11qtca-5791 - Continued twinning support to forest producers' organizations in Quang Tri province, Vietnam

Quang Tri’s Cooperative Alliance & Small and Medium Enterprise Association

Finland/MTK/AgriCord started improving family forestry services in the Quang Tri province by a one year pilot implementation in 2010. Experiences of the first year are positive. The need for support has been confirmed and the twinning partners are working well together. Farmers are satisfied with the improved access to forestry services. Training has improved knowledge of sustainable forest management, collective procurement of seedlings and inputs have reduced costs by 20-30% and market price information has improved smallholders’ knowledge of the timber markets. Households have prepared their forestry management plans (including input requirements and harvesting quantities). The pilot cooperatives have consolidated member household forestry plans into long term cooperative forestry business plans. Smallholders are also well aware of forest certification issues. While the progress in the first year is good, longer term support is required for farmers to start collective marketing, which may develop into a replicable model for up-scaling. The project will continue in the initial two pilot agricultural cooperatives and include one additional pilot cooperative. The total direct outreach is 947 households. Capacity building aims at developing the agricultural cooperatives into efficient forest owners’ service organizations with the following expected achievements: • Replicable model of smallholder forest producers’ cooperation is created. • The forest producers’ organizations are feasible and financially sustainable with profitable business activities.

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