Strategy formulation for poverty alleviation program : a study of Quang Tri province in Vietnam | |
| Author | Truong Chi Trung |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-00-25 |
| Subject(s) | Rural poor--Vietnam--Quang Tri Rural development projects--Vietnam--Quang Tri |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | In Vietnam, since early 1990s, the issue of poverty has been a major concerns of many government organization, NGOS as well as international funding agencies. A wide range of strategies and policies have been adopted in search of an effective measure that can put an end to or at least alleviate poverty and inequality. The quest for an appropriate strategy has ranged from the policy formulation at national level to project planning and implementation at local level. Although one should feel optimist about the success of the poverty oriented programs but be aware of the fact that problems associated with such programs are still challenging. This study aims at exploring the situation, characteristics, determinants, and causal relationships of poverty on one side. On the other, the study attempts to examine achievements and shortcomings of selected Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP) focused on poverty alleviation. People's perception about the IRDP is also added to the scope of analysis. It has been found that poverty incidence is varied much by regions and occupational groups but it is most acute among rural farmers, particularly in mountainous region and among the minority tribes. The poor are differently distinguished from the remaining population in a range of social, economic, institutional and demographic dimensions. All these dimensions of poverty interact each other to keep the poor in the "vicious circle" as Chamber stated. However, factor analysis explores that the poverty in the study area is mostly explained by income and production factors. Furthermore, findings from multiple regression analysis shows that dimensions determining the deprivation of the rural poor include the farm size, rice productivity, value of productive asset and number of occupations. This result is strongly supported by the perception of people about the cause of poverty as they reported that lack of credit, lack of technical know-how, limited amount of land are the most important causes of poverty in the study area. The study of the IRDP shows that it is successful in improving the income, production and other social dimensions of the local people. The key factors inducing the improvement in income include improved water management, improved technical know-how, adequate use of agricultural input and credit granted by the IRDP. However, there is a difference in the level of benefits gained and satisfaction about the program by different income groups. The very poor households benefit less than the remaining population and are less satisfied about the program. The shortcomings of the IRDP are found in target group identification and activities planning aspect. What becomes apparent from this study is to deal the essential problems of the poor and the importance of targeting the most deprived group. The poverty alleviation programs should focus on improvement of capital base, technical know-how, land holding size and land quality and opportunity for employment of the poor households. Identification and articulation of real needs of the target group and strong orientation towards well-defined target group are found critical elements in planning for poverty alleviation programs. |
| Year | 2000 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Routray, Jayant K. ;Soparth Pongquan; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Weber, Karl E.; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | United Nations Development Program (UNDP); |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2000 |