To implement the regulations specified in Resolution 99/2022/NQ-HDND of the People’s Council of Quang Tri province regarding the content and level of support for implementing production development activities under National Target Programs (NTPs) for the period of 2021-2025, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri has been tasked with advising the Provincial People’s Committee in building guidelines for organizing and implementing National Target Programs at the grassroots level.
This is a challenging task as the guidelines must cover all three National Target Programs with many differences in terms of target groups and implementation methods. Based on the efforts of the province’s Department on Ethnic Minority Affairs to connect with technical support from CARE International in Vietnam currently operating in Quang Tri through the Reaching the Furthest Behind program, which is sponsored by the Irish Embassy, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri proactively requested technical assistance from experts from the organization.
With a support roadmap that spans from the draft guideline development process to the consultation with relevant stakeholders and later monitoring of implementation, the drafting committee of the Department has had open exchanges with experts and stakeholders on the specifics of the document, with a focus on making it easy for grassroots officers, especially at the commune level.
On March 1, 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development held a consultation workshop on the content of the guidelines with relevant departments and district representatives. In particular, to demonstrate the effectiveness of implementing the Production Support content through the community production group approach, Plan and CARE invited representatives from community groups who benefited from completed projects. Some livelihood groups from those projects are still active and make meaningful contributions to the livelihoods of people in difficult areas.
During the workshop, the participants discussed the content of the guidelines, especially the new points in adding guidelines for establishing community production groups, and the process of purchasing livestock with state-funded support through NTPs. Although there were different opinions, the delegates agreed on the benefits of implementing production support content through the community production group approach for poverty alleviation and supporting people to become self-reliant. The delegates also pointed out difficulties in procedures and proposed measures to overcome them, ensuring the most effective implementation of NTPs.
The leader of the Department highly evaluated the support and contribution from the donor – the Irish Embassy through the Reaching the Furthest Behind program along with the technical support of Plan, CARE, and RIC. He also recommended that these organizations, specifically CARE, continue to accompany the Department until the guidelines are published and implemented.