[Vnbiz] Fatherland Front helps fight inflation

[Craig Stevenson]

Hi All:

A friend of mine, a French Agro-Scientist, recently left Vietnam after the
field work portion of her project completed.  She had been offered office
work, but declined as she liked to be out in the fields with the people, I
understand her sentiment.  She was quite adament about the need for VN
farmers to receive more support in techniques and technology.  She worked
primarily with fruit farms, although vistied a wide range of farms in the
region, not simply Vietnam, and noted that most Vietnamese, when shopping
prefer to purchase foreign fruit due to the fact that it was mostly
blemish-free, uniform in size, and "tasty".  With such a diversity of
climate and an abundance of farmers, it is frankly appalling that Vietnam
imports any fruit that can be had in season.  Why import fruit from Thailand
and China, when, if resources are provided, and talents are unleashed, it
can be grown within the country?

Frankly, you understand your people better that I ever will.  But from what
I have heard, there is some strong desire, and bottom-up support, for the
operation and development of CSOs around the nation.  The writing,
previously posted, noted some 10,000 organizations, and hundreds of
associations, who, frankly, often, have no basis within the law.  Where such
basis might exist, it seems the operation of these organizations is
inhibited by the arbitrary impementation and interpretation of relevant laws
and decrees. Further, it is said that these organizations might be seen as
competitors for the resources that go to support local initiatives. Finally,
where a local offical holds perhaps a local government role, a ministerial
position, and some level of membership in other local structures whether
organizations conflict with their interests or not, it seems they might have
very little energy, especially when factoring in familial commitments, to
consider ways to more fully integrate local organizations more
constructively.  I have heard it said that all local actors need more
training regarding public administration reforms, more training toward
enahcning their management capacities, and more support to encourage
an enabling environment.

As to your perspective on the importance of local spaces, re: religious
institutions.  I can say that I have never been an adherent to a particular
faith, but have been a student of many.  I can not say that I ascribe to any
particular belief structure but do believe in something more than myself
(and of course more than those things that I can control and consume; I
guess my anti-materialistic leanings bleed through). Some of the most
rewarding experiences that I have had have been with those of a faith.  I
regularly sit back home with a 88 year old woman who is a Calvinist, I was
asked to pray with a Sudani Muslim Cleric before he left on a journey, I
regularly attend Jewish High-Holiday festivals and dinners at my friends
home, I am regularly at guest of some buddhist friends, even, at one point,
I had a part-time job cooking for retired priests.  In each of those
settings I have found an intense enjoyment of the sense of community.  You
are right, the common space enabled by those who share a common belief
structure can work wonders to galvanize a community to tackle the problems
that are being faced by the community.  Yet, despite the weakening of the
village structures that you note, which I know little about, I believe were
an enabling environment to be enforced in respect to the laws as determined
by the government, then we would see a revival of the community you lament
as lost.  10,000 organizations, even if only 2,500, do not lie, and the
people are ready to make a difference, and Vietnam can little afford to
waste that opportunity, especially at a time like this (although, as always,
I could be wrong).

Craig


On Sun, Apr 6, 2008 at 1:21 PM, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdhoanh at gmail.com> wrote:

> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
> Dear Craig,
>
> This is a very good piece of writing.  I have realized for a long time
> that Vietnam ARD (agriculture and rural development) suffers serious
> planning.  In the sectors where we have major exports, like coffee and see
> products, there appears to be good planning and coordination, thanks to the
> strong economic stimulation and direct involvement of large exporting
> players. Rice appears to have some good coordination, thanks to the
> strategic priority its has in the government's agenda.  But for thousands of
> other products and services, Vietnam truly has a free market without vision,
> coordination and leaders.
>
> This issue has come up again and again for more than a decade.  On the one
> hanm the government can't do and shouldn't do much "planning."  Farmers
> still remember the bad old days and are paranoid everytime they hear about
> "planning" or "cooperative" (hop tac xa) from the government.  The solutions
> appear to be in the CSO (community service organization), but how to help
> farmers organize their CSO is something else.  Some years ago, I have some
> intensive discussion with the leadership of MARD about cooperatives.  MARD
> at the time had some international grants to help farmers form their own
> cooperatives, but my feeling at that time was that these programs didn't
> have much impact (mostly they provided more income for MARD personnel).
>
> I have the feeling that the problem of ARD is much deeper than an
> organizational issue (i.e. deeper than whether we can establish CSOs in
> villages).  The ancient social structure of the village was replaced by the
> government's political structure for many years.  All ancient trace has
> disappeared a long time ago.  And the village's government structure
> today has shrunk down its duty--it no longer covers any economic and social
> activity, only administrative and security.  And even in it shrunk-down
> role, the village's government structure has lost much of its moral
> authority (due to, of course, rampant corruption and incompetency).  So we
> have a disintegration of the village's coherence.  The fabric of the village
> life is being worn down quickly, so to speak.  That disintegration of the
> village fabric makes organizing CSOs a very difficult job, because the
> natural sense of "being together" is not there in the village anymore.
>
> As I observe the country folks in the US for example, rural life in the US
> have also faced tremendous changes as the US grows.  Technology and economic
> waves have swept through the American countryside and put tremendous waves
> and waves of pressure on the American farmers.  But the American rural
> fabric has withstand these attacks rather well.  So what helped the US
> countryside?  I think that is the churches.  Churches are the centers of the
> American rural life.  Governments come, governments go, technology comes
> technology goes, depression comes depression goes, but the church building
> is always there as the heart and soul of the village.  There villagers
> gather at least once a week to be together, to say hello to each other, find
> comfort and support in each other, to share the common experiences though
> good times and bad times.  The church keeps the village in one piece, rain
> or shine, wet or dry.  This is true not only in the US but also throughout
> the Western world and Japan.
>
> Vietnam did not have the benefit of the church/and temple.  Traditionally,
> Buddhist temples were not much of a social hub (they tried to be away from
> social life instead).  The Catholic church is a very strong social hub, but
> it is a minority and in most of the time it was heavily politicized until it
> is greatly discredited in recent times.  Cao Dai temples and and Hao Hao
> temples are indeed very good social hubs, but they are such a minority.
> Protestant is a new minority.  The traditional social hub of the village
> (cai dinh) and all the social structure it stood for has disappeared a long
> time ago.  So we have have some kind of social vacumm.  This vacuum takes
> away the feeling of "being together" in the village.  And that makes the
> effective organization of modern CSOs difficult.
>
> So you all understand why in my thinking religious organizations  play
> such a major major major role in the national development.  In any event,
> difficult or not, we need to figure out ways to help establish rural CSOs as
> a major strategic thrust in rural development.
>
> Have a great day!
>
> Hoanh
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 6, 2008 at 12:46 AM, Craig Stevenson <cstevenson2000 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
> >
> >
> > Hi All:
> >
> > Some writing below:
> >
> >
> > Generally were one to describe the state of Agricultural and Rural
> > Development in Vietnam, it would be characterized to stand in some starker
> > contrast to broader societal advancement and common acknowledgement of
> > Vietnam's success in progressing the socio-economic development of its
> > people.  This success is a trend, as averages where indicators go, but
> > it cannot be forgotten that rural populations in Vietnam suffer across a
> > broad range of measures relative to urban populations.  This stands
> > despite some large success where national policies and programs have led to
> > important agricultural improvements in Vietnam as it is a large producer of
> > numerous commodities; rice, coffee, and pepper to name a few.
> >
> > The agricultural sector is plagued by low levels of investment in
> > technology, inadequate access to modern techniques and a range of other
> > issues which inhibit the quality of much of Viet Nam's agricultural
> > production. From this, prices suffer in world, and even domestic, markets.
> > Lacking needed technology for processing, preservation and cold storage,
> > Vietnamese farmers are further burdened by the inadequate development of
> > rural infrastructure.  In such a situation inefficiencies cause spoilage
> > and wastage while failure to employ better techniques causes the quality,
> > size, and uniformity of produce to be less competitive against more well
> > funded and coordinated competitors. Add to this the new commitments Vietnam
> > faces related to WTO membership, and heightened competition within the
> > agricultural sector raises questions as to security in livelihood for a
> > large percentage of the nation's population.
> >
> > ARD remains an important factor in the overall development of the
> > country as 73% of Vietnam's population can be found in rural areas along
> > with 56% to 70% of the nation's workforce, dependent upon how measured. In
> > many ways Agricultural and Rural Development should remain the primary
> > priority of all stakeholders who seek for the stable sustainable development
> > of the country. With Vietnams growing integration into the world trading
> > system, it would be thought that many of the nation's comparative advantages
> > would tend to be found within rural sectors of the economy.  However,
> > multiple issues inhibit the realization of those advantages. For example,
> > despite some wealth in variety of climates, more than 9 million farmers
> > remain underutilized and landless. Even where land has been transferred to
> > farmers, much of it that has remains highly inefficient.  The
> > inefficiency of available land is further exacerbated from the practice of
> > delivering land to farmers in small plots. This implies the resulting
> > inability to efficiently apply new techniques and use technology for the
> > distribution of patches across some regions.
> >
> > Recently it was announced that Donors would begin to withdraw ODA from
> > ARD. Rather it is foreseen that FDI will be effective for contributing to
> > the development of the agricultural sector as agreed in the CPRGS dialogues
> > with Donors. It would seem that this will ultimately place small farmers at
> > some disadvantage. For this reason, it would seem that rural people are
> > likely to suffer associated social and environmental strains as often stems
> > from increased FDI in ARD. In such an environment CSOs may be essential
> > toward mitigating negative impacts where national strategy may not directly
> > align with the needs and livelihoods of the rural poor. With capacity
> > development for all local actors, greater support needs to be provided for
> > those farmers most likely to be negatively impacted with a refocusing of ARD
> > strategy toward FDI as ODA lessens.
> >
> > CSOs are an important part of the international aid architecture and
> > provide an important voice for aid effectiveness. They are one of the
> > pillars of good governance and have a role in providing the effective
> > delivery of development programs and operations. Also, they have a role in
> > the social empowerment of particular groups and the realization of h-r. CSOs
> > act as donors, channels of assistance, grassroots actors, and as watchdogs.
> > CSOs can improve services through an h-r approach and empower local people
> > to more usefully engage in the development of their communities.  CSOs
> > should be seen as constructive for aiding in the attainment of agreed
> > poverty reduction and growth strategies.
> >
> >  In Vietnam, CSOs are gaining attention in society as they seek to act
> > within the "birdcage" allowed by official policy; a "birdcage" that defines
> > space for CSO activities in respect to the changing implementation and
> > interpretation of relevant laws and decrees.  Over the past several
> > years there has been an explosion of VNGOs and CSOs. Estimates range up to
> > 10,000 such organizations, hundreds of associations. However it is important
> > to remember that all such organizations need to be formed under the auspices
> > of state, or para-state, organizations, with the acceptance of local
> > authorities. Therefore CSOs play only a limited role, at present, in the
> > formation, implementation, monitoring and supervision of donor funded* *rural
> > development projects. The close nature between official acceptance and local
> > power structures ensure a current state of Civil Society very much beholden
> > to preservation of the status quo. For many external observers this may be
> > seen to inhibit independent actors as can be envisioned by commonly held
> > definitions of terms elsewhere. However, the more important issue for CSOs
> > and other 3rd Sector actors is alignment of activities to serve the
> > important national strategies that have been created. Of course, to enrich
> > the development, implementation, supervising, and evaluation of the dialogue
> > and to add more robustness to current practices, recognition and voice at
> > the grassroots is essential.
> >
> >  Currently, the important roles that Mass Organizations play in the
> > socio-economic development of the nation, under the banner of the Fatherland
> > Front, cannot be underestimated. The strength of these organizations
> > implies a large degree of downward and upward accountability for CSOs and
> > VNGOs within society and under governmental, or para-state, institutions.
> > Such accountability speaks to some degree of difficulty between small
> > community based actors and the monolithic Socio-Political Mass Organizations
> > which are more clearly, but not fully, integrated within state policy
> > development mechanisms. Often overburdened local government staffs wear
> > multiple hats in local institutions. From this overburdened staffs often
> > lack both the interest and capacity to ensure smooth relations between
> > different local actors. Passivity on the part of local officials and,
> > perhaps, their lack of trust in the utility of more independent development
> > actors, further inhibits the impact CSOs can have in serving their
> > communities effectively.  Of course, policy mechanisms such as the
> > financial management system at the local level and the giving and receiving
> > mechanism in relations with the national government only complicate matters
> > further.
> >
> >  To round out the context of CSOs a discussion of the legal context of
> > associations is fruitful.  With state institutions improving in measures
> > of transparency, responsibility and efficiency more remains to be improved.
> > As the socio-economic development of the nation results in more complex
> > relationships it should be understood that a diverse and active Civil
> > Society plays a central role in the stable sustainable development of the
> > nation.  More attention needs to be provided toward framing the exact
> > role of CSOs, relative to national law and implemented policy, such as those
> > on association. To realize the benefits of a healthy and dynamic Civil
> > Society, a more consistent system for implementing laws and regulations
> > needs to be established. In enabling local people to more effectively
> > contribute to the collective development of the nation, local farmers will
> > be more able to preserve the rich cultural heritage and diversity of the
> > Vietnamese people.
> >
> > CS
> >
>
> --
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
> Washington DC
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