Thuong Bang La Commune Project

General Information

Project Code:        N-VNM-2017-0242

Donor:                 Bread for the World (BMZ financed)

Project holder:     DWC

Local partner:      People Committee of Thuong Bang La commune.

Duration:            01/4/2018 – 31/3/2020

Target groups

Direct target groups

• Approximately 400 citrus-growing households in the commune (2,000 residents), including 100 poor households benefitting from climate-adaptive citrus cultivation models and 300 other households benefitting from awareness-raising and technical training on climate change and adaptive citrus cultivation;

Indirect target groups

• A further 6,000 residents of Thuong Bang La commune will benefit from improved livelihoods. Local authorities and provincial, district and communal government agriculture extension officials who participate in project activities will benefit from an increased awareness of the impact of climate change, updated knowledge, and techniques for adaptive citrus cultivation.

Goals

Sustainable, climate-resilient citrus farming will be practiced in Yen Bai province.

Project Objective

1. Sustainable citrus cultivation introduced by the project will be adopted by the community in Thuong Bang La commune.
2. Average income from citrus farming will be increased.

Indicators

1. By the end of the project, at least 250 households will have adopted the sustainable citrus cultivation techniques introduced by the project.
2. By the end of the first year of the project, citrus-farming business plans will have been developed and implemented by 10 farmer groups (including 100 households).
3. By the end of the project, citrus production incomes in 100 households will have increased by 10%.

Activities

1. Organize a kick-off workshop to introduce project goal, objectives, outcomes, approaches, a timeline, budget, roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder, and M&E activities.
2. Conduct Knowledge – Attitude – Practice (KAP) survey on approximate 400 citrus-farming households to assess farmers’ KAP on climate change, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable citrus farming. A KAP report will be produced to set up baseline indicators for measuring the changes among farmers at the end of the project.
3. Conduct citrus market research aimed at reviewing current citrus production and consumption in order to identify production and income improvement opportunities. This activity will be conducted with the participation of local authorities, agriculture extension officers and selected farmers.
4. Conduct Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Capacity Assessment (CVCA) to identify climate change projections and vulnerability of livelihoods and community; and propose household-level adaptation options. The assessment will be facilitated by the project holder with the participation of 400 farmers via the provision of information and discussion.
5. Organize a series of training workshops providing an overall picture of climate change, focusing on citrus production impact. The workshops are designed to (i) report key findings from the KAP and the CVCA surveys and (ii) explain the importance of both farmers’ and technical views. After the workshops, participants including farmers and local authorities will be aware of the project process, projected local impact and understand key concepts of climate change.
6. Organize training workshops to (i) identify priority hazards and vulnerabilities based on farmer perception and technical projection, and (ii) list potential opportunities for citrus farming adaptations, using indigenous and scientific knowledge.
7. Organize workshops focusing on local-level climate change adaptation plans for citrus production.
8. Implement pilot adaptation interventions, including but not limited to the introduction of resilient citrus varieties (such as lemons), vegetation buffer planting, right amount of fertilizer spreading and soil management on sloping land. Ten groups of famers, accounting for 100 households, will be established and supported by technical experts to apply sustainable, climate-adaptive citrus farming techniques. The cost of citrus seedlings, microbiological enzymes and portable scarifying-lawn mower machines will be shared 70/30 between the project and the beneficiaries.
9. Develop citrus business plans considering the role of the farm-to-market middlemen and strategy of trading with them. The project will also explore the opportunity to strengthen bargaining power for farmers by setting up a cooperative based on the 10 groups of farmers, as well as consider the development of a new, copyrighted brand named “Cam Van Chan” (Orange Van Chan).
10. Management and M&E activities.

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