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Participatory Management in an Integrated Rural Development Project: The Case of Effective Exploitation Hill-Forest Land Project in Phuongvien, Chodon, Bacthai, Vietnam
Field Study Abstract:
The study analyzed the management process carried out by the Effective Exploitation Hill-Forest Land Project started in 1993 in Phuongvien, Vietnam, which is one of the 12 pilot sites of the Integrated Rural Development Program.
Data were gathered from primary and secondary sources. The primary data was collected through interviews using structured and unstructured interview schedules. The secondary sources of information were assessment and evaluation reports, project documents, and financial statements of the Project Management Board (PMB). These were analyzed descriptively through tabular presentations, percentages, and iIIustrations.
Out of the 140 target farmer-beneficiaries of the project, 48 respondents were selected through simple random sampling method. Purposive sampling was used to identify eight members of the PMB and the team of technicians of the project as respondents.
Results showed that 80 percent of the respondents were males and 20 percent were females. All of them were married, with ages ranging from 20 to more than 50 years old. Most of the households (82%) had a farm size of 1-2 hectares and most of them (72%) had a low level of education and belonged to the low income class. Their socioeconomic profile indicated the need for income-generating projects to increase their family income and they accepted the project positively.
Results also showed that a significant level of participation in the project management process by the beneficiaries was an active factor in the project's success. Either directly or indirectly, the beneficiaries participated in the project's management, their involvement being highly motivated by socioeconomic reasons, centering on their basic needs.
Some factors also affected the respondents' degree of participation in the project. These were the simple and decentralized organizational structure of the project, farmer-based management system, application of democratic and participative management process, and establishment of appropriate policies.
To further improve the project, the study recommended the following: 1) establishment of strong linkages with other government units and institutions in the area; 2) provision of continuous education and training for the beneficiaries on the project's technical and management aspects; 3) continued financial and technical support by the government to the farmer-beneficiaries and to the project; 4) adoption of more flexible policies and guidelines for the beneficiaries; and 5) carrying out more comprehensive education campaigns to promote the project.