and chicken households were selected for the survey as these are the two most important livestock species in Vietnam in terms of meat production. The survey instrument was developed and piloted before being implemented during November and December 2008 in six of the same seven provinces where the feed mill survey was conducted: Ha Noi and Hung Yen in the north, and Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An and Tien Giang in the south. In total, 300 livestock producing households were surveyed: 50 households were interviewed in each province and these were almost equally divided between chicken and pig producing households. The sampling design for the 300 livestock producing households was based on the VHLSS 2006 framework, so that it would be representative of the overall production situation. Within each province, the aim was to interview 25 households producing chickens and 25 producing pigs. With consultation from the Livestock Division of provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDs), we selected one of the biggest livestock producing districts in each province. From that district, selection was narrowed to about four communes listed in the framework of VHLSS 2006 and having large numbers of households involved in chicken/pig production. However, in many cases we did not find enough households on the VHLSS 2006 list, as some of them at the survey time were no longer involved in livestock production, or were too distant to be surveyed because of our time and budget constraints. Instead, additional households were selected randomly for the survey, given their expected similarity to other producers in the survey sites. During the scoping activities carried out for the study, it became apparent that small scale livestock producers were often regarded as those who usually use raw combined feeds, low-protein materials (sometimes with contaminants), lacked adequate quality control and had poor equipment. On the contrary, large scale livestock producers were thought to mainly use industrial feed for their livestock. It is difficult to conclude which feeding pattern is more economical for households, as the cost paid for more expensive industrial feed may or may not be covered by reduction in the length of time the stock are raised (that is, greater feed efficiency). Therefore, in this study, the aim was to gain a deeper insight into feed use by different types of households in terms of scale, region, and breed type raised. It was hoped that these insights would provide some useful suggestions for SMEs in the feed production sector to survive in the competitive livestock feed market. The research therefore focused on answering the following questions: • How different is the livestock production system and production infrastructure between households by scale and region? • Are the marketing chains used for input procurement and output distribution by household types different? • How do households differ with regard to feed use: industrial versus raw/combined feed, Feed Conversion Ratios, feed cost per kg liveweight gain? • How does production cost and profit vary between livestock household groups? • Is there an opportunity for small and medium producers to directly access feed mills, especially SMEs? 7 The survey of feed mills looked at the supply of industrial livestock feeds, whereas this survey looked at the demand for animal feed. Results obtained on production and selling patterns, characteristics of livestock producing households and most importantly, their use of both industrial and raw feeds were analysed separately by production scale and region. The information not only provides data on overall livestock production in Vietnam, but also helps make the link between feed providers (mills) and feed users (producers). Thus we have some basis for policy recommendations for small-medium feed mill enterprises in their dealings with both small-medium and larger livestock producers. Completion of the data analysis and writing of the research reports: During the reporting period the data cleaning and analysis of information collected from both the feedmill and producer surveys were completed by the CAP team, under the guidance of Dr Brennan and Ms Marsh. Two research reports were written collaboratively and revised after stakeholder workshops held in December 2009 and January 2010. Final versions of the Reports were submitted to the CARD office in June 2010 as part of Milestone 8: • Small-Medium Enterprises in the Livestock Feed Sector in Vietnam: Vol I Livestock feed production and • Small-Medium Enterprises in the Livestock Feed Sector in Vietnam: Vol II Feed use by pig and chicken livestock producers. Visit to UWA for training by CAP staff: In August 2009, two CAP staff visited UWA for 3 weeks to undergo intensive training in data analysis and report writing. This is discussed in more detail under Section 5.3, Capacity Building. Stakeholder workshops held in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to communicate results: Stakeholder workshops to communicate results from the draft research reports were held in Hanoi in December 2009, and Ho Chi Minh City in January 2010. Ms Marsh attended the workshop in Hanoi. Discussion at both workshops was lively, and following the workshops the reports were revised in line with feedback from stakeholder participants. Summaries of the participants and discussions are provided in Appendices I (Hanoi workshop) and II (Ho Chi Minh City workshop). Final policy workshop held in Hanoi: A final project workshop was held in Hanoi on May 21 st 2010. The focus of the workshop was to present and discuss the 4 policy briefs. Around 25 participants attended the workshop and once again discussion was animated. Detail about workshop participants and the discussion was provided to the CARD office in the response to the appraisal for Milestone 8. 5.2 Smallholder Benefits At this end of the project it is difficult for us to identify smallholder benefits, but this remains a likely impact of the project in the medium to long term, through increased efficiency and competitiveness, and better quality control, in the livestock feed sector. 8 The project identified clear strategies for competitiveness of SMEs in the sector, and these have been documented in the project reports and policy briefs. The data from this project has been very useful in the agriculture sector modeling efforts being conducted for ACIAR project AGB 2005-113 (Structural adjustment implications of trade liberalisation in Vietnam), and this too is expected to have positive impacts for small holder agriculture in the long term. 5.3 Capacity Building During this reporting period, the hands-on training at CAP in Hanoi provided by Dr Brennan and Ms Marsh focussed on data cleaning, data analysis and report writing. In August 2009, two CAP staff (Pham Thi Lien Phuong and Nguyen Thi Thinh) visited UWA for 3 weeks to undergo intensive training in data analysis and report writing. This visit provided these two young researchers with an opportunity to experience the working life and facilities at UWA, and participate in a seminar, meet with staff in the School, as well as focus on the project work. A schedule of the activities during the 3 week visit is attached as Appendix III. A Training Manual was compiled by Dr Brennan and Ms Marsh and submitted as part of Milestone 9. This documents the methodology used in the project, and includes material from training courses conducted during the project. Ms Phuong and Ms Thinh also contributed material to the Training Manual. 5.4 Publicity Workshops held during this reporting period have helped to publicise the project work. Documents distributed at these workshops included: • summaries of the two project research reports; • powerpoint presentations outlining the research results; and • four policy briefs (at the final workshop). A seminar on the project results was given at the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics (SARE) at UWA in August 2009. A discussion was given at CAP in December 11 2009 before the stakeholder workshop held in Hanoi to review the project results and fix presentation contents 5.5 Project Management Dr Donna Brennan returned to Australia from Hanoi in December 2008 and took maternity leave from January to May 2009 inclusive. This put pressure on project completion, as her input was essential for the completion of Milestones 8 and 9. Dr Brennan was also unable to travel to Vietnam to participate in the stakeholder workshops and project completion workshop. One trip originally budgeted for Dr Brennan was used by Ms Marsh to enable her to attend the final project workshop in May 2010 (and work with the team in Hanoi prior to this). Because of the late start up to the project, Ms Marsh had an existing contract with UWA to employ her on the CARD project (at 20%) through to end September 2009. Following that date, Ms Marsh worked on the project partly in her own time and 9 partly in an “in-kind” capacity funded by the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics. As previously indicated, options for in-kind assistance from the School of Agricultural and Resource Economics (SARE), following the departure of Dr Greg Hertzler, proved difficult to identify. Both Dr Brennan and Ms Marsh have provided more than their budgeted time input to the project, which has assisted with the provision of the technical assistance and training that is required. Ms Pham Tuyet Mai left CAP in January 1 st 2009 and her key role in the project was competently taken on by Ms Pham Thi Lien Phuong. As of August 4 2010, Milestones 8 and 9 have been submitted and accepted by the CARD office. 6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues 6.1 Environment The research work found that environmental issues and concerns were not high priority issues or constraints of livestock feed enterprises. This is likely to be a reflection of inadequate implementation of environmental legislation. Feed enterprises did identify access to land as a major constraint, and this may put pressure on their ability to meet environmental considerations (e.g. location away from residential areas). Similarly, environmental issues and concerns were not identified as key issues by livestock producers. However, during the survey work, the project researchers noted that animal production often occurs in close proximity to housing, which suggests that environmental issues exist but are not well recognised. 6.2 Gender and Social Issues No specific gender issues or concerns were identified by the project research. However, the key focus of the research was on production, supply chains and competitiveness, and the large survey was only able to include a few questions relevant to gender issues. Quality control of livestock feed products was confirmed by the research as a key issue for Vietnam. Foreign-owned and mills owned by joint venture partners have higher standards of quality control. Domestic feed mills need to be assisted to improve their standards of quality control. If long term food safety and export potential is to be reached, the Government of Vietnam needs to address quality control issues associated with the production of livestock feed. A number of options to address this were recommended in the project research report and policy brief on quality control. Few feed mills nominated either quality control or technical support and training as needing support from the government. We would suggest that this may be a perspective detrimental for the livestock feed sector. Better quality control is needed [...]... increases in recent years in the costs of energy and livestock feed raw materials have the potential to bias the data from the research work, as well as put pressure on SMEs in the sector in general In particular, since the survey work was completed, imports of raw materials for livestock feed have dramatically increased in Vietnam Problems associated with the procurement of raw materials were clearly a major... participants in the workshop, including: - relevant Departments of MARD, IPSARD (Agroinfo, Units) - CARD program - Animal Husbandry Institute, Agricultural Planning and Projection Institute - National Center for Agricultural and Fishery Extension - Associations: Vietnam Animal Feed Association (VAFA), Vietnam Poultry Association (VIPA) - Hanoi Agricultural University No.1 - Domestic Trade Policy Dept – Ministry... of staff at IPSARD/CAP From the overall comparisons between the baseline and end -of- project results of KSA of IPSARD/CAP staff it is clear that capacity has improved in many areas (see “Assessment of capacity improvement within IPSARD/CAP: Baseline survey of knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) compared to end -of- project survey of KSA” submitted as part of Milestone 9) More specifically, the comparison... Sustainability The location of Dr Brennan in CAP during a large part of this project has contributed to the sustainability of the skills and knowledge being applied by the project team in this project Skills and knowledge gained by IPSARD/CAP staff during the project were assessed, and reported as part of Milestone 9 8 Next Critical Steps Activities for the project and documentation of research results have been... Following the final project payment (after completion and acceptance of Milestone 10), the research team intends to print and distribute the Research Reports as proceedings IPSARD/CAP also plans that the main results and policy recommendations from the CARD project, together with results and recommendations from other projects related to livestock sector, will be collated into a book and published for. .. Conclusion The project has been successfully completed, with all planned activities undertaken and all project documentation finalised Beginning and end -of- project assessments were used to assess the impact of the project on knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) of IPSARD/CAP staff Results from the baseline and end -of- project survey were compared, and the end -of- project results include a comparison of respondents.. .in the sector, and it seems unlikely that this will be achieved voluntarily by the large number of domestic mills 7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues 7.1 Issues and Constraints The late start to the project, and staffing issues with the Australian team put pressure on the completion time of the project However, activities for the project were successfully completed in May 2010 Sharp increases... of Commerce and Industry - DARDs - Feed enterprises, farmers - International institutions (Prosperity Initiative, ILRI) Also research team: Sally, Phuong, Thinh, Nguyen, Phong, Hoa, Que Nga 3 Purpose: - Present preliminary results from two major surveys to stakeholders and participants for comment and feedback before finalisation of reports 4 Presentations: - Welcome remark: Mr Hue, Mr Phong, Ms Sally... Background info: Sally SME result: Phuong Producer result: Thinh 5 Questions and comments on the workshop were provided by: Mr Nguyen Van Huong (National Center for Agricultural and Fishery Extension) Mr Tran Cong Xuan (VIPA) Mr Le Ba Lich (chairman of VAFA) Mr Nguyen Van Huong (National Center for Agricultural and Fishery Extension) Mr Ngo Minh Hai: Hanoi Agricultural University Another representative... University (Department of Veterinary & Livestock, Department of Economics) - South CAP - Feed enterprises - Feed agent/farming household Also research team: Phong, Hoa, Phuong, Thinh, Thuy (admin support) 3 Purpose: - Present preliminary results from two major surveys to stakeholders and participants for comment and feedback before finalisation of reports 4 Presentations: - Welcome remark: Mr Phong, . Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed Vietnamese Institution Institute of Policy and Strategy. in three regions to examine the value chain of the animal feed industry including an assessment of characteristics and costs of production, the nature of information and product flow, quality. Understand the role and performance of SMEs in the animal feed sector in other countries • Desk-top literature search and review of the nature, experiences and lessons of the animal feed industries