- Food insecurity arises mostly from households not having
sufficient income to buy food. Despite Vietnam’s
significant economic progress in recent years, poverty remains
fairly widespread. Research into the causes of poverty indicates
that these are: isolation (geographic and social); high risks
(from flooding, typhoons, diseases); inadequate access to
available resources (land, credit); lack of environmental
sustainability; and inadequate participation at the local level
in the formulation of poverty alleviation initiatives. In the
present economic and social context of the country, food
insecurity and poverty are the two sides of the same coin.
- There is a second dimension to this issue: food security at
the household level not only means to provide sufficient basic
food, it also involves to secure the absence of malnutrition of
any sort, including malnutrition due to protein/energy deficiency
and malnutrition caused by micro-nutrient deficiency.
- Nutrition security is the health aspect of food security. In
Vietnam, malnutrition is still widespread. Children under five
years of age are among the most vulnerable and affected groups.
Apart from children, especially women suffer from malnutrition.
On average, more than 40 percent of all mothers are malnourished.
The main causes of adult malnutrition are likely to be associated
with childhood undernutrition and current insufficient dietary
intake in quality and quantity. The Vietnamese diet is dominated
by rice and rice alone is deficient in several important
nutrients.
- The Government of Vietnam reported to the 1996 World Food
Summit that "Food Security has been and will be the national
priority in Vietnam. Food Security is seen to be one of the most
important factors contributing to the stabilization of the
socio-economic development in the country."
- Already in 1990/91, the Government formulated a new
Socio-economic Strategy for the period up to the year 2000 which
inter alia proposed the formulation of a
comprehensive national food security programme under which the
"Vietnamese agriculture will have the prime objective to ensure
food supplies and improve nutritional levels of the diets for the
whole community, providing not only sufficient calories but also
higher levels of proteins, fats and micro-nutrients."
- A National Food Security Programme (NFSP) has been formulated
to the horizon 2000. The Government has now decided to bring the
NFSP forward to the horizon 2010. The new NFSP will be included
in the 5 year plan and ten year strategy of the Ministry of
Agriculture, the institution mandated to monitor and promote food
security in the country. Within the framework of the programme,
one of the major remaining issues is the development of
strategies for the establishment of more stable agricultural
eco-systems and shift from the present narrowly based
agricultural production focus in rural areas to an effective and
inter-linked agriculture-industry-service structure that will
provide local employment, thereby creating a more stable basis
for access to food. Particular attention still needs to be given
to the poorest and most food insecure regions of the country. The
Government of Vietnam is also committed to involve all elements
of civil society in the effective implementation of the NFSP.
Efforts will have to be made to educate the people and raise
their awareness of the significance and importance of food
security. Social mass organizations (like Farmers’ Union
and Women’s Union) play a very important role in the
Vietnamese society; they will have to be called upon to give full
attention and support to creating the awareness of the society of
national food security issues. The TWG assists the Government in
this effort particularly through the main activities mentioned
above.
2. What are the key steps needed to
attain the vision?
- The experience of many countries has shown that economic
growth does not translate automatically into a reduction of
poverty and/or food security. In FAO’s experience,
focused action is required to create conditions that enable poor
communities and households to take advantage of development
opportunities. In poor communities and marginal areas, poor
infrastructure, health and nutrition, and inadequate management
capacities and illiteracy may be major, if not the most
important, impediments to increased production and productivity.
Malnutrition impairs overall economic growth since it affects
productivity and ability to become engaged in productive
activities. It also increases the risk of disease. Women and
children may be the most affected by malnutrition because of
unequal allocation of food within the household - often as a
result of cultural practices - and due to women’s heavy
workload and responsibility in terms of productive and domestic
tasks.
- Household food security is the prime concern of poor
households. It determines production and investment
choices. A knowledge of how poor households strive to
achieve food security is essential to understanding their
coping and risk-aversion strategies. Essential is also the
knowledge of the impact of economic and financial policies on the
poor and the food insecure. Safety nets should be
created to reduce the negative effects of the above policies on
the most vulnerable segments of the population.
- Government technical capacity to provide policy guidance
on food security measures needs to be strengthened through
national and international technical assistance, training,
improved information service and material support.
- With the prevailing public service culture, this also
requires that other issues be addressed, such as :
- change in attitudes and mindsets of all partners to act in a
more integrated and coordinated way
- adjustment of governance structure to allow greater
flexibility and adaptability
- fostering transparency and sharing information among all
partners
- effective coordination and partnership at all levels
- appropriate participatory monitoring and evaluation
system.
3. What should the role of differents
partners be?
- The main purpose of the Network’s Thematic Groups is to
provide an effective framework to discuss, plan and implement
collaborative activities in rural development and food security
and enhance the efforts of national governments to implement the
commitments in the World Food Summit Plan of Action. While the
specific objectives of Thematic Groups will vary depending on
national priorities and the work programme, the Groups should
seek to achieve two broad objectives:
- to promote new projects, activities and investments in rural
development and food security and enhance co-ordination at the
national level; and
- to share relevant information, knowledge and expertise.
- creating awareness and advocating for rural development and
food security issues;
- contributing to the implementation of national policies,
strategies and action plans;
- monitoring national activities for rural development and food
security;
- determining needs and opportunities at the grassroots
level;
- formulating project proposals and identifying funding
sources;
- promoting the sharing of indigenous knowledge, experiences
and ways of communicating best practices;
- contributing to the creation and maintenance of common
information systems and databases;
- organizing seminars and workshops on rural development and
food security issues;
- promoting the participation of women and analysis of gender
issues;
- promoting national capacity building and training activities;
and
- promoting research activities.
- The Role of the all international development partners should
be:
- engaging in advocacy and disseminating lessons learned and
best practices
- support the Government in its effort to adjust its policy to
combat food insecurity and poverty
- cooperate with the Government in capacity building activities
particularly in policy analysis and policy impact on the poor and
food insecure
- build effective partnership to carry out programme and
projects targeted to combat food insecurity and poverty (HEPR
programme, 1715 communes, National Plan for Food Security,
etc.)
- Suggest quantifiable indicators to evaluate the impact on the
living standard of the beneficiaries of poverty reduction
activities (e.g. impact on children malnutrition)
- The Role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) should
be:
- sharing their knowledge and expertise;
- engaging in advocacy and raising public awareness;
- contributing to policy dialogue;
- mobilizing resources;
- building the capacity of civil society organizations at the
local level;
- disseminating lessons learned and best practices.
- The Government should:
- place in its development agenda food security and poverty as
the first development goal;
- include the concept of food security in its poverty strategy
under preparation by MOLISA and the I-PRSP under formulation by
MPI;
- devote efforts to the actions needed to secure malnutrition
and poverty reduction including sub-sectoral revisions and
restructuring (e.g. agricultural extension system, agricultural
research, nutrition education activities)
- define and implement safety net schemes to support the
poorest and most vulnerable groups;
- build internal capacity to analyse policies and quantify
their impact on the poor and food insecure;
- ensure broad participation of the beneficiaries in the
implementation of programme and projects.
4. What are the key monitorable
indicators?
- The key monitorable indicators should be related to the
impact that pro-poor and food security policies have on the
beneficiaries. Indicators should be easily measurable and related
to local conditions (e.g. children malnutrition, girls
scholarisation, employment rate, etc.). Policy results or impact
should not be confused with outputs (how many funds distributed,
how many kilometers of roads, etc.). Indicators should be set at
the beginning of the activities and their values monitored
throughout the programme in order to enable potential corrective
measures. Collection of information of the impact of the policies
should be done properly and with the cooperation of the local
authorities which should be requested to comment on the proposed
activities at all stage of formulation and implementation.
Special attention should be given to vulnerability and its causes
(food is the first item to be neglected in case of urgent needs).
Indicators and evaluation activities should take into account the
sustainability of the results obtained including, if applicable,
a corrective value in case of result volatility.
Background on the Food Security Working
Group
- The ACC Network on rural development and food security was
established by the United Nations Administrative Committee on
Co-ordination (ACC) in April 1997 as an innovative and flexible
mechanism for inter-agency follow-up to the World Food Summit. It
has been endorsed and supported by the UN Secretary-General and
the Heads of 20 UN organizations. It is jointly managed by FAO
and IFAD, in close co-operation with WFP.
- The ACC Network is intended to be country-focused and
demand-driven. It aims to serve as a broker between partners
committed to achieving food security and reducing rural poverty.
It comprises thematic groups working on rural development and
food security in countries, and a group of UN and civil society
organizations at the international level1.
- The Network’s main objectives are to:
- mobilise support for government efforts to implement the
World Food Summit Plan of Action;
- reinforce ties between UN organizations and other
stakeholders and promote complementary action in the areas of
rural development and food security;
- exchange and disseminate information, experiences and best
practices.
- In order to actively participate in the network and promote
the food security concept in Vietnam, a technical working group
on the topic was established in early 1999.
Thematic Group in Vietnam
- Food security is a national priority in Vietnam, supported by
a number of national programmes2. While the Government recognises
that availability and stability in food supplies are not by
themselves sufficient to guarantee food security, for many years
food self-sufficiency has nonetheless been seen as the key
element of national food security policy. Since the early 1990s,
Vietnam has achieved impressive increases in agricultural
productivity and output, particularly for paddy rice,
contributing to improved food availability. Yet, despite these
achievements, chronic food insecurity and vulnerability persist
in different parts of the country, particularly in isolated and
environmentally fragile uplands, and coastal areas prone to
natural disasters. The rate of malnutrition is also among the
highest in the region.
- Given the multifaceted character of food security, most of
the activities and programmes currently being implemented by UN
organizations in Vietnam are contributing towards the realisation
of the goals in the World Food Summit Plan of Action3. Programmes
aimed at promoting rural development and poverty alleviation help
to increase access to food and improve nutritional well being.
Investments in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural
infrastructure affect the availability of food and stability of
supplies. Activities undertaken to reduce malnutrition, increase
access to sanitation and safe water, improve food safety, and
prepare for, and cope with, natural disasters, all contribute to
enhanced food security.
- The overall objectives of the group are:
- actively support the Government’s efforts to implement
the commitments in the World Food Summit Plan of Action;
- strengthen ties and build new action-oriented partnerships
aimed at promoting food security in Vietnam; and
- exchange information, experiences and best practices related
to food security and rural development.
- Further specific objectives are identified for actual
activities as developed. The group’s objectives are
reviewed yearly and amended as necessary.
Agenda and work programme
- Given the national situation and priorities, the ACC Network
thematic group in Vietnam focuses its activities on food
security. These activities naturally have a strong relationship
with rural development, not least since as much as 80 percent of
the country’s population is rural.
- In particular, the group undertakes activities in three main
areas:
a) support to the development of a food
insecurity and vulnerability information and mapping system
(FIVIMS);
b) capacity building of MARD which is
responsible for the tasks previously assigned to the the National
Food Security Committee now dismanteled;
c) advocacy and knowledge sharing to increase
awareness about food security issues in Vietnam.
