[Vnbiz] Rural Development Strategy

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

 

Let''s start working on a rural  development strategy.  Rural development so far appear to have no strategy at all.  Poverty alleviation has been relatively successful; that is a major part of rural development.   But it seems this is a nationwide phenomenon due to national economy success more than a strategy on rural development.  The government has a policy of supporting business investment in remote areas (vung xa vung sau), but this policy seems not very successful so far.

 

One of the major phenomena in demographic makeup is that we have been seeing and will continue to see for the next 50 years immigration waves of young rural folks into major cities in search for schools and jobs.  This will create many mega cities as well as putting tremendous urbanization pressure on major cities, at the same time it will reduce the number of young workers in the rural areas greatly.

 

The key to development an rural area, like every where else, is "opportunity"--people have to have opportunities in order to want live and work in an area.  Young students need education opportunity, adults need job opportunity and business needs business opportunity.  How do we bring these kinds of opportunity into a rural area?  In some area with special natural endowment, such as a beautiful beach or a gold mine, businesses come first for business opportunity.  Businesses naturally gather workers and their families around them, from there spring up schools, hospitals, markets, churches and temples and shops. 

 

Unfortunately, most rural areas of the country do have beaches or gold mines and businesses don't flock in their way.  Government investment incentives like tax relief may not be good enough to induce business.  The problem is that in poor rural areas we don't have infrastructure to support business (electricity, road, telecommunications, Internet), no good employees (because most good young workers have left for the cities), no good living environment for workers and their families (markets, schools, churches, temples, recreational  activities).  So how do we develop a poor district without good business opportunity?

I.   The best approach is for the government to develop education opportunity in such an area--i.e., giving the students high schools and colleges.  And here is the logic:

 

     1.   The lowest cost for the national economy is to have local shools for students. Without local schools, a number of students will leave for schooling in the city; the schooling cost for these students (in the city) is probably 3 or 4 times the schooling cost in the local area (if there is a local school).  A big number of other students who can't afford schooling in the city will simply stop schooling.  The lost of brain power in these students and its adverse impact for the national economy can be tremendous.  To avoid these costs, building schools in the local area is the least costly way.

 

     2.  The building of a school requires/encourages the building infrastructures around the schools (road, electricity, running water, telecommunications).

 

     3.  Schools tends to build clusters of residences and businesses around them.

     4. Schools keep potential workers in the area.

 

     5.  All the above provide incentive for businesses to come in to invest in the area, especially if there is tax incentive from the national and local governments.

 

If the government build high schools and two-year colleges throughout the countryside, the sites for these schools will evolve into small town centers, which will reduce some urbanization pressure on major cities and generate a number of small towns throughout the countryside.  Thus, I would recommend building high schools and two-year colleges as the main "engine" of a rural development strategy. 

 

II.  In addition, the government should encourage the development of agriculture related industries--food processing, dry food, dry fruit, canning, etc.  

 

     1.  There should tax incentive for new businesses in these industries. 

     2.  Technical support through government's agriculture extension services and international NGO. 

     3.   Help these enterprises become more sophisticated by encouraging them to establish their own business associations.

 

(Note:  This year Vai thieu in Hai Duong has such a big harvest that the price comes down tremendously and all the farmers lose big.  This situation would be alleviated greatly of there is some small canning facility in the area.  Canning can be done with very small, almost home-style, facilities).  The government needs to have a specific policy and specific personnel to support the development of feed processing industries. 

 

III.  Making more loans available to farmers for equipments and input for production (seed, fertilizer, animal feed and medicine, etc.)

 

IV.  Establish an agriculture insurance program, collecting small amount of money from farmers in normal time, to help them in case if natural disaster and animal epidemic.  

 

V.  Making sure that no price-control programs will affect farmers' sale of their products (Farmers should always be able to sell their products at market price).

 

VI.  Encourage mirco-financing organizations to operate throughout the countryside.

 

VII.  Help local leaders and local establishments connected to the Internet.

 

VIII.  I realize that in areas where there is a church or a temple operates, people generally do better than other areas (more organized, less crimes, making more money).  So I would recommend the government to encourage main-stream religions to open more churches and temples throughout the countryside.

 

IX.  Rural government leaders tend to act like little God.  If the government en courage talented people (including non-Party candidates) to run for local offices, that would help develop the rural areas.

 

All these 9 points, if we do them seriously, I think could noticeably change the appearance of any rural area in 2 years.

 

Please feel free to chip in.  Have a great day!

 

Hoanh

 

--
Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
Washington DC

[Hong-Ph...@ita.doc.gov]

Vietnam does have a rural development strategy.  Not a perfect one, but one more effective than most other countries. Collectivisation was a failure that was abandoned with Doi Moi.  But collectivization did manage to build beneficial irrigation infrastucture that allow double and triple cropping in many areas.  The Vuon-Ao-Chuong policies did help bring a range of improvements to the self-sufficiency of many small farmers.  Other policies were not so successful including the attempt to plant/produce more sugar, the golden snail drive, attempts at forecasting global agricultural commodities prices and national production planning.  Agricultural products' share in Vietnam's exports is substantial, and Vietnam is a significant ag. exporter.  It is not by accident that Vietnam moved from being a food deficit country in the late 70's/early 80's to a major export after Doi Moi.

The rural to urban shift that accompanies industrialization is a classic phenomenon that occur naturally because it is more efficient economically.  No government has the resource to build out the infrastructure to all rural areas.  The Chinese are problably more advanced at it than anybody else, partly because some "rural" areas in China have more population than small cities in other countries.  The expansion of Hanoi's geographic coverage may be seen as an approach along the Chinese model.  The GVN also tried to resolve the infrastructure problem by setting up industrial zones around the country.

Your education proposal makes sense, if the capital investment and human resources can be found, a tough call given the current PM's inflation plan calls for the reduction of government spending.

Cheers,  HPP

-----vnbiz-...@mail.saigon.com wrote: -----

To: vn...@vietlinks.net
From: "Tran Dinh Hoanh" <tdh...@gmail.com>
Sent by: vnbiz-...@mail.saigon.com
Date: 07/13/2008 08:38PM
Subject: [Vnbiz] Rural Development Strategy

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

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[Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga]

Dear anh Hoanh and CACC, Thank you very much for initialling the rural development issues. This is the right time to discuss about this area. Anh Hoanh is quite right that so far Viet nam has had any rural development strategy. Rural has been understood as agriculture and the 5 year plan for agriculture development are in place. Along the socio- economic development, the concept of rural development has changed. it relates to many other sectors like education and training, labor, health care, industries, banking, insurrance, environment ... It requires an integrated action plan not only focus on agriculture as it was before. As a matter of course, coordination strengthening  among various sectors becomes is  of high priority.    Luckily, Government  has  recognized it and turned into action. Recently, It call various ministries together to work on the overal guidelines on how to tackle issues in developing  agriculture, farmers and rural area. I believe and hope this exercise will continue with the action plan when the guidenline is approved by the Government and national Assembly and the Communist Party. In response and preparation for the follow-up to the approval of the overal guidenline on guidelines on how to tackle issues in developing  agriculture, farmers and rural area , Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development is leading the formulation of the Rural Development Strategy. MARD is more than welcome any inputs contributed by CACC from frame work of a rural development strategy,  lesson learned from other countries both developed and developing ones, arguement, comments, recommendations on related policies or coordination scheme... Of course, I  agree 100 % with 9 points given by anh Hoanh. I only add that decentralization should be seen strongly  in education  sector to make it demand driven not  giving what they have as it is now to the studentsand make a room for students to bring up their own talent and ability . Each region has different demand. At national level a standard framework is neccessary. US education system can be a model for learning.   I will make copies of your points  to hand around some key policy makers in MARD for reference and consultation . Looking forward to hearing more from all of you.   Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga International Support Group - ISG Secretariat Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

--- On Mon, 7/14/08, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdh...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdh...@gmail.com> Subject: [Vnbiz] Rural Development Strategy

To: vn...@vietlinks.net Date: Monday, July 14, 2008, 7:38 AM [ Vietnam Business Forum ]

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear chi Phuong Nga & CACC,

 

Thanks, chi Phuong Nga, for the info.  I am happy to hear that MARD has started to move in a comprehensive approach in rural development.  Chi Phuong Nga, rural development is such a big thing because around 70 percent of the Vietnamese population live in the rural area.   We are not talking about a small group.  And if we compare the development rates between the cities and the countryside in the last decade or so, the countryside--the major part of the population--is really behind.  We really need to turn out attention outward, from the city out into the countryside. 

 

Everyone of us just has to ask him/herself a question:  "If I have a teenage nephew or niece in the countryside, and if I have enough financial means to bring him/her into the city, would I bring him/her into the city or would I leave him/her in the countryside?"  Our answer to this question will tell us what the real problem is.

 

In any event, chi Phuong Nga, if you could regularly inform us of what ISG and MARD are doing, that would be so helpful.

 

Thanks, sister.  Have a great day!

 

Hoanh
________________

On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 11:37 PM, Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga <ntpng...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear anh Thien & CACC,

 

I have just changed the subject title of this thread to Rural Development Strategy, because the Vietnamese subject line appears to be so messed up.

 

I agree with anh Thien's assessment.  We all know the problems of rural development up to this point.  Now let's try to look toward to the future and do some practical exercise for fun, and hope that we may come up with something useful in the process.

 

Let's assume that we have 2 geographic locations in mind:  First location, the entire countryside of Vietnam.  Second location, huyen Duong Minh Chau of Tay Ninh.  I pick Duong Minh Chau because of 2 reasons:  (1) Anh Shane is living in the rural part of Tay Ninh and is doing something for the community there.  (2) My wife's family is in rural Tay Ninh and I am relatively familiar with Tay Ninh (But you can pick any location for yourself). The reason I mention both the entire national scene and one local area is that we need to think in term of both national strategy and application in specific localities. 

 

Now, if we have to come up with a specific plan for rural development, what would we write in a 2-page memo?  (Maximum two pages because today few people have time to read a lot, and because when we have to condense our thinking, we will have better focus).

 

OK, let's try to look toward the future and give it a shot, will ya?  I hope everyone till take up the challenge.  Coming up with an action plan is always a challenge.  Let's try to have some fun.

 

Have a great day!

 

Hoanh

___________

 

2008/7/19 Tran Ba Thien <tranb...@gmail.com>:

> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]

>

>

> Chào CACC và anh Hoành,

>  

> Thực ra lúc đầu, khi nhận ra quá trình hiện đại hóa là đô thị hóa nông thôn, tôi đã cảm thấy rất bất mãn với cách hoạch định chính sách. Nhưng về sau, càng tìm hiểu tôi lờ mờ nhận ra rằng có lẽ đã có một "bàn tay vô hình" đã đẩy hướng phát triển nông thôn thành thu hẹp nông thôn, làm nghèo nông nghiệp và mở rộng đô thị.

>  

> Tôi xin phép viết cái thư này để chia sẻ một suy nghĩ của mình và không dám chắc điều ấy là chính xác. Nếu có gì chưa rõ rất mong được các bạn trao đổi thêm. Trước hết tôi chia quá trình phát triển nông thôn thành các giai đoạn này:

>  

> 1. giai đoạn đầu tư cho nông nghiệp:

>  

> -làm đường giao thông, cầu cống v.v..: các nước phát triển đa số đều khởi đầu việc phát triển nông thôn bằng việc xây dựng hạ tầng cơ sở kinh tế cho vùng nông thôn. Rõ ràng chính sách này có hiệu quả tốt như mục tiêu đã đề ra vào lúc đầu. Tôi nhớ giá quả vải tại Sài gòn năm 1996, 1997 là 20.000 đến 22.000 VND/kg trong khi ấy giá mua tại vườn ở vùng sâu khoảng 700, 800 VND mà thôi. Năm nay vải giá 12.000 VND/kg ta tưởng rằng sau 10 năm mọi thứ đều tăng giá gần như gấp đôi mà sao giá quả vải hạ thế thì nông dân làm sao chịu nổi. Tuy nhiên giá vải tại vườn theo tôi biết đã lên đến hơn 2000 VND. Trước đây đường xá giao thông bất tiện nên người ta phải gồng gánh mang vải từ vườn ra đến đường lộ nên chi phí cao, việc vận chuyển thô sơ cần nhiều thời gian khiến một số nông sản bị hỏng làm tăng chi phí. Giá vải hạ tại chợ nhưng vẫn tăng tại đồng là dấu hiệu tốt cho nông dân. Đường xá giúp tăng giá nông sản cho nông dân và cũng giúp hạ giá thành sản xuất. Trong thời gian qua ở nước ta nông sản đã tăng đáng kể một phần nhờ xóa các hợp tác xã và cũng có sự đóng góp tích cực của việc phát triển đường giao thông.

>  

> Khi có nông sản dồi dào thì đời sống sung túc hơn và người ta xây trường xây bệnh viện v.v.. Khi có nông sản nhiều thì tất yếu phải có công nghiệp chế biến nông sản.

>  

> -Đầu tư vào chế biến nông sản ở các hộ gia đình và các xí nghiệp nhỏ rộ lên ở các tỉnh miền Đông Nam bộ. Hơn 10 năm trước ta tìm được dễ dàng các tổ hợp sản xuất nhân hạt điều, chế biến khoai mì, bắp v.v.. Và các xí nghiệp nhỏ này sử dụng một lượng lao động đáng kể là nông dân địa phương. Công việc giản đơn không cần tay nghề cao, không cần huấn luyện nhiều. Như thế lúc đầu cuộc sống đã sung túc lên rất rõ. Một số thành phần ưu tú ở nông thôn có cơ hội về các thành phố để học đại học, hay đi làm tại các xí nghiệp đòi hỏi tay nghề cao v.v.

>  

> Khi kinh tế nông nghiệp phát triển đến một mức nào đó thì mô hình sản xuất công nghiệp nhỏ trở nên không phù hợp và người ta mở cửa đón các công ty quốc tế vào làm ăn.

>  

> 2. giai đoạn đại công nghiệp: KHoảng cuối 1999 các công ty quốc tế vào khai thác chế biến nông sản. Những nhà máy này đòi hỏi tay nghề khá cao và họ không thể tuyển dụng nông dân địa phương. Nhóm công nhân lành nghề từ các thành phố đã di dân về các nơi này làm việc. Môi trường bị ô nhiễm một cách có hệ thống hơn. Những vụ kiện của nông dân chống các nhà máy lớn có thời gian đã trở nên hết sức ầm ĩ vào cuối 1999 đầu 2000. Các nhà máy lớn cuối cùng cũng giải quyết được vấn đề bằng cách xoa dịu nông dân. Môi trường thì vẫn tiếp tục bị hủy hoại.

>  

> Khi người ta xây dựng các vùng đồi trọc thành những nhà máy, khu đô thị mới, khu công nghiệp mới thì nước mưa không thấm xuống đất được. Hậu quả là túi nước ngầm bị cạn kiêt và mực nước thủy bình đến các vùng nông nghiệp lân cận không còn đủ nữa. Muốn duy trì sản xuất phải tăng chi phí để mua máy bơm và dự trữ nước. Như lần trước tôi có nói, khi các khu công nghiệp thành lập, sự di dân đã xảy ra. Tại các vùng nửa nông thôn nửa thành thị xuất hiện những người nhập cư mới. Người nhập cư đem theo cả bao nhiêu biến động trong xã hội nông thôn như trộm cắp, rượu chè, nghiện ma túy v.v.. Người nông dân phải tăng thêm một chi phí khác là chi phí phòng trộm cắp hoa màu, nông sản.

>  

> Trong khi bao nhiêu thứ chi phí phải tăng lên thì phương cách sản xuất chẳng có gì thay đổi. Nửa thế kỷ trước ở Long Khánh người ta cạo mủ cao su bằng tay, bây giờ cũng vậy. Nếu không thay đổi thì làm sao có nhiều tiền hơn cho nông dân.

>  

> Bên cạnh khó khăn ấy là sự cám dỗ của đời sống đô thị. Khi đường xá giao thông thuận tiện, cở sở hạ tầng như trường học bệnh viện, điện, internet, điện thoại chẳng khác gì ở trung tâm thành phố lớn, thế nên nhiều người bắt đầu nghĩ đến việc về sống ở các vùng nửa tỉnh nửa quê này. Giá nhà đất tăng lên và người ta lại có thêm tiền để xây đường, lắp trụ diện v.v..

>  

> Ở trong hoàn cảnh ấy thì ai dại gì mà làm nông nữa đây? bán đất và đổi nghề là điều tất nhiên. Các công trình đầu tư nhằm phát triển nông thôn ngày trước như đường, điện, bệnh viện, nhà máy chế biến nông sản giờ đây biến thành công trình phát triển đô thị một cách hết sức tự nhiên. Tôi nghĩ rằng chẳng ai có thể cản được xu hướng đô thị hóa nông thôn cả.

>  

> Nhìn lại vấn đề đô thị hóa nông thôn, tôi bỗng nghĩ nếu trước đây người ta đầu tư vào nông nghiệp song song với đầu tư vào nông thôn thì có lẽ tình hình sẽ khác. Làm sao để có thể hái chôm chôm, vải, nhản v.v.. bằng máy thay vì làm bằng tay như hiện nay. Làm sao để 1 lao động có thể chăm sóc được hàng chục hecta vườn hay ruộng gì đó.. Khi những điều ấy chưa xảy ra thì sản xuất nông nghiệp vẫn phải dùng vào sức cơ bắp và điều ấy cũng có nghĩa là vẫn nghèo. Nếu nông dân nghèo thì hiện đại hóa nông thôn tất nhiên phải là đô thị hóa nông thôn và thu hẹp nông nghiệp. Bàn tay vô hình đã tác động vào và đã đẩy lệch hướng mà chúng ta mong muốn.

>  

> Mến

> Tran Ba Thien

> tranb...@gmail.com

[Shane Wall]

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

Dear anh Hoanh, anh Thien and CACC,
A correction first anh Hoanh, I don't actually live in Tay Ninh. I
live in HCMC/Saigon (choose whichever your prefer). My wife Nhung's
hamlet (ap Chom Dua) is in huyen Dong Khoi. However, I know Duong Minh
Chau very well (maybe because I am a country boy myself).

With 70-80% (depending upon who's statistics you read) of the
population living outside the cities, and with something like 40-50% of
our population being young, I would suggest a 'radical' approach to
identifying what possible actions could be taken: only people under 30
years of age can make a suggestion! After that, the suggestions can be
opened up to us 'oldies' for comment and discussion!

My reasoning for this suggestion is that it is these very same young
people who will be administering any policies or regulations in 10, 15
or 20 years time. And yes, that is how long we must be thinking! We
cannot change one thousand years in one thousand days!!!

Cheers,

Shane
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Shane Wall
Managing Director

Trans Lingual Express
188/16 Nguyen Thuong Hien St,
P.1, Q. Go Vap, HCMC,
Vietnam

Mail: shane...@translingualexpress.com
Web: www.translingualexpress.com

Ph: +84 (8) 588 1701

Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (English)
Mbl: +84 (090) 7885 375 (Vietnamese)

Tran Dinh Hoanh wrote:
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

> <mailto:tranb...@gmail.com>>:

> > tranb...@gmail.com <mailto:tranb...@gmail.com>

> --
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
> Washington DC

> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Aren't you 29 and 1/2, anh Shane?

 

Hoanh

2008/7/19 Shane Wall <shane...@translingualexpress.com>:

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

 

While you're thinking about responding to my challenge, let me share with you some points on thinking methodology, listed in the order of importance:

 

1.  Liberate your mind:  This is the most important element of thinking. Our mind has to be able to think freely; it cannot be imprisoned by the existing ideas and concepts in our head.  It has to be able to fly out into the new and unexplored  to explore new ideas and concepts.

 

What are some existing ideas that may imprison our mind?

 

Here are some examples:

 

*   Rural areas are for farmers and agriculture.  Non-farmers, non-agriculture activities shouldn't be there.   (Are you telling me that if Bill Gates wants to come to Duong Minh Chau to build a silicon valley, we will just tell him "Sorry, this is farming area.  We can't have a hitech valley here"?).

But, this issue involves the preservation of farmland and food security too, right?  If the land is reserved for rice growing, then its use cannot be switched to a silicon valley without some legal procedures. 

 

However, what if that is not Bill Gates, but just some small businessman who wants to buy a small rice-field lot from a farmer to build a shop on it?  Chances are the rice land cannot be sold for other uses, right?  But if that is the case, the farmer is losing money and is kept poor, because his lot of land is kept out of the general land market (other than rice-growing land market).  Wouldn't this be unfair to farmers?  The poor is kept poor permanently by the law?

 

So, on the one hand we have land preservation and food security, on the other hand we have the right of farmers to get the best profit they can from their land including selling the land.  How are we going to revolve this apparent conflict?

 

*  Only farmers live in the rural area.  What if a real estate developer wants to build a week-end home community in a quiet countryside for the successful city professionals?

 

*  Keep rural areas rural.  Why?

 

*  Development will develop by historical stages--human and animal labor, mechanized framing on small scale, mechanized farming on large scale.  Or agriculture, industrial, service.  Well, what would stop someone from building silicon valleys throughout the countryside (i.e., turning ricefields into hitech cities)? 

 

The above are just some examples of ideas that may imprison our mind.  The list can be very long and can be very personal, such as only less educated and less intelligent people live in the countryside,  farmers don't know better, government has to act like parents telling farmers what to do, etc.

 

*   Only after the city is done we will look at the countryside.  Say, only when the cities have enough universities and colleges we would consider building universities and colleges in the countryside.  What kind of sick thinking is that?

 
2.  Think in dynamic terms.   It means the movements and constant changes in everything.  Don't look at things as static blocks.  Ex:  If we look at the countryside as having so many farmers doing things as it is now, and we keep that static picture in mind, and we think about how to help farmers do better, that would be static thinking. 

 

Dynamics means seeing the entire country grow every day, young rural workers move into the city searching for jobs, students get into the city for schooling, farmers sell ricefield to do other works such as dryfood processing,  the fields get larger and mechanized, small town centers with TV station and radio towers, restaurants, libraries, schools, movie theatres and hitech centers throughout the countryside. 

 

Things change.  Look at the possbile changes to project future vision.

 

3.  Things in practical terms.  Don't just talk theory.  Once we have an idea, always ask:  How to I make this idea become a reality?  How do I convince people?  Where do I find money?  Where do I find people to work the plan?  Where do I find materials for the plan?  Where the world is going to be 2 years, 5 years, 10 years from now?  How would my plan fit in the kind of world?

 

4.   Plan and move with extra flexibility.  Planning for the future is truly stepping into the unknown. No one can see the future for sure.  We have a plan and each day we take one step.  When things occur that require us to change the plan and take a turn that is not in the plan, then take the turn and revise the plan.  Plans, goals and executing the plans are truly a journey, not a destination.

 

5.  Don't just think in term of tangibles.  There are lots of intangibles.  Your lady doesn't just have the body, she has lots of feelings and thoughts that you need to figure out.  Your farmers (or your entire people) are the same.  Your plan should help them become richer materially, emotionally and spiritually.

 

6.  Plan with love.  Don't plan development like you are doing math.  We are dealing with people.  If we don't really love them in our heart, then don't plan for them, because without love the planning becomes a dangerous affair. 

 

Folks, in vnbiz, we all should practice the art of thinking as policymakers.  Please do some thinking exercise.

 

Have a great day!

 

Hoanh

 

2008/7/19 Shane Wall <shane...@translingualexpress.com>:

[Shane Wall]

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

Anh Hoanh, my battered, broken and aching body is now over 45, however,
my mind seems to think it is still only 21 y.o.!

Shane
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Shane Wall
Managing Director

Trans Lingual Express
188/16 Nguyen Thuong Hien St,
P.1, Q. Go Vap, HCMC,
Vietnam

Mail: shane...@translingualexpress.com
Web: www.translingualexpress.com

Ph: +84 (8) 588 1701

Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (English)
Mbl: +84 (090) 7885 375 (Vietnamese)

Tran Dinh Hoanh wrote:
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>

> Aren't you 29 and 1/2, anh Shane?
>
> Hoanh
>
> 2008/7/19 Shane Wall <shane...@translingualexpress.com

> <mailto:shane...@translingualexpress.com>>:

> <mailto:shane...@translingualexpress.com>
> Web: www.translingualexpress.com <http://www.translingualexpress.com/>

[Tran Ba Thien]

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

Dear shane,

me too, Sometime they asked me about my age. I said that I was over 20 :))
Tran Ba Thien
tranb...@gmail.com

[Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga]

Dear anh Hoanh and CACC,

This is a great idea.  which can contribute a voice to the policy makers for the sake of the farmers I believe. I am looking forward to seeing our brothers and sisters 's response to draw various scenarios for rural development at national and commune level. At commune level, I think each you can choose one that being affected by industrializationand or urbanization, pure agriculture development or remote and mountainous one. Each types of commune has different conditions, needs  and characteristics influencing its development.  Can it be focus on labors, education, governance, land  administration, development model, market while tackling in a comprehensive and overal approaches. I will filling  yours and hand around people in MARD for their reference and input during their policy making process. actually my office is doing similar exercise: collect policy briefs from international consultants who work in the sector for policy recommendations to MARD leaders.  Big thanks Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga Manager

International Support Group - ISG Secretariat Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

A15 10  - 12 Nguyen Cong Hoan, Ngoc Khanh  Hanoi Tel: + 84 - 4 - 2930597 Fax: + 84 - 4 - 7716702 Cell: 0913239301 E-mail: ntpng...@yahoo.com Website: www.isgmard.org.vn

--- On Sun, 7/20/08, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdh...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdh...@gmail.com> Subject: [Vnbiz] Rural Development Strategy To: vn...@vietlinks.net

Date: Sunday, July 20, 2008, 2:56 AM [ Vietnam Business Forum ]

[Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga]

Dear CACC, This is the most recent exercise done by a group of  local  experts and consultants  and international ones assisted by WB in support to the MARD formulation of the rural development strategy: Scenarios for Rural Development in Vietnam  up to 2020 - a very first draft one. Your comments are highly appreciated.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga Manager International Support Group - ISG Secretariat Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

10 - 12 Nguyen Cong Hoan , Hanoi

E-mail: ntpng...@yahoo.com Website: www.isgmard.org.vn --- On Sun, 7/20/08, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdh...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear chi Nga & CACC,

 

Thank you for the kich ban posting, chi Nga.  Very informative and helpful.

 

Let me just doing my thinking out loud here, to move the process forward and also to share with our brothers/sisters my thinking process in this huge issue of rural development (keeping in mind the kich ban that chi Nga has just posted).

 

First, we need to look at the dynamics of the country's economy and the rural areas.  The dynamics will show us the general natural direction that the the rural economy is going.  (This is the direction that the economy is going and will continue to go, even if we do nothing).

 

Second, we need to form a vision of the rural future that fits in the general natural direction.

 

Third, we need a strategy to make the vision a reality.  The strategy has to have one (or maximum three) focuses (or locomotives) as the main thrust.  Every thing else in the strategy is to support, or to gain benefits, from this main thrust.

 

1.  Dynamics: 

 

*   The world may be facing increasing food demand and higher food prices in the next several decades, due to (1) increase world population, (2) increase in food quality demand (ie. more consumption of meet as an economhy develops) and (3) the use of food for non-food purposes (such as using corn to produce biofuel).  That means, if we don't have another Green Revolution, we will see more pressure to get more land for agriculture.

 

*   The global integration will bring people together.  The gap between people will not be in spatial distance but in knowledge.  To close the gap (i.e., to be less poorer than the other guys) we need to close the knowledge gap. 

 

*   Many young people are leaving and will continue leave the countryside oin search of a better life in the cities.  Many major cities will become megacities.

 

*   Tremendous urbanization pressures will be placed on cities to provide infrastructure, housing, schools, jobs and security (i.e. crime fighting and prevention).  Many people in the city have no family or community support; social service organizations will have to provide support services.  

 

*   Many farmers will sell their land because (1) they don't have children to work the land--most children will leave for the city, and (2) the land can't provide enough income to live on. 

 

*    Economy of scale will demand that individual farming lots increase in size and mechanized.  So, whoever has enough money will try to by farming land from his neighbors to create larger lots.  The land merging trend may continue as long as 50 years.  If there is stimulus to push up this process, it will take at least 25 years.

 

*   Many farmers will have to do works other than merely working their land.

 

*  As life pressure in cities become too much and too expensive, and telecommunications (phone, Internet...) simplifies global communications, there will be a reversal trend, to go out into the countryside to build offices, factories, residential communities, recreational facilities, etc.  It means, there will be demand for small towns to pop up all over the countryside.

 

*  Vietnam population, both in the cities and in the countryside, is very young and very active.  This is a great resource for national development.

   

2.   Vision:

 

As we can see the dynamics of the future and the general natural direction the future is going, we simply go along with that direction and make the best picture for ourselves in that direction.  So, we want the countryside dotted with many small town centers--clusters of government and private offices, schools, churches, temples, restaurants, shops, movie theatres, libraries, hitech centers.  Outside the town centers, there will be farms--rice fields, vegetable fields, chicken farms, pig farms, agriculture related factories (for dry foods and canned foods, etc).   Occasionally, there will be recreational facilities for city dwellers, or hitech centers for huge companies.

 

Basically, this is a very simple and realistic vision:  The countryside is actually a series of small towns with a nucleus in the middle and fields around it.  These small towns will have almost everything a major city has, but with much less intensity, much more gentleness and much more quietness.

 

There will still be some differences in the countryside towns and major cities--but the differences are more in degree than in substance:  Small towns have everything the major cities have, including knowledge and opportunities, but with less intensity.

 

3.  Strategy:  In forming the strategy,  I ask: "What is the most important thing we must have to make everything happen?"  Of course, we are talking about many things at the same time--infrastructures, money and investment, people, agriculture extension services, law and order, governance, etc.  But, assuming realistically that we don't have a beautiful beach or a gold mine, what do we consider as the most important thing--if we have it we may have everything else, if we don't have it we may not have anything else--that we may rely on as the main thrust of our strategy?  My answer is "Young and smart workers."  If we have young and smart workers in an area (and other things are so-so), we can attract outside business to come in and stimulate inside business to be born, to act as the core of the local economy.

 

Of course, a minimum level of infrastructure is essential.  But no one will invest money for infrastructure in an area that they can't find workers for their business.   However, if there are good workers, business will be attracted and business will be willing to spend money to build infrastructure.  In practice, some minimum level of infrastructure has to be in place for everything else to happen.  Yes, we know that.  But for strategic thinking purposes, i.e., what is the most important element of the strategy, I would say "building young and smart workers."

 

"Building smart young workers" is the thrust of our rural development strategy.  

 

How do we build young and smart workers? 

 

We build schools for them, right where their homes are.  One of the major problems in the countryside is the lack of high schools and two-year colleges. (a)  Only a few families can afford to send their children to city for colleges, which costs 3 or 4 times the local college cost, which is a big waste for the national economy.  (b)  The majority of families cannot send children to cities for colleges and these kids will simply drop stop schooling; the brainpower lost, which is the efficiency cost for the national economy, is tremendous.  (c) The kids who have to stop schooling will move to the city to find jobs.  Without enough knowledge for high-skilled jobs and a social support system around them, these kids can get lost easily in the city and many will become a part of the city social issues, including city crimes.  This is another major cost to the national efficiency.  To avoid these (a) (b) (c) costs, and to build smart young workers for the rural area, we must invest in a series of high schools and colleges throughout the countryside. 

 

The schools are a good reason for the government to build supporting infrastructure around them--roads, electricity, water, Internet.  The colleges will act as the "knowledge centers" for the countryside--Students are the best people to spread knowledge back to their parents; the schools can also house offices of government agriculture extension services; the schools are the place for NGOs to meet; the schools are the research center, which businesses can rely on, for information about the area, its people and its economy; the schools can have their own Internet servers that may provide some Internet services for local governments and businesses. 

 

These local colleges should rely intensely on local people and local knowledge to build their strength.  All the local people with any capacity to contribute to the schools should be encouraged to help--monetary contribution, teaching, researching.  Government officials and NGO workers in the area may be recruited into the teaching staff, if not full time then as adjunct professors.  Local researchers should be hired to research and teach on local issues--researchers should be hired to write an intensive research on the local history, its people, its culture, its foods, its interesting stories and rumors, etc.  This local knowledge should be a subject in the school's curriculum.  The result of these researches can be published in books and used in structuring cultural tours (i.e. turning the local  area into a cultural tourist attraction.

 

Internet should be relied on intensively to build the local schools--for teaching professionals in the cities to do long-distance teaching, for students to do research without the need for expensive libraries, for the community to rely on as the major hub on the Web. 

 

In the next message I will talk how we may start building schools in the countryside?

 

Have a great day!

 

Hoanh
 ____________ 

 

On Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 6:29 AM, Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga <ntpng...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

Dear CACC, This is the most recent exercise done by a group of  local  experts and consultants  and international ones assisted by WB in support to the MARD formulation of the rural development strategy: Scenarios for Rural Development in Vietnam  up to 2020 - a very first draft one. Your comments are highly appreciated. Nguyen Thi Phuong Nga Manager International Support Group - ISG Secretariat Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) 10 - 12 Nguyen Cong Hoan , Hanoi E-mail: ntpng...@yahoo.com Website: www.isgmard.org.vn

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[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

Now that we have gone through dynamics, vision, strategy with "building  smart young workers" as its main thrust, which in practical terms  means building high schools and two-year colleges throughout the countryside.

In this message, we will consider the question "How to build high schools and colleges throughout the countryside?"  This question is actually a part of the strategy—the execution of strategy.

(Please note that:  There are other things in the strategy that are not the main thrust but also important for rural development, such as land law reform, agriculture extension services, farmer coops, food processing  industry, etc.   We will talk about these as we complete the strategy.  But for now, to keep our mind focused, we should just talk about the main thrust).

There are three elements involved in building schools:  education policy, people mobilization, funding.

1.       The first element to talk about when building a school is education policy, specifically the government policy concerning school ownership and management.

The government needs to think about liberating education, allowing education to grow and prosper and not choking up education by unnecessary regulations.  Everything boils down to one question:  "How easy is it to build and operate a college in Vietnam?"    

Chi Phuong Nga said, "Decentralization should be seen strongly  in education  sector to make it demand driven not  giving what they have as it is now to make a room for students to bring up their own talent and ability.  Each region has different demand.  At national level a standard framework is necessary.   US education system can be a model for learning."  This short statement is very good and contains a lot of insight.

·         First, we have "decentralization."  It means the central government, i.e. MOET, should not be so obsessed about controlling everything.  Give the locals a big role in taking care of their own education. 

I would go further to say, "Let the people take care of their own education."  That means, we need to make it very easy for private citizens to open private colleges.   One of the ways to help colleges grow healthily is to give colleges a "non-profit" status.  A non-profit (or not-for-profit) organization is what we normally call an NGO (non-government organization).  The main difference between an NGO and a business  (a for-profit organization) is that business has to pay income tax on its profit.  NGO doesn't have to pay income tax on its profit (but it does pay salaries to its employees like a business and the employees do pay taxes on their salaries).  (BTW, the legal and financial status of NGO s in Vietnam—church, temple, hospital, community service agencies, etc.  is still very unclear and undeveloped).

The truth is that not so many private citizens want to open colleges, because it is hard to maintain a college financially.  The other route is public or semi-public colleges.   Here we can have a cooperation model between the local and the central, between government and private citizens—the local government can donate the land, the central government (or private investor for semi-public school) takes care of other things.

·          Second, we have "demand driven."  It means education should be driven by the demand of the economy, of the job market, of the local history, geography, culture and economy, of the wishes of the students, and not by the grand ideas of some education officials in Hanoi.  In practical terms, it means each school should be allowed to have its own curriculum.  Each school should be free to design its own curriculum, like each restaurant has its own menu.  Why should the government want every restaurant to have the same menu?

 

Not only the content of the curriculum, but also the timing structure of the courses.   Ex:  I would encourage every school to switch to "credit" system, to allow students the flexibility to choose what they want to learn, at the time they want to learn, and finish the entire curriculum in their own time.

 

The school should also be free to select its own teaching staff, with its own selection criteria.  Ex:  If I teach a course in mango planting, I would invite some veteran mango farmers (who probably have 5^th grade education) to be my "teaching assistants" in the college.  Should anyone have any problem with that?

 

The school should also be free to select its own students.  If a college accepts any student who has finish high school and doesn't require an entrance exam, what is wrong with that?  (New schools need to do that to survive financially).  If a college graduates only idiots, what is wrong with that?  There are restaurants with lousy food, what's wrong with that.  Bad restaurants will be beaten to bankruptcy by the market.  Same thing with school, bad schools will eventually die out.

 

Of course, the central government should provide guidance.   But guidance means guidance; it doesn't mean arm-twisting.   Guidance may best come in the form of "certification."   MOET may have a list of "qualifications for certification."  Schools that meet this list will be "certified" by MOET as meeting the minimum standards of education quality.  Schools that fail the list will not be certified.  Certification is very good to give school guidance and inform the public of school quality, while not encroaching on the school's and the student's freedom.   Also, the school that doesn't meet certification may lose some funding from the central government.  There are many ways to structure certification to give it more persuasive power.

 

·          One major thing in education policy I need to add here is that religious organizations should be allowed to open their own schools.  Many top schools of the world, including Harvard and Yale, were founded by religious organizations.  Before 1975 each major religion had one or more university in the South and they were among the best universities in the South.  For a short time, I attended Da Lat University (Catholic) for sciences, physics and chemistry and Van Hanh University (Buddhist) for German.  I was very impressed with both of them.  Due to obsolete political thinking, Vietnam still keeps religious organizations from operating schools.  This is like a poor man who is starving and has a piece of jade in his pocket, but he doesn't know that he can just sell the jade and eat all he wants for a long time. 

 

Education is the most important thing to move the country forward, unfortunately it is the most backward field as far as policy is concerned.   We need a revolution in education thinking.  Not just new ideas or reforms, but revolution in thinking.   We need to liberate our mind, to free our thinking, to take our thoughts out of the prison in our own mind.

 

Here is my suggestion:  Do not politicize education.   Education is hundred-year project; politics is, the most, a 10-year project (in the US, it is 4-year project).  We need to be able to look deeply into the future, for 50 years or 100 years.

 

2.       The second element in building schools is people mobilization.  People mobilization means getting everyone involved, specially the local people.  This element is just common sense PR.  The more people are interested and involved in a project, the more the project will be successful.

 

The way the International Support Group is working with MARD to gain international support, getting ideas from international consultants and vnbiz members, is a very good example of people mobilization.  

 

At the government level, obviously MARD will have to work with many ministries, and the other ministries have to be convinced that rural development is not just the responsibility of one ministry, and that they are a major part of rural development. 

 

The international community (UNDP, World Bank, ADB, INGOs) should be invited to chip in ideas during planning and execution.  

 

Vietnamese citizens should be invited to be involved in planning through the media.

 

I think eventually MARD may want to form a steering committee on rural development.  This committee should also have people outside the government. I would recommend that the government invites a couple of NGO reps, teachers and religious leaders into the steering committee.

 

MARD needs to be conscious that what it does at the central level will be copied by local authorities at the local level.  So the more creative MARD can demonstrate, the more creative local authorities will be.  As any major battle, the people strategy is simple:  "Mobilize everyone."

 

3.        The third element in building schools is funding.   It is difficult to talk about funding in the abstract.   Each location has its own conditions that may require its own financial structure.  But here we can touch upon some general principles about public colleges (Private colleges and semi-public colleges will have private funding which will depend largely on private arrangements).

 

·         We will assume that local colleges will not be able to cover their cost by students' tuitions and, therefore, will need some public funding.

 

·         The most fundamental principle is that the local area should carry as much of the financial burden as it can.     The central government will have to chip in something, but the local area should be the "owner" of its college and therefore should carry the major part of the burden.  (And in the mobilization task, the local authorities should be smart enough to make local citizens feel that it is THEIR college and not just a college thrown there by someone in Hanoi).

 

 

·         In the local taxation scheme, a part of the tax collection should be set part for education.

 

·         The initial funding to build the colleges may come from international (World Bank & ADB) loans for education and rural development.  The re-payment for the loans (usually installments spread out over many years) may be carried by the locals themselves.

 

 

·         The annual operating budget may be covered by students tuitions, local taxes set aside for education, and central government's funding.

 

·         Be creative in fund raising to gain private donations from local citizens, local businesses, local organizations (such as churches and temples).   To encourage private donations, (1) accounting should be kept well and disclosed publicly, with a reputable accounting firm as auditor and (2) donations should be physically evidenced in the school ground (ex:  With some amount of donation, the donor  can "sponsor" a class room—i.e., paying for the cost of building that classroom--has the right to give that class room a name (i.e.  Pho`ng "Vie^.t Tie^'n') and has a plaque in the class wall recognizing its contribution; a smaller amount will be recognized for a smaller thing.  There are many ways to display the donors' names.  The display serves to (1) convince people that their contribution has been accounted for properly and (2) stimulate others to contribute—physical evidence always has strong persuasive power.  My point here is that we need to be creative in fund raising to bring private contribution into college life.  Schools can always hire fund raising companies to help them raise fund.

 

 

·         And don't forget the Viet Kieu population—they can be teachers, even distant over the Internet, or they can donate money, especially for a school in their home area.  But the school has to show its ability to have a clean and efficient management in order to convince the Viet Kieu to be involved.

The key ties all the above points together is this:  "Be creative get EVERYONE involved."

In the next message , I will start talking about other things in rural development, other than schools.

Have a great day!

Hoanh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdh...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 5:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Vnbiz] Rural Development Strategy
To: vn...@vietlinks.net

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

After the main strategic thrust of "building smart young workers," which in practical terms means building high schools and two-years colleges throughout the countryside, we now will talk about other major objectives in our strategy:

1.        Land law:  As the land merging trend will continue for the next 50 years, many farmers will sell their land and others will buy to increase the size of their lots.  We need to make sure that land law help facilitate this merging trend, by making land transfer easy. 

 

One major question is "Can a farmer sell his rice field to someone to build a restaurant?"  The policy of farmland preservation, while may have solid rationale, may also unfairly taking money away from farmers by not allowing them to sell their land freely in the market.  In other words, farmland preservation may have the unfair effect of keeping poor farmers poor.  This is a hard question ;  we need to study this issue thoroughly to come up with some sensible solution.

 

One other issue to keep in mind is whether the fact that farmers have only the land use right and no land ownership would have adverse effects on rural development.   (All the farmers I know act and think like they actually own the land, so I can't see any adverse effect yet.  But we still need to keep an eye on this).

 

2.       Contract law:  More often than not, a major company, say, a sugar company, would tell local farmer "Grow your sugar canes and we will buy whatever you have."  Many farmers rely on the company's word and grow sugarcane.  Then economic conditions change, the company decide to buy only a tiny quantity of sugarcane, leaving many farmers with a lost harvest.

The contract law should be sophisticated enough to cover such blatant abuse.  There may not be a contract, but there is "good faith reliance"—farmers' good faith reliance on the company's word to their own detriment.  If the current contract law doesn't cover this situation, we need to bring the good faith reliance doctrine into our contract jurisprudence.  This is a quasi-contract.   Otherwise, t he little guys will be lied to and abused by the big guys forever.

3.        Farmer's self-organizing:  Whatever the conditions are, the best way for people to do well is to be together in an organization.  Farmers should stay together in cooperatives or associations.   However, farmers still have vivid horror memory of the pre-doi-moi state-ruled cooperatives.  Even the term hop tac xa (cooperative) still scares them to death.  So it is very difficult for the government to help bring them together.   Probably it is much easier to have NGOs help farmers organize.

 

Local growers of the same kind of product should be together in a cooperative.  They should learn to increase their market power by staying together and negotiating as a block.  They should have access to market information as well as technical information. 

 

Local cooperatives should band together under a national umbrella, to increase strength and sophistication.

 

And all these cooperatives should be tied together in an Internet network.  Here, the local college can provide Internet services for local cooperatives.

 

4.       Farmer's capital funding:   Famers are indeed independent business people, and they need the kind of capital support that any businessperson needs.  There must be a good banking network to provide needed capital for farmers.

 

*  For small amounts, Grameen-bank style micro-financing is the best model.  The government should encourage Grameen-bank style organizations to do business throughout the countryside.

 

*  For larger amounts, especially the amounts needed for equipment, either government banks can  do the job, or the government can have a program to guarantee farmers' loans and, thus, help farmers get loans easier.

 

5.       Food processing industry:   Food processing impacts farmer's life strongly in two ways.

 

 (a)  Food processing takes away much of the seasonal price fluctuation in agriculture products.  Say, in a year of good harvest, product price can go so low that it may send farmers to bankruptcy.   Canning or drying may take the surplus fresh product out of the market and thus help keep their price high.  

 

(b) Food processing brings added value to the raw product and, with it, higher price and profits.

 

We need a policy aim to strongly support and develop food processing, by

(a) tax cuts for new food processing companies in the rural areas.

(b) capital support through loans  (See section 4 above)

(c) encouraging agriculture-focused NGOs to operate, to bring food processing knowledge to farmers.  (Search these NGOs out from around the world and invite them in).

 

6.        Agriculture insurance:  The government needs to establish an agriculture insurance program, collecting small amounts from farmers in good time, to help them out in case of catastrophe.

 

7.        Drawing visitors from the nearby cities:  People in the rural areas don't have to stick with farming, they can provide services too.  Look at the nearby cities as potential customers for tourism and hospitality services.   Have cultural tours.  Develop some area by the river into rows of cafes, restaurants, motels, and some kind of boating in the river, for city dwellers who want to be away from the city, especially for the weekend. 

 

I can't guarantee that this idea doesn't turn into bia om, sex and drug.  But if people are smart, they would try to do what people cannot find in the city. Bia om, sex and drug are abundant in the city already.  Why drive all the way out for the same thing?  Local food, local music, local arts, all these are very good draw.  "Family friendly atmosphere" would draw lots of families.   The point is, it takes some brainwork and management discipline to design a good recreation area that really doesn't cost much money (I.e. you don't have to be Walt Disney) to attract city people.  Please note, discipline is emphasized.

 

8.       Spiritual development:  Each of us has both lives—material and spiritual.  It is a big mistake for the government to think only about material development and ignore the spiritual.   While the government should not do religion, it should encourage mainstream religions to go out into the countryside and establish churches or temples.  These entities will help tame the human heart, so that the people are less incline to commit crimes and more incline to do good.  

 

9.        Local leadership:  Local leadership has to be good for things to go well.  Everything we have said about rural development strategy would mean nothing if we have bad leadership at the local level.

 

·         The government and the VCP should encourage good people, especially non-Party candidates, to run for leadership positions.  Local elections should be real contests.   This is grass-root democracy.

 

·         Local leadership should be trained to be sophisticated in economic management.  (Here the local college can help organize regular seminars for local leaders).

 

This is the end of my presentation on Rural Development Strategy.   I may expound upon these ideas later if there arise a need.