Circular No. 12/2009/TT-BNN dated March 3, 2009 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding the implementation of the production development support project under Program 135 in the 2006-2010 period

CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT PROJECT UNDER PROGRAM 135 IN THE 2006-2010 PERIOD

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No.01/2008/ND-CP of January 3, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No.07/2006/QD-TTg of January 10, 2006, approving the program on socio-economic development of exceptionally difficult communes in mountainous and ethnic minority regions in the 2006-2010period (the second-stage Program 135);

Pursuant to September 15, 2008 Joint Circular No.01/2008/TTLT-UBDT-KHDT-TC-XD-NNPTNT guiding the implementation of the second phase of Program 135;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guides a number of specific contents on implementation of the production development support project under the second phase of Program 135 (project) as follows:

I. THE PROJECT’S OBJECTIVES

1. To sustainably increase income for poor households, helping them quickly get out of poverty.

2. To raise production and market knowledge for poor households, assisting them in increasing efficient production so as to get out of poverty in a sustainable manner.

II. PROJECT INVESTORS AND PARTICIPANTS

1. Investors:

- Being commune People’s Committees.

- If commune People’s Committees are not fully qualified to act as investors (prescribed in Circular No. 01/2007/TT-UBDT of June 21, 2007, of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas), district People’s Committees will temporarily act as investors. Meanwhile, district People’s Committees shall train commune cadres and appoint their cadres to assist communes so that within 12 months after the project is implemented, these communes can undertake the tasks of investors.

- Investors may employ the common project management units and/or Program 135 Supervision Boards of communes to organize the implementation of the production support project in their localities.

2. Project participants:

a/ Poor households: To be identified under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.170/2005/QD-TTg of July 8, 2005, on the poverty line applicable in the 2006-2010 period (if the poverty line is adjusted, the new poverty line will apply).

b/ Household groups: Eligible household groups must satisfy the following conditions:

- Each comprises poor and non-poor households living in the same village or hamlet, sharing the aspiration to develop a production or service activity and voluntarily joining the group. A household group has a leader elected by households to manage and administer activities of the group.

- A household group has its own operation regulations, clearly defining the responsibilities, obligations and interests of its members for efficient realization of production plans set forth by the group, ensuring the efficient use of support capital, contributing to creation of jobs and increase of income for group members.

- Non-poor households joining a group account for no more than 20% of the total number of households in the group (for household groups of 5 or more households) and they must have production experience be eager and capable to assist other households, and voted for by a majority of group members and approved by the commune People’s Committee.

III. PROJECT CONTENTS AND SUPPORT LEVELS

1. Support contents:

According to regulations, the project will provide supports according to 4 contents described below. Investors shall base on production development plans of districts, communes and people’s support need to identify appropriate and practical contents (making the fullest use of local advantages,-directing people into the production of commodities or the provision of services associated to markets, ensuring sustainable incomes and attaching importance to food security). In order to concentrate capital and avoid thinned-out investment, it is unnecessary to make investment in all contents in one geographical area.

The support contents are specified as follows:

1.1. Support for agricultural- forestry- fishery production extension activities (referred to as agricultural extension for short)

a/ Purposes: To help poor households improve their production and market knowledge (firstly for production lines selected by households) for efficient production and higher incomes.

b/ Activities eligible for supports:

- Training, fostering and passing crafts to producers in order to raise their knowledge about and skills of production and economic management in agriculture;

- Organizing tours to study advanced production models.

c/ Spending items:

- Compilation of training documents (in addition to those already compiled by the central agency);

- Printing of training documents;

- Renting training halls, classrooms and equipment;

- Payment of remunerations to lecturers and experts;

- Supports for technical practice instructors;

- Payment for drinking water, stationery documents, meals, travel, accommodation (for overnight stay) for trainees in the training period;

- Supports for tours to study advanced production models: round trip fares, meals during the tours and room rentals (for overnight stay);

- Expenses for class management.

1.2. Support for building advanced and efficient production models:

a/ Purposes:

- To build good models for crop and husbandry restructuring, farm produce preservation and processing, efficient farm produce sale.

- To organize tours to study good models for popularization and widespread development by persons covered (or not covered) by the project.

b/ Activities eligible for support (applicable to households and household groups applying the models):

- Building models for economic restructuring in communes in association with the application of scientific and technical advances in breeds, farming process, husbandry, farm produce processing, preservation and sale;

- Building models of economic cooperation between households, household groups and enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative teams, peasants associations and scientists in production, processing, preservation and sale of farm produce.

c/ Spending items:

- Strains, principal supplies (livestock feeds, chemical fertilizers, veterinary drugs, plant protection drugs, machinery and equipment necessary for model building);

- Purchase of copyrights, new technologies;

- Hiring of technicians directing the application of models;

- Training of producers, study tours, model review, remuneration for technical practice instructors.

1.3. Supports in plant varieties, animal breeds and production supplies

a/ Purposes: To assist especially difficult households in acquiring good strains and initial necessary supplies for the project implementation.

b/ Activities eligible for support:

- Providing good plant varieties, animal breeds and aquatic breeds, which are on the lists of those already registered in the project by households;

- Providing supplies suitable to production lines in the project (livestock feeds, chemical fertilizers, veterinary drugs and plant protection drugs);

- Providing technical instructions to households on the use of varieties and breeds as well as supplies in accordance with the production process.

1.4. Support for the purchase of equipment and machinery for production, processing and preservation of farm produce

a/ Purposes:

- To assist poor households in reducing their heavy manual labor, raising productivity and increasing incomes.

- To create conditions for poor households to shift to and develop new crafts, boosting the social labor distribution in localities.

b/ Activities eligible for support

- Purchasing machinery, mechanical or semi-chemical equipment for production (mechanical ploughs, harrows, pumps; mechanical rice threshers,...) and for farm produce processing or preservation (drying machines, livestock feeds mincers and mixers,...); prioritizing supports for equipment, machines and tools using available raw materials and highly needed by localities;

- Providing technical guidance, transferring techniques for skilful use of equipment, machines and tools provided as supports.

2. Support levels: The levels of budget funding support for the spending items in Section 1, Part III of this Circular will be set by provincial People’s Committees in accordance with current regulations, which are, however, not lower than the support levels prescribed in the national target program on poverty reduction.

IV. ALLOCATION OF CAPITAL AND ASSIGNMENT OF CAPITAL PLANS

1. Allocation of support capital

- Provincial People’s Committees shall allocate central budget support capital to districts in compliance with criteria, not on an egalitarian basis.

- Capital allocation criteria are based on poverty rate; geographical position, land area, number of poor households and peculiar conditions of each commune, ensuring priority for communes with high poverty rates.

- Provincial People’s Committees shall establish support criteria and norms for submission to provincial People’s Councils for approval, which will serve as bases for allocation of support capital to communes (villages, hamlets).

2. Establishment of support norms

a/ Provincial People’s Committees shall assign provincial Services of Agriculture and Rural Development to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned provincial Services or branches in, establishing support norms for submission to provincial People’s Councils for decision. Support norms will be used as bases for formulating production project plans for poor households in communes, villages, hamlets and as bases for people and concerned agencies to inspect and monitor the implementation thereof at the grassroots. The norms include:

- Maximum support level per household or household group;

- Support norms for the spending items in Section 1, Part III of this Circular, taking into account peculiar areas of the provinces.

b/ At the beginning of a production harvest or once every six months, provincial People’s Committees shall, based on price notices of provincial Finance Services, decide on the adjustment of the norms to suit the reality.

3. Capital allocation

a/ Provincial People’s Committees: Based on the central budget support capital sources and provincial budgets, provincial People’s Committees shall work out plans for capital allocation:

Managerial and direction funds for key units: The Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas, the provincial Services of Agriculture and Rural Development, districts... (provided for in September 15, 2008 Joint Circular No. 01/2008/TTLT-UBDT-KHDT-TC-XD-NNPTNT);

- Allocation to districts funds in support of communes and villages or hamlets.

b/ District People’s Committees shall allocate capital to communes (investors), based on the approved project plan of each commune.

c/ Commune People’s Committees (investors) shall allocate capital directly to households or household groups according to the registered plans.

Due to seasonal nature of agricultural production, capital allocation must be timely so that support capital can be efficiently used. Targets: In December every year, capital shall be wholly allocated to households to prepare for their production in the next Spring crop; in May every year, capital allocation must be completed for Summer-Autumn crop production, and in August, it must be completed for Winter crop production.

At present, as agricultural production harvests do not coincide with the fiscal year, provincial Peoples Committees should propose the State Treasuries to approve advances for investors having their capital plans already approved and filing their applications. The minimum advance level will represent 30% of the support funds for households.

V. ANNUAL PLAN-FORMULATING, -APPRAISING AND -APPROVING PROCESS

1. Commune People’s Committees:

a/ To organize information and propagation on the production support project under Program 135

Based on capital allocation plans and suppor. norms prescribed by provincial People’s Committees, commune People’s Committees shall organize propagation in various forms: through public-address systems, posting up at public places for commune inhabitants to be aware of the undertakings and policies of the Party and the State through the project for the poor as well as the project’s details.

b/ To organize meetings for people in villages, hamlets or inter-villages to select production schemes, select households and household groups for participation in the project (districts and communes shall dispatch their cadres in charge of Program 135 and agricultural extension cadres to assist village or hamlet chiefs in performing this task). Such a meeting will dwell on the following contents:

- Announcement of support policies of the Program, support beneficiaries (giving first priorit) to households eligible for social policies, households with disabled members and poorest households). On that basis, communities will elect and make lists of households and household groups participating in the project in the initial and subsequent phases.

- Dissemination of guidelines of districts and communes on local agricultural production development plans, crops and domestic animals and production crafts being given importance to, and having advantages for development,... so that households can understand before selecting them for registration for participation in the project. Such selection should focus on a number of activities with advantages in the localities, which are easily accessible by poor local households, in order to avoid thinned-out investment.

- Households’ voluntary registration (using registration cards) to select activities for participation in the project.

Meetings must be recorded in minutes (made according to Form 02 in the enclosed appendix), which will be re-read before the meetings close, and filed.

c/ Making lists of project-participating households, household groups:

- Village or hamlet chiefs shall sum up activities registered by households, household groups, make lists of registering households and household groups, attached with their activities and support levels (made according to Form 03, not printed herein);

For households or household groups registering activities incompliant with regulations, village or hamlet chiefs should meet and exchange ideas to guide such households or household groups in making adjustments before making lists for posting up;

- Posting up the lists at public places and announcement on public-address systems;

- If within one week after the public posting there are no opposing opinions from the communities, village or hamlet chiefs shall base on the posted results to formulate project plans (made according to Form 04. not printed herein) for submission to commune People’s Committees.