Supporting livelihoods for the poor in coastal areas: Finding ways to provide 'fishing rods'

Effectiveness of breeding cattle exchange model

According to the staff of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Hoang Mai Town, implementing the National Target Program to Support Poverty Reduction, up to now, the town has only found the most suitable model, which is to support breeding cows for poor households. According to this staff, firstly, cows are easy to care for, suitable for the conditions and limited resources of the poor. Secondly, if the poor know how to care for cows, they will reproduce within 2 years, so they will have the opportunity to increase their income and improve their lives. More importantly, with a budget of 15 million VND/household, it is very difficult to implement any other model other than giving breeding cows to the poor.

Mô Hình giảm nghèo ở Quỳnh Lộc Thị xã Hoàng Mai.jpeg — Fighting cock farming model of Mr. Vu Van Khanh's family in Hamlet 5, Quynh Loc Commune, Hoang Mai Town. Photo: Thanh Nga

Mr. Vu Van Khanh, Hamlet 5, Quynh Loc Commune (Hoang Mai Town) is a poor household with extremely difficult circumstances. In 2022, he was supported with breeding cows from the project. Mr. Khanh shared: “When I was proposed to receive cows, I was very happy because we have many children, and they can take advantage of their time after school to raise cows. If well cared for, the cows will reproduce within a year. For a family with difficult circumstances like ours, having an additional calf each year is also a significant source of encouragement.”

Mr. Ho Quoc Uy - Vice Chairman of Quynh Loc Commune People's Committee said that in 2022, the commune had given 19 cows to 19 poor and near-poor households. Most of the households had taken good care of the cows and the cows had grown rapidly. "Giving breeding cows to the poor is considered a fairly effective model of giving "fishing rods" at the present time, when most people and localities have not yet proposed any effective production and business plans or models."

Staff of the Social Policy Bank inspected the breeding cow model in Quynh Loc commune. Photo: CSCC

According to Mr. Hoang Danh Tan, Head of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Hoang Mai town: Up to now, in the projects under the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction, the town has only been able to implement Sub-project 1 in Project 3, which is the Project to Support Production Development in the Agricultural Sector. Accordingly, in this Sub-project, the locality only needs to directly support the livelihoods of poor households. Therefore, the model of supporting cows for the poor is considered the most feasible. “With the prescribed capital of only 15 million VND for a model, supporting cows is the most valuable for the poor. If cows are not supported, according to the regulations of the National Target Program, the locality needs to find models according to the value chain, that is, there must be an enterprise to purchase the output; or there must be a production model proposed by the community. This causes many difficulties for localities,” said Mr. Hoang Danh Tan. With this method, Hoang Mai town has given Sind crossbred cows to 31 poor and near-poor households in Quynh Trang, Quynh Vinh, and Quynh Loc with a cost of more than 450 million VND.

Nuôi bò sinh sản lai sind của hộ nghèo Diễn Quảng.jpeg — The cow given to a poor household in Dien Quang commune - Dien Chau grew well after a period of raising. Photo: Khanh Ly

Similarly, Quynh Luu district also supported 103 Sind crossbred cows for 103 poor and near-poor households. Dien Chau district supported 46 cows for 46 poor and near-poor households in Dien Quang, Minh Chau, Dien An and Dien Tho communes...

Difficulty in implementing funded projects

The National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction for the 2021-2025 period has component projects: "Diversifying livelihoods, developing poverty reduction models" (Project 2) and "Supporting production development, improving nutrition" (Project 3).

Aquaculture is considered a way out of poverty for people in Hoang Mai Town. Photo: CSCC

In particular, Project 2 focuses on diversifying livelihoods, building, developing and replicating poverty reduction models, supporting production and business development to create jobs and sustainable livelihoods. To implement Project 2, localities must receive needs from people with suitable proposed models that are highly feasible, and must also build a linkage chain. However, according to records from localities, currently, there are very few qualified models being implemented. Even coastal localities such as Hoang Mai Town, Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, have not received any models so far.

Raising livestock is a way out of poverty for many poor households in Quynh Luu. Photo: CSCC

Of which, Hoang Mai town was allocated more than 3.6 billion VND to implement project 2, but up to now, the town has not been able to disburse any money because it has not found a suitable model. Quynh Luu district aims to support the construction of 10 to 15 sustainable poverty reduction livelihood models for poor, near-poor, and newly escaped-poverty households. However, up to now, this locality has not found any suitable model.

Mr. Nguyen Ho Lam - Deputy Head of the Provincial Rural Development Department said: In fact, to build a model that meets the chain of linkages, it is necessary to have strong enough investors and businesses. In addition, the locality must also research native plants and animals to build a suitable model. Currently, most localities in the province are having difficulty in choosing businesses to consume products, because most businesses lack confidence when choosing a model. In addition, localities that have built a community model cannot ensure the long-term consumption of a certain business's products...

These are the difficulties that have prevented the implementation of the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction Support for the 2021-2025 period in localities from achieving the set progress.

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