US$30 million climate change adaptation project launched in central Viet Nam

The “Strengthening the Resilience of Smallholder Agriculture to Climate change-induced Water Insecurity in the Central Highlands and South-Central Coast Regions of Viet Nam” project will be implemented in five provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Dak Nong over the period of 2021-2026.

More than 500,000 people, of which more than 50% are women, are expected to benefit directly and indirectly from this project, funded by the Green Climate Change (GCF).

The project is designed to empower vulnerable smallholders in the target provinces, particularly women and ethnic minority farmers, to manage increasing climate risks to agricultural production by securing water availability, adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices, and strengthening access to actionable agro-climate information, credits and markets.

To address water insecurity, the project will support the smallholder farmers, whose income do not permit investment in climate resilience-enhancing inputs, technologies or infrastructure to cope effectively with impacts of droughts, to directly address the need for investments in last-mile connections to the larger irrigation infrastructure invested by the government with the finance from Asian Development Bank.

Similarly, farmers in rain-fed areas will benefit from the upgrading and construction of 1,159 climate resilient ponds.

Farmers will be provided with training on how to manage climate risk to their agro-ecosystems by applying climate-resilient soil and crop planning and management practices to reinforce the investments in water security.

They will also be provided with technical guidance and financial support on climate smart- and resilient agriculture practices to improve production and increase yields.

Farmers will be engaged in co-development of localized agro-climate information in the form of advisories, through which they will be able to synthesize traditional knowledge with contemporary scientific information to manage risk at local level.

The project will enable farmers to address production problems and bottlenecks, access to credit, negotiate contractual arrangements, and smooth access to existing markets through promotion of value chain partnerships, comprised of all relevant stakeholders, including producers, input suppliers, technical assistance providers, buyers and others.

It reflects strong commitment and efforts of the Government of Viet Nam to support vulnerable communities, ethnic minorities groups, the poor farmers, women and men to be resilient to increasing climate change impacts in the new situation with uncertainty from pandemic, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep.  

Viet Nam is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events. The Central Highlands and South-Central Coast regions are expected to experience wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons with an increased risk of severe droughts.

This is putting extra pressure on farmers who face reduced crop productivity, which in turn is impacting livelihoods, food security and incomes that are already been very impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNDP Resident Representative Terence D. Jones supposed that it is important to build resilience and to apply innovative and climate-resilient tools and practices to support poor and near-poor farmers in these two regions adapt to increasingly severe droughts, exacerbated by climate change.

This project complements the ongoing GCF project that UNDP supports in 28 coastal provinces for building the resilience of poor communities vulnerable to floods and storms, bringing together these innovative and integrated approaches will ensure to improve the resilience of more than a million most vulnerable people in Viet Nam, he announced.

By Thuy Dung