The LPS/2015/037 project on “Intensification of beef cattle production in upland cropping systems in Northwest Vietnam” is a research project funded by the Australian Center for Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Government of Vietnam. The previous project, LPS/2008/049, was implemented from 2011 to 2015. This follow-on project started in 2017 for 5 years.

The North West Highlands of Vietnam is one of the poorest regions in the country, with 80% of households deriving their income from agriculture and forestry. One pathway out of poverty for ethnic minority smallholder farmers is to increase livestock production. Cattle are currently kept on integrated crop-livestock farming systems to build asset, with extensive husbandry practices. The isolation of highlands communities is often synonymous with poor linkages to urban markets, misunderstanding of market dynamics and limited information exchange up and down the beef cattle value chain. Consequently, smallholder farmers in these regions are not capitalizing on the recent increased domestic demand for beef. The decision by the Vietnam government to concentrate beef cattle production in the highland areas of Vietnam provides the impetus for developing the project.

The aim of this current project is to improve the income of smallholder cattle producers through intensification of beef cattle production and increased market linkages in mountainous crop-livestock systems in the North West of Vietnam. This will build on to the range of strategies and technologies identified in the previous project to overcome technical and market constraints to cattle production. Specific objectives are to:

• understand the transition from extensive to more intensive beef cattle production
• develop production technologies and practices that support more intensive, integrated crop-livestock systems
• improve farmers’ linkages to urban beef markets
• build capacity of beef value chain stakeholders to support and out-scale sustainable cattle production systems in the North West highlands

The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is the lead Australian organization, partnering with the National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), and the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA). Research partnerships will be established with the Dien Bien Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF), Tay Bac University (TBU). Further partners will include the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), member of the Malica Platform, to complement methodological expertise.

The expected outcomes and impacts of the 10 year investment by ACIAR and the Vietnamese Government from the two projects:

• Profitable cattle feeding systems, integrated with cropping and improved environmental sustainability as farmers transition to more intensive, market-oriented beef production system
• Improved gender equity and reallocation of farming tasks, with time available for non-farming activities for women and education for children
• Increased market access and understanding of market demand and opportunities by farmers and traders resulting in more market-oriented production and cash  income from beef cattle production
• Improved information exchange between stakeholders leading to a resilient beef value chain that innovates to meet changing market demands and conditions and
• Increased capacity of local DARD and government that maintains a regulatory and political environment conducive to continual market improvement and poverty alleviation
• Scaling out of sustainable livestock based farming systems in the mountainous region of North West Vietnam.

Photo 1 : Smallholder beef cattle husbandry in Dien Bien District (Dien Bien Province)

Photo 2 : calf in the Mai Son District (Son La province)

Photo3: Female beef cattle in the Mai Son District (Son La Province)

Photo4: Beef-cattle transportation from Son La province to the Hanoi market