Ha Noi, 15 October 2021 – The United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and five provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan have launched a Green Climate Fund-financed USD 30 million climate change adaptation project to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate change-induced water insecurity. More than 500,000 people, of which more than 50% are women, will benefit directly and indirectly from this project.

The project is designed to empower vulnerable smallholder farmers in the target provinces– particularly women and ethnic minority farmers - to manage the 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 allow them to invest in climate resilience-enhancing inputs, technologies or infrastructure, to cope effectively with the impacts of droughts by addressing the need for investments in last-mile connections to the government’s investment in mainline irrigation infrastructure with finance from the Asian Development Bank project. At the same time, farmers located in rain-fed areas will benefit from the upgrading and construction of 1,159 climate resilient ponds.

Farmers will participate in trainings on how to manage climate risks by applying climate-resilient soil and crop planning and management practices to reinforce the investments in water security. They will also benefit from technical guidance and financial support on climate smart- and resilient agriculture practices to improve production and increase yields.

Farmers will also be engaged in the co-development of localized agro-climate information in the form of advisories, which 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, get access to credit, negotiate contractual arrangements, and improve 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.

“The project 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 become more resilient to the increasing climate change impacts compounded by the new situation with uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The project’s kick off will consider contingency solutions for responding to COVID and effectively implement the established activities,” said Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Vice Minister of MARD.

Viet Nam is one of the most   vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events The Central Highlands and South-Central Coast regions are particularly vulnerable as they are expected to experience wetter wet seasons and drier dry seasons with an increased risk for severe droughts. This is putting extra pressure on farmers who face reduced crop productivity, which in turn is impacting livelihoods, food security and incomes, which have already been severely impacted by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.    

“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 the increasingly severe droughts, which are exacerbated by climate change. This project complements the on-going GCF project that UNDP supports in 28 coastal provinces that is building the resilience of poor communities vulnerable to floods and storms. Bringing together these innovative and integrated approaches will improve the resilience of more than a million most vulnerable people in Viet Nam,” said Mr. Terence D. Jones, UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Viet Nam.

Led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and implemented by 5 provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, 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 over the period of 2021-2026.

More information, please kindly contact:

Ms. Phan Huong Giang | CCE Media & Communications Analyst,
UNDP Viet Nam
Ph. +84 24 38500136 | phan.huong.giang@undp.org

Mr. Nguyen Manh Ngoc | Acting National Project Director, Central Project Office,
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Ph. +84 09 12215110 | mngoccpo@yahoo.com