越南Kon Tum省實施「少數民族橡膠種植計畫」可行性之研究

Abstract

Kon Tum is one of the mountainous provinces in the central highland of Vietnam. The ethnic minority people (Bana, Xedang, Gie Chieng, G’rai, B’rou, R’man, etc.) constitute 54% of the population and represents 91.77% of the total poor households (less than US$11.90 per person per month) in the province. Most of the ethnic minority population lives far away from main highways, making access to social services such as education and health care is limited. Traditional agriculture production is extremely difficult due to poor soil quality and terrain. Whilst, rubber trees, which its environmental friendly, can induce good market values and create a sustainable society. Therefore, sustainable development of agriculture through rubber plantation is one of the poverty reduction policies that are prioritized in the socio-economic development strategy of the Provincial Government. The objective of this study is to develop an appropriate approach for effective implementation of a rubber plantation project in Kon Tum Province; this is in order to alleviate poverty for its ethnic minority people. Primary data was collected via survey through questionnaire, designed by multi-stage sampling method. There were 200 valid questionnaires which were distributed in 4 districts in Kon Tum province. The districts are Dak Ha, Dak To, Sa Thay and Ngoc Hoi. The questionnaire consisted of 2 sections of enquiries; the socio-economic characteristics of respondents and the opinions on rubber plantation program included rubber planters’ opinions and expected rubber planters’ opinions. In this study, the findings were: Firstly, 98.5% of respondents mainly engaged in farming as a source of their family income, but the crops revenue is not sufficient for household expenditure. In addition, 100% of respondents have their own land for cultivation with 87% under certified lands; 60.8% of household respondents have enough laborers for rubber cultivation; Secondly, the government loans to the ethnic people are insufficient; inputs prices are high; and the ethnic people’s knowledge about market is very low; Thirdly, ethnic people’s expectation about the program is high in the area of loans, expecting 100% interest rate support; more rubber public information; more technical support for cultivation of rubber in each planting stage; introduction of reliable inputs places and a stable the market; Fourth, there are two diverse opinions including positive and negative evidences about the impacts of rubber on environment; Finally, rubber has the potential for sustainability. Based on the findings of this study, to implement the rubber cultivation program efficiently, the Provincial Government should focus on: 1) Encouraging the facilitation of greater loans and improve the market information knowledge. 2) The Provincial Government should also look for sustainable markets for the ethnic minority. 3) Strengthen technical training programs to improve rubber plantation productivity and protect the environment.