vietnam_porkvcmeeting_apr2012

=Vietnam Pork Value Chain Team Meeting=

Manesar Heritage Village **(Located near New Delhi)**
====//**Objective:** The aim of the week was to essentially form a collective strategy of what we are trying to do, how we will impact the pig value chain in Vietnam, what steps will be involved, and what areas of expertise will we need to draw upon internally, and externally to achieve our goals and objectives.//====

Introduction by Tom Randolph
The two-day meeting started with Tom Randolph welcoming the participants, before providing a brief overview of the Research Program, before moving on to identify the goals and objectives of the meeting.


 * Key Points**
 * This was the first opportunity we had to really sit down together to really think through what we are trying to do with the CRP in Vietnam
 * As we have done previous assessment work in Vietnam, we should be building upon this, and focusing on where the gaps lie
 * e.g. we know there are potential efficiencies to be gained from varying feeding options for smallholder pig options, but we have never conducted piloting in this regard
 * We want to focus on reviews, but this is not just confined to technology and literary reviews. As mentioned - we have already done a great deal of work, and must strategize how we can translate existing work into the CRP instead of starting anew. The focus is really about developing an alliance with researchers, and devising how we can support our partners
 * Note should be taken of the previous problems/failures we have had with research in Vietnam previously, and why this was the case in planning new research.

View the presentation

Vietnam Overview by Lucy Lapar
Lucys presentation was focused on providing an overview of the Vietnamese pig value chain, and specifically - where have we been, where are we now, and where are we heading.


 * Key Points**
 * There is a common misconception that smallholders cannot adequately cater to the rising demand for lean pork that is being exhibited by the Vietnamese pork market
 * Based on modeling, even if there was zero growth in smallholder production, the market share of large-scale producers would not increase beyond 12% within the next decade
 * Policy in Vietnam is moving towards designated production zones in an attempt to better manage the growing environmental concerns of livestock production. However this in itself is potentially problematic, as it intensifies pollution in certain areas, and furthermore - as the bio-security in these areas is not full-proof, there is a heightened chance of epidemics in these areas.
 * There are existing R4D efforts across the areas of interest that the project could build upon

View the presentation

Expertise Gaps Discussion
This session centralized upon reviewing what expertise gaps the team had in approaching the work in Vietnam, and how they could be best overcome.


 * Key Points**


 * As a group, we generally speaking have the expertise required to support the project. However there was concern that despite this, our resources would be spread thin across other projects.
 * 'Gender' was identified as providing a strong potential for interventions, however it was noted that there was a lack of a gender-element within the program, especially so given the clear gender roles found in the Vietnamese smallholder pig system.
 * It was also noted that we did lack a gender, and agri-business specialist
 * As Vietnam is such a diverse country, any capacity gaps we face will be largely determined by the area in which we elect to work. Thus - site selection was seen as critical in determining what extra capacity will be ultimately required.
 * It was re-emphasised how we are trying to get the 'big picture', and thus we should select sites which are representative of the diversity. A key theme was **//Intensification on a gradient//**
 * We should also be making a conscious effort to tap into the other CRPs with an overlapping interest in food safety
 * Essentially - try to link zoonoses, animal health and food safety as there are a lot of synergies amongst the three
 * Specifically - we are referring to the CRP 2, 4.3 and 1.2 which all have relevant activities in Vietnam

//Side Discussion on International Public Goods//

Participants also briefly discussed what International Public Goods the program would likely produce, with the following responses provided:


 * Decision support tools e.g. diagnostic guides
 * Value Chain tool guides
 * An innovative, new approach to researching value chains which will have nine different replicates

Preliminary work plan development
This session started with a discussion led by Tom to revise the objectives, outcomes and outputs of the program. Following this, participants discussed in detail what existing, relevant work had been done in Vietnam, and how this could be retro-fitted to achieve the aforementioned objective.


 * Objectives, outcomes and outputs recap**

**Objective:** To design and test pro-poor strategies to upgrade our target value chains, and increase production, leading to their scaling out as a major development intervention. (There was discussion of possibly incorporating a 'marketing' aspect to this objective)

**Outcome:** Stakeholders are aware of and actively promoting pro-poor strategies that are improving productivity and increasing pork consumption amongst poor consumers

//Output 1:// Methods for identifying pro-poor upgrade opportunities in animal-source food value chains (There was a discussion of possibly refocusing this output)

//Output 2:// R&D innovation alliances created to promote targeting of pro-poor value chains

//Output 3:// Pro-poor, gender-sensitive technological and institutional options devised and validated for each target value chain

//Output 4:// Integrated pro-poor, gender sensitive intervention strategies formulated and piloted in each target value chain


 * Engagement/Assessment Key Points**
 * The proposed ACIAR program should provide a strong overlap in the area of animal health
 * The program has a proposed rapid assessment in year 1 which can be potentially integrated into overall strategy in Vietnam
 * The role of outcome mapping was also discussed, and how any outcome mapping from the ACIAR program can form the basis for a broader outcome mapping effort in the program
 * Recapping, the existing programs of potential use:
 * ACIAR Health
 * IFAD/CIAT Forage in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
 * GEF - FANGR
 * EcoZD

In-depth work plan
In this session, participants confirmed the key-activities and deliverables, there expected date of implementation/completion and which individuals would be involved for the remainder of 2012.


 * Key Points**
 * Particular attention was given to how the value chain report from the CIAT Fodder program can be integrated
 * Emphasis was also provided as to how to best mobilize the resources/expertise for the value chains, and how partner selection would be accomplished
 * Partner selection notes
 * We must be cognisant of the lifespan of the partners we select to ensure they will be in place for the entirety of the project
 * In this light - focus on institutional partners as opposed to individuals
 * Lucy to conduct a partnership landscape report to assist the partner selection
 * this landscape report can be summarized and integrated into the larger situational analysis

Download the planning document

In-depth work plan continuation
The morning saw participants finalize the work plan that was being discussed in the previous session. In addition to this, the proposed structure of the situational analysis was also shared and discussed.


 * Key Points**


 * Important to develop a common approach across value chains, for example - in the questionnaires used. We should be bringing together our core strengths across all the value chains and leveraging the scale of our work
 * It would be desirable to create a uniform structure across the value-chains in terms of the review/reporting process

//Situational Analysis//

The situational analysis will build upon existing work completed in Vietnam, whilst also drawing upon new research which will be completed with the assistance of partners and consultants in areas where ILRI have expertise gaps (e.g. political analysis).

The intention is that the analysis will end up as both a published document, and also as a //living document// that can be continuously updated over the coming years.

View the proposed structure of the situational analysis

//Site Selection//

This discussion was led by Isabelle and focused upon agreeing upon the criteria for site selection Vietnam.


 * Key Points**


 * One of the first things that needed to be confirmed was the definition of 'site'
 * It would preferable to synchronize the sites selected with those selected in the proposed ACIAR project
 * The criteria agreed upon for site selection were:
 * 1) Pig Density
 * 2) Poverty Level
 * 3) Population Density
 * 4) Possibly Market Access

View the proposed Vietnam site selection plan

Participants
Forage Agronomist Forage and Livestock Program International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) People’s Democratic Republic of Laos // Tel: +856-21770090; Fax:+85621770091 // // E-mail: ad.bolliger@gmail.com // || **Lucy Lapar** Agricultural Economist ILRI, Hanoi //Tel:// +84 912055903 E-mail: l.lapar@cgiar.org || Livestock Scientist ILRI, - Ethiopia P O Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia // Tel: +251-11-617 2223; Fax: +251-11-617 2001 // // E-mail: a.duncan@cgiar.org // || **Okeyo Mwai** Acting Operation Project Leader ILRI, - Kenya //Tel: +254 20 422 3468// //E-mail: o.mwai@cgiar.org// || Social Media and Communications Support Officer ILRI - Hanoi //Tel: +84 122 330 9281// //E-mail: a.nguyen@cgiar.org// || ** Peter Ballantyne ** Head, Knowledge Management ILRI-Ethiopia P O Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia // Tel: +251-11-617 2223; Fax: +251-11-617 2001 // // E-mail: p.ballantyne@cgiar.org // || Feed Specialist ILRI-Kenya, P O Box 30709 Nairobi 00100, Kenya // Tel: +254-20-4223412; Fax: +254-20-4223001 // // E-mail: b.lukuyu@cgiar.org // || **Steve Staal** Acting Deputy Director General ILRI, Kenya //Tel: +254 20 422 3400// //Email: s.staal@cgiar.org// || Project Coordinator ILRI, Kampala, Uganda //Tel: +254 20 422 3010// //E-mail: d.pezo@cgiar.org// || ** Tassilo Tiemann ** Forage Agronomist Forage and Livestock Program International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) People’s Democratic Republic of Laos // Tel: +856-21770090; Fax:+85621770091 // // Mob: +856-20-2219446 // // E-mail: t.tiemann@cgiar.org // || Program Manager ILRI, - Kenya //Tel: +254 20 422 3070// //E-mail: d.grace@cgiar.org// || ** Thomas Fitz Randolph ** Team Leader ILRI-Ethiopia P O Box 30709, Nairobi 0010, Kenya // Tel: +254-20-4223067; Fax: +254-20-4223001 // // E-mail: t.randolph@cgiar.org // || Agricultural Economist ILRI, - Kenya //Tel: +254 20 422 3402// //E-mail: i.baltenweck@cgiar.org// ||  ||
 * ** Adrian Marc Bolliger **
 * == Alan J Duncan ==
 * **Andrew Nguyen**
 * ** Ben Lukuyu **
 * **Danilo Pezo**
 * **Delia Grace**
 * **Isabelle Baltenweck**