26 March 2021, Ha Noi, Vietnam — the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held the first workshop in support of planning the implementation of Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the rice sector. Aiming at setting priorities for NDC implementation in rice production, the workshop highlighted different NDC scenarios to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while gaining economic, social, and environmental benefits sustainably.

This report showcases the results of the assessment conducted by the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development. The assessment aims to create new sets of criteria for the Nông Thôn Mới (NTM) program of Vietnam by investigating the impacts and issues brought by climate change. This is a part of the task, “Investigation and improvement of the national NTM criteria for rural development at all levels (commune, district, province) according to titles (standard, advanced, demonstration) in the period of 2021-2025.”

This case study was conducted to generate insights on the financial sustainability of selected VDFSGs and to gather information on members’ perceptions of the usefulness of these institutions in coping with household and climate change-related shocks or stresses. Financial sustainability was analyzed by conducting a detailed financial analysis of six selected VDFSGs to determine the sufficiency of interest payments as revenue to cover total costs as well as to evaluate loan recovery and equity build- up. Members’ perception of the usefulness of VDFSGs in helping them to cope with and adjust to family and climate change-related shocks/stresses was determined by conducting Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) among selected representatives of VDFSG members. Useful feedback of the financial performance and areas for improvement were generated. The Pu Hong, Pu Chhob, and Prek Svay VDFSGs were considered financially sustainable based on the results of the study. The study also revealed that the VDFSGs are considered most useful when there are crop failures due to extreme weather events and when there are medical emergencies in the household. The FGD participants and key informants expressed confidence that they are in a better position to cope with their vulnerabilities due to the presence of a VDFSG in their village.