Tropentag, October 11 - 13, 2006 in Bonn "Prosperity and Poverty in a Globalized World – Challenges for Agricultural Research"

Determinants of Successful Participation of Poor Farm Households in Transferring Advanced Agricultural Technologies - Case Study from the Mountainous Region of Northern Vietnam

University of Hohenheim, Institut für Agrar und Sozialökonomie in Den Tropen und Subtropen, Germany

Abstract

In the mountainous regions of Vietnam, advanced technologies are playing an important role in both increasing the income and reducing poverty for farm households. Cho Don district is a typical mountainous district of Bac Kan province with diversified ethnic minority groups and a significant potential for crop and livestock production as well as forest exploitation. The district enjoys many transfer programs of advanced technologies in agriculture and those programs have been implemented very early. Advanced technologies have the potential of helping farm households to increase their income, knowledge and skills as well as to reduce poverty. Interestingly, the poverty rate has gradually come down in the last years. This paper mainly aims at determining the positive and negative factors that have been affecting the participation of farm households, communities and other relevant stakeholders in the transfer of advanced technologies in agriculture. The logit model and advanced technologies participation model are used to identify those factors. The analysis helps to improve and promote the technology acceptance, participation and poverty alleviation process more successfully and sustainably. The data of this analysis have two sources: primary data and secondary data collected in Cho Don district in 2004. We found that advanced technologies transferred came from four channels, namely: Government Extension Programs, Research Institutes, Foreign Aid Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Those bring large benefits for farm households and communities. However, advanced technologies in agriculture are still not efficiently and sustainably accepted because of participation's insufficient involvement of farm households (especially the poor households) and shortage of farm households as well as communities' contribution. In addition, those advanced technologies have not adequately met the real needs of farm households and communities.

Keywords: Advanced technology, participation, transfer

Contact Address: Hien Dinh Pham, University of Hohenheim, Institut für Agrar und Sozialökonomie in Den Tropen und Subtropen, Stuttgart, Germany, e-mail: dphamhienyahoo.com