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Two years ago, in 2005, Giang Thi Hoa, 41, and her husband, Li Mi Na, 54, decided to leave their home in the mountains of Meo Vac district, Viet Nam, in search of a better life for themselves and their four children. In the mountains, the family lived in extreme poverty.

”We did not have enough to live on and to raise our children,” says Giang Thi Hoa. They moved to Pa Vi Commune, also in Meo Vac district, where they have managed to build a new life, partly through their involvement in an IFAD-supported programme.

Meo Vac district is in Ha Giang, one of the poorest provinces in the country, and one of nine rural districts targeted by IFAD´s Decentralized Programme for Rural Poverty Reduction in Ha Giang and Quang Binh Provinces. Small farms, poor soil quality and limited production knowledge and skills of farmers all contribute to poverty in the two provinces. Poor farmers also have limited opportunities to earn an income off-farm, especially in upland areas, where there is poor market access and poorly developed village infrastructure.

The programme targets the poorest families, especially women, in 93 communes with the highest levels of poverty, including Pa Vi.
It aims to:

• improve agricultural productivity, income levels and food security
• improve the ability of local people to manage commune-level institutions introduced by the government to decentralize decision-making
• establish structures and services to address community needs

Ha Giang is a mountainous province. However, most people depend on agriculture to survive.

“Our family lives mainly by growing maize and grass feed for animals”, says Li Mi Na. “But cultivation is difficult on steep mountains.”

Off-farm activities are limited mainly by a lack of infrastructure, which is far less developed in Ha Giang than in many other parts of Viet Nam. Local communities have identified better infrastructure as one of their most pressing needs, and IFAD’s programme is supporting the government’s efforts to tackle the problem.

“Infrastructure is improving,” says Li Mi Na. “The road that connects Pa Vi to Meo Vac district, where the market is located, has been widened.”

With easier and safer access to markets, rural families can afford to spend time on activities other than cultivation.

“Since we moved down the mountains we rear pigs, goats and cows because we have an easier access to the market and we can sell our animals,” Li Mi Na says.

Residents in Ha Giang Province have also had to deal with lack of electricity and a scarce water supply, both for drinking and farming. Now, a modern water reservoir, built with IFADs support, supplies water to more than 60 households improving the community’s living conditions and health.

“On the mountains, we had no electricity and no water. Now we have both,” Li Mi Na says.

The standard of living for Li Mi Na’s family and others in Meo Vac district has improved as a result of the programme activities. Agricultural productivity, income levels and food security have increased. In addition, more children are being educated.

“Schools have been built,” says Giang Thi Hoa. “I believe our living conditions have improved also because now our children have easier access to education. “My priority is my children’s education, but before moving it was hard for them even to go to school.”

“We came down the mountains two years ago, with almost nothing,” Li Mi Na says. “We built our own home and hoped for a better future for our family: Now we have what we need to live on, we have a home with electricity and water supplies, and our children go to school.”

Source: IFAD