Realisation of Higher Value Added of Seng Cu Rice Value Chain in Viet Nam

Inglés. peer reviewed

Inglés. Lao Cai is a border province located in the Northern Midlands and Mountains (NMMs) of Viet Nam, containing the typical features of mountains such as high poverty rate (27.4% in 2017), the scarcity of arable land1, diversity of 25 ethnic minority groups and the widening gap among the different income group (Lao Cai SO, 2016; MOLISA, 2016; Nguyen Tran, 2017; WorldBank, 2017). Despite its being an agriculture-based province with nearly 80% of total rural population engaging in farming activities, the share of agricultural output in gross regional domestic product was only 14.24% in 2017 (Lao Cai SO, 2017). This indicates that agricultural activities in the province provide low value addition, leading to currently high poverty rate and other serious socio-economic issues. Several recent studies carried out in the NMMs indicated that although increasing the value added of farming activity always gets the attention of the local authorities, top–down policies and their implementation have created ineffective results in agricultural development and livelihood-improving roles for the local people (Bui et al., 2018; Castella et al., 2002; Yen et al., 2013). Moreover, farmers and other actors in the agricultural chain are faced with various challenges in production and marketing. In this study, the authors chose a potential agricultural product of Lao Cai, namely, Seng Cu rice, to identify the bottlenecks and, thus, suggest feasible solutions to generate more value addition and allocate more suitable benefit among actors in the chain. Seng Cu is a special rice of the NMMs, with superior aroma, nutrition, and flavour compared to other rice varieties. Seng Cu cultivated in Lao Cai has the highest price in the domestic market2, therefore, providing high economic value to producers and other actors. It is also listed among the primary agricultural products of the province in terms of improving the economic state of poor farmers and ensuring food security, especially in upland areas. However, the share of production area devoted for Seng Cu rice still remains low; it slightly increased from 3.5% in 2012 to 6.1% in 2017 in total rice cultivated land of Lao Cai (Lao Cai DARD, 2012; 2017). Based on the value chain approach, the study aims to determine challenges in production, processing, and marketing and, therefore, suggests reasonable solutions to get higher value added of this special agricultural product and to distribute better benefits among those in the chain. The chapter comprises six sections. After the introduction and methodology, the next section describes the main characteristics and cost–benefit analysis of primary actors in the chain as well as the role of secondary actors who provide support services affecting value addition of the chain. The fourth part presents an overview of product channels and calculates the contribution of value addition of each actor in four main channels. Based on this, the main advantages and disadvantages occurring in the chain, which are important evidence, are identified. Recommendations on production and marketing for sustainable development are presented in the last section.