In the following section, we argue that achieving the ideals of group-based
approaches and collaborative learning face particular challenges in the authoritarian
setting of an ethnically diverse mountainous region such as northern Vietnam.
11.4.1 The Drive Towards Enhanced Learning Strategies
in the Pig Husbandry Sector, and the Study Setting
In the mountainous north-west of Vietnam, land scarcity, domestic market demands
and the need to diversify incomes has led people to search for on-farm income
activities that are relatively independent of land endowments. The intensification of
pig husbandry activities is therefore widely seen as a viable option; with the
majority of farmers in this area being smallholders who keep just one to three
breeding sows on average, but are moving from subsistence-based farming to more
commercially-oriented practices (Henin 2002; Lemke and Valle Za ´rate 2008; Minh
2010). Meanwhile, the need for greater levels of knowledge with respect to animal
and breeding management, health and hygiene, and even improvements in meat
quality, is increasingly being felt by farmers in the region.
‘Demonstration models’ – most commonly applied by the State Extension Service
and relatively successful in terms of knowledge dissemination within the plant
production context – quickly showed their limitations, and alternative strategies
were thus called for. Examples of these more recent strategies include the Farmer
Livestock School piloted by DANIDA, which in its basic form is similar to Farmer
Field Schools (Minh et al. 2010), and ‘pig-banking’, which builds on the Heifer
concept to spread improved cattle breeds through rotational mechanisms (Kinsey
1996). Despite their high costs and relatively slow knowledge diffusion, these
positive experiences with regard to sustainable innovation processes have
encouraged extension actors from all legal backgrounds to set up innovative forms
of group learning, building on local knowledge systems. For example, several
extension groups among smallholder pig husbandry activities in the research area
have been established in recent years as part of the promotion of livestock development and the use of participatory approaches in agricultural extension (MARD 2007).
Therefore, the study presented in this section initially started with an inventory
of pig husbandry extension groups across three districts of Son La Province (Yen
Chau, Mai Son, Son La District) and was implemented based on interviews held
with 26 regional authorities and village leaders. From the four different types of
group extension modes found (see below), we purposively selected 2–3 groups of
each type for in-depth study. The research methodology was largely qualitative in
nature, employing four method types: semi- and unstructured interviews, group
discussions, observations and documentary collection. Given that the groups were
at different stages of development, with some already disbanded and others only
444
I. Schad et al.
approaches and collaborative learning face particular challenges in the authoritarian
setting of an ethnically diverse mountainous region such as northern Vietnam.
11.4.1 The Drive Towards Enhanced Learning Strategies
in the Pig Husbandry Sector, and the Study Setting
In the mountainous north-west of Vietnam, land scarcity, domestic market demands
and the need to diversify incomes has led people to search for on-farm income
activities that are relatively independent of land endowments. The intensification of
pig husbandry activities is therefore widely seen as a viable option; with the
majority of farmers in this area being smallholders who keep just one to three
breeding sows on average, but are moving from subsistence-based farming to more
commercially-oriented practices (Henin 2002; Lemke and Valle Za ´rate 2008; Minh
2010). Meanwhile, the need for greater levels of knowledge with respect to animal
and breeding management, health and hygiene, and even improvements in meat
quality, is increasingly being felt by farmers in the region.
‘Demonstration models’ – most commonly applied by the State Extension Service
and relatively successful in terms of knowledge dissemination within the plant
production context – quickly showed their limitations, and alternative strategies
were thus called for. Examples of these more recent strategies include the Farmer
Livestock School piloted by DANIDA, which in its basic form is similar to Farmer
Field Schools (Minh et al. 2010), and ‘pig-banking’, which builds on the Heifer
concept to spread improved cattle breeds through rotational mechanisms (Kinsey
1996). Despite their high costs and relatively slow knowledge diffusion, these
positive experiences with regard to sustainable innovation processes have
encouraged extension actors from all legal backgrounds to set up innovative forms
of group learning, building on local knowledge systems. For example, several
extension groups among smallholder pig husbandry activities in the research area
have been established in recent years as part of the promotion of livestock development and the use of participatory approaches in agricultural extension (MARD 2007).
Therefore, the study presented in this section initially started with an inventory
of pig husbandry extension groups across three districts of Son La Province (Yen
Chau, Mai Son, Son La District) and was implemented based on interviews held
with 26 regional authorities and village leaders. From the four different types of
group extension modes found (see below), we purposively selected 2–3 groups of
each type for in-depth study. The research methodology was largely qualitative in
nature, employing four method types: semi- and unstructured interviews, group
discussions, observations and documentary collection. Given that the groups were
at different stages of development, with some already disbanded and others only
444
I. Schad et al.