Outputs
1) Technical Research and Report including Handbook of Best Practices
The technical research will be developed based on desk study approach to review and analysis the development and best practices of digitalization in agriculture and rural development sector, review support policy framework from Viet Nam and 5-10 APEC economies (include of agriculture-based APEC economies such as Chile, China, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, and developed economies such as Japan, Korea, etc.).
The practices of digitalization in agriculture and rural development from other APEC economies will be developed from the desk study using secondary data.
The practice of digitalization in agriculture and rural development in Viet Nam will be developed from both secondary and primary data. The primary data will be collected via mail survey using official letter from IPSARD sent to localities as well as online interviews with key stakeholders.
The technical report includes of following parts: Part 1: Stocktaking of DRC in Viet Nam and APEC economies; Part 2: Proposed solutions and the way forward.
The Part 1: Stocktaking of DRC in Viet Nam and APEC economies includes of:
(i) the trend of digitalization in agriculture and rural development; (ii) current state of DRC in Viet Nam and other APEC economies (5-10 APEC economies); (iii) the key challenges in Viet Nam and other APEC economies in develop DRC with the consideration of gender sensitivity; (iv) potentials and impacts of DRC development in Viet Nam and other APEC economies. The Part 2: Proposed solutions and the way forward includes of: (i) Summarize the key findings from the digitalization practices in rural communities in Viet Nam and other APEC economies; (ii) Highlight success factors, innovative approaches that can be replicated or adapted in Viet Nam and other APEC economies; (iii) Takeaways lessons for policy makers, practitioners, and stakeholders interested in promoting digital applications in agriculture and rural development in Viet Nam and other APEC economies. The technical report will be published as APEC publication and shared among APEC economies as background knowledge and promote discussion for workshop participants. The technical report will be at least 60 pages, excluding annexes.
From the desk review of the overall situation of DRC, the Handbook of DRC Best Practices will be developed. The Handbook will provide total of 10 best practice models of digital applications in agriculture and rural development, of which 7 cases from Viet Nam and 3 cases from other APEC economies (i.e. China, Korea, and Thailand).
The key content of the Handbook of DRC Best Practices will include of:
(1) Introduction of innovative digitalization practices in rural communities: innovative digital applications in rural communities; achievement of the practices: benefits, impacts; and especially how the digitalization practices promote inclusivity and address gender disparities effectively in rural communities.
(2) Enabling Factors and Barriers: enabling factors will be explored to determine the success of innovative digital applications in rural communities such as policy framework, institutional support, funding mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement strategies. The barriers and challenges that those stakeholders are facing in applying and scaling up digital applications will be identified.
(3) Experience, lessons learnt and solutions and policy recommendations to develop DRC in Viet Nam.
The Handbook of DRC Best Practices will be at least 30 pages.
2) A 2-Day International Workshop in Viet Nam
A 2-day international workshop will be organized in Viet Nam in 2024 to share and exchange knowledge and experiences of best DRC models. There will be 8-10 speakers and at least 60 participants participated directly in the workshop and at least 50% participants are female. Local and international experts will be invited to speak to best practices, challenges/ key success factors of DRC in Viet Nam and other APEC economies.
The 2-full day of workshop will include presentations in 03 sections: (i) Rationales, current achievement, expected impacts and related support policies of DRC development in Viet Nam and other APEC economies; (ii) Best practices models and challenges in digitalization application of local authorities, enterprises, cooperatives and farms in agriculture sector and rural development; (iii) Roadmap and recommendation on developing DRC in Viet Nam and other APEC economies.
Participants will have time for Q&A and a session for policy dialogue on Roadmap and recommendation on developing DRC in Viet Nam and other APEC economies. The policy dialogue will invite policy makers in related agencies to bring opportunities for participants to discuss and propose further necessary activities, policy amendments to promote the development of digitalization application on agriculture and rural community development in Viet Nam and other APEC economies. Inputs for workshop participants include speaker presentations and a Handbook of DRC best practices. All recordings of the project will be edited and endorsed by forum members before being disseminated. The organization board will inform event participants that the event will be recorded in the General Information Circular (GIC).
The workshop participants include of various stakeholders related to digitalization application in agriculture and rural community development in APEC economies, such as policy makers, government staffs, regional and international organizations, academic institutions, NGOs, agricultural commodity associations, SMEs, and farmers cooperatives. Post-workshop evaluation will be conducted to collect feedback from the participant on whether the workshop has addressed the challenges and proposed solutions for the development of DRC, as well as satisfactorily gender issues related to this topic. The evaluation form developed base on the instruction in the Appendix H of the Guidebook on APEC projects will be disseminated as the last agenda at the event.
3) Workshop Summary Report
A workshop summary report includes of workshop presentations, minutes of discussions and policy recommendations of Workshop’s participants. The Workshop summary report will be at least 35 pages excluding annexes.
Outcomes
1) Enhanced Knowledge Exchange and capacity building: the project will facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and best practices among APEC economies regarding DRC development. This will involve the sharing of research findings, case studies, and innovative approaches to promote digitalization application for sustainable and inclusive growth in rural communities and agricultural sector. The APEC members can have a comprehensive picture on DRC development, how to apply and develop DRC models, benefits of DRC in practices. In addition, the project outputs are valuable references for research organizations, NGOs and other related stakeholders to apply in practice.
2) Promotion of sustainable Business Models: The project will promote sustainable business models via digitalization application to provide digital services to rural communities. Experiences and results of the project will help to improve efficiency and sustainability of MSMEs, women-led MSMEs, rural women and rural communities working in agriculture, support the extension of Smart Agriculture by harnessing cutting-edge digital technologies to increase agricultural productivity, and to cope with and adapt to the challenges of climate change in all APEC economies.
3) Policy Development and Alignment: The project will contribute to the development and alignment of policies and regulations related to DRC across APEC economies through identifying policy gaps, policy dialogues, and fostering collaboration to create an enabling environment for digitalization application in rural communities. Through knowledge on DRC best practices, lesson learnt and policy recommendations, public sector in APEC members can identify priority activities and policies for promoting digitalization in rural communities’ development. The project will provide a basis to design followed-up or additional APEC activities/ initiatives/ actions to promote DRC application in APEC economies for contributing to the APEC priority on digitalization and innovation, one of three economic drivers of APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040: “To empower all our people and businesses to participate and grow in an interconnected global economy, we will foster an enabling environment that is, among others, market-driven and supported by digital economy and innovation”.
4) Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration: The project will foster stakeholder engagement and collaboration among state and local governments, private sector entities, research institutions, civil society organizations and cooperatives/farmers. This will facilitate partnerships, knowledge-sharing networks, and joint initiatives to promote DRC development, inclusive growth and satisfactorily gender issues related to this topic.
Beneficiaries
First of all, the direct beneficiaries of the project are leaders and researchers in IPSARD and the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development (DCRD) and related agencies under MARD, who are involve in the development of digitalization development strategy in Viet Nam.All APEC member economies are invited to join the project activities (e.g., technical report review, workshop participation) will directly benefit from knowledge on the best practices of digitalization rural communities and policy review.
All APEC member economies are invited to nominate representatives (management staff, policy makers, researchers, private sector, farmers cooperatives, etc.) to attend the project. The direct beneficiaries are:
- Government officials (state and local levels) who in charged of rural development, agro-digitalization, e-commerce in all APEC economies.
- Relevant associations with relations to rural development, digital technology and related MSMEs, farmer cooperatives, etc.
- Regional and international organizations such as ADB, FAO, WB, etc. and representatives of organizations in APEC economies related to DRC; academic institutions including universities and research institutes for digitalization application in agriculture.
All beneficiaries are encouraged to participate directly in the workshop. Long-term beneficiaries (who will benefit indirectly, through the application of recommendations and actions arising from the project outputs) are MSMEs, women-led MSMEs, rural women and rural communities working in DRC models in all APEC economies. The organizers will follow the principle of gender equity and balance of inclusive, wide, balanced, and professional participants. The participants’ profile requirements will be sent 8 weeks before the workshop.
