Publications

Written by Mekong Institute

Interest in contract farming as a mechanism to coordinate linkages between farmers and agribusiness firms has grown significantly in the recent past, largely due to the international trends towards tighter alignment in agri-food supply chains. Because of its large but untapped potential in improving the lives of smallholder farmers, and enhancing agricultural productivity in general, contract farming has become a subject of interest of researchers, agriculturists, development workers, and farmers, among others, all over the world.  With this high demand for knowledge likewise comes the rising need for information-dissemination, technical assistance, and capacity-building programs that intend to educate various professionals concerned in this line of work.

Aiming to build the capacity of Southeast Asian participants in dealing with issues related to facilitating market linkages through contract farming operations, the Rural Development Department of the Mekong Institute (MI), with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), conducted a four-day regional training workshop entitled “Planning and Implementing Contract Farming Operations” at the Mekong River Conference Hall, MI Annex, last Nov. 23-26.

The program was attended by junior to mid-level officials from Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Industry and Trade; extension agents; professionals from research and academic institutions; development project personnel; agribusiness private sectors representatives; and farmer group production and marketing leaders. Twenty-five participants, 15 of which were fully-funded by FAO and 10 of which are self-funded, have been selected for this course, each coming from twelve different countries – Cambodia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Dr. Carlos da Silva, Senior Agribusiness Economist of FAO-Rome, and Mr. Ralph Houtman, Agribusiness Officer of FAO-Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific, facilitated the whole training workshop. Each of them discussed various topics in contract farming, specifically emphasizing how to plan and set up contract farming operations, as well as the considerations on legal aspects of contract design and reinforcement. After each topic, the participants were given the opportunity to ask questions, which gave way to a fruitful discussion and participatory learning.

The resource persons likewise presented case studies of contract farming in various countries, such as Brazil, which engaged the participants in a critical discourse and healthy debate among each other. After the first two days of lectures and in-house sessions, MI facilitated two field visits on the third day of the program. The participants, along with the resource persons and a number of MI staff, visited the Mitr Phol Sugar Company and a small swine farm performing contract farming with the Charoen Pokphand Group in Khon Kaen. The field speakers in each field sites encouraged the participants to ask and discuss about the actual application of contract farming, which reinforced the lessons taught in the lectures and further widened the participants’ understanding of contract farming in Thailand.

At the fourth and final day of the program, the participants were given an opportunity to have a hands-on experience of analyzing various contracts from around the world, and assess whether or not these contracts pass the FAO standards as discussed by the resource speakers. After presenting the results of their contract analyses, the participants were grouped into four and were asked to brainstorm about the challenges and opportunities for the promotion of buyer-farmer linkages through contract farming in Southeast Asia. Receiving a total weighted average of 4.53 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest) in the participants’ evaluation, the program was considered a success. One of the participants commended the overall quality of the presentations, citing that the lectures were “clear and concise; easy to digest and understand.”

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Forum is an initiative of Mekong Institute, an inter-governmental organization in the Great Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

The Mekong Forum:

• Brings together opinion leaders to discuss the most pressing issues facing the GMS;
• Is known for its July biennial gathering in Khon Kaen, a city in the northeast of Thailand;
• Is an integrated platform engaging business, academic and other leaders in collaborative efforts to shape the development agenda in the GMS;
• Is now being used by leaders, international organizations and scholars as a neutral platform to exchange ideas and build networks across the GMS;

By the end of 2015, the ASEAN nations will embark on a new phase of development – the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Once the AEC blueprint is fully implemented, ASEAN will become a prosperous economic community with freer movement of goods, trade, services, investment, and skilled labor. Despite the promising opportunities, AEC also poses many challenges.

To address these challenges, the 2015 Mekong Forum brought together senior policy makers, business and civic leaders, academics, and development practitioners from throughout the region to discuss and shape the agenda for developing and modernizing the GMS. Participants shared success stories, lessons learned and innovative ideas on modernizing both the public and private sectors as part of the development process in the GMS, and sought to identify areas of collaboration that will synergize development within the GMS and in ASEAN integration and other cooperation frameworks.

The 2015 Forum focused on three main topics:

• Adopting New Technology and Innovation for Enhancing GMS Competitiveness in the Global Market
• International Agreements and Policy Tools for Supporting the GMS Development Process

Addressing Institutional Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Leap of the GMS

Participants addressed the need in the GMS for a comprehensive, broad-based process of modernization, particularly in regard to agriculture, technology and logistics. They also discussed policy recommendations for the GMS governments to modernize the GMS towards the post-AEC 2015, focusing on the appropriate policy initiatives to support the development process in GMS countries as well as ways to avoid, minimize or mitigate any negative consequences of development and disparities within and between GMS countries.

The ideas and information presented at the 2015 Forum will help Mekong Institute design its projects and future research plans with the aim of promoting public and private sector cooperation for regional integration.

Written by Mekong Institute

The training on “Trade Promotion and International Agreements” was organized at Huu NghiHotel, Dong Ha, Quang Tri on October 19 -23, 2015. This program aims to enhance theparticipants’ capacity in stimulating local economic development via cross-border trade which isrelevant for Quang Tri. The five day training program was taken part by 1 7 senior and mid-levelofficials from government agencies of Quang Tri Province. Among them, 15 participantssuccessfully completed the whole training program. There were altogether five modules coveredin the training. Module 1 introduced the participants with the framework of GMS Cooperationand EWEC Economic Corridor Development highlighting the involvement of Vietnam andQuang Tri in general. Module 2 exposed the participants to the policies, strategies and practicesin trade promotion and facilitation of Quang Tri Province. Module 3 familiarized the participantswith the international and regional agreements which exerted impacts towards the trade sectordevelopment of Quang Tri Province. Finally, Module 4 concluded the training by explaininghow local economies should prepare ahead to embrace the upcoming ASEAN EconomicCommunity (AEC). As the outputs of the training, the participants managed to come up with theproposals of four action plans that could be beneficial towards trade promotion development inQuang Tri Province. The evaluation results of the training demonstrated that the participantswere highly appreciative of the training and it provided the reference to conclude the trainingachieved its objectives. Through a thorough review on the feedbacks of the participants, a set ofrecommendations were made ; such as integrating SLV in the course , inviting participants fromthe private sector and the implementation of the training outside of Dong Ha ; in order toenhance the effectiveness of the training.

Written by Mekong Institute

The program had two parts: (1) practical training on postharvest management in a value chain setting and (2) presentation, evaluation and synthesis of results of the implementation of country action plans. A training package comprising of six modules with topical contents was developed by the resource person and improved by MI’s Rural Development for Sustainable Livelihoods Unit. 

The program was delivered using powerpoint presentations, discussions, hands on exercises on selected postharvest technologies and best practices, and field visits to GAP farm and its packhouse and market outlet as well as to a wholesale vegetable market. The training team distributed handouts and CD of ppt presentations, guide to and results of the practical activities, country presentations and pictorial documentation. Participants analyzed and presented the results and observations of the practical exercises and field visits to stimulate and sharpen their analytical skills on postharvest phenomena and commercial situations for future application in home country and work place. Overall, the training component improved participants’ knowledge.

The presentation and discussion of the country action plan results were similarly enriching. The Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar participants presented their results of the assessment of the handling practices and problems for fresh chili, leaf mustard and grapes, respectively, together with a poster which was evaluated by the participants themselves, MI staff and resource person, for improvement and subsequent translation to country languages prior to posting in strategic places in the country and possible conversion to leaflets for distribution to farmers and other stakeholders. On the other hand, the Vietnam participants shared the experiences and outcomes of the training programs conducted in the north (Hanoi) and south (Ho Chi Minh) of the country. 

Based on the analysis of the questionnaire evaluation and observation of MI facilitators, the objectives of the workshop were achieved. Participants have reflected on the learning experiences during action plan implementation. The participants were able to evaluate and synthesize the modular learning process, as well as to stimulate sharing and networking among them. They were satisfied with the program that they expressed certainty of recommending this program to others in their respective countries.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) in cooperation with the provincial government of Khon Kaen province successfully organized the 3rd International Seminar and Business Matching on “Enhancing Silk Sector’s Competitiveness in Technology and Market through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)” on September 9-10, 2015 at Pullman Raja Orchid Hotel and Convention Center, Khon Kaen. The event aimed to introduce the best practices of CSR and provided a platform to showcase exquisite silk products and identify opportunities to engage with private companies for CSR outreach programs, as well as to enhance the capability and develop the potential of silk businesses in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), while sharing new technology of silk production systems and innovation of green supply chain. The seminar also incorporated a business matching activity with the goal of strengthening and expanding the network among silk entrepreneurs and businesses in some Northeastern provinces of Thailand, India, Japan and other GMS countries namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam and China. The ultimate goal of this event was to equip the participating companies and communities with tools and knowledge to better compete in Asia and the world market.  Moreover, the organizer of the event also developed a database of silk business owners-www.asiasilkbiz.com for business networking, to further enhance the competitiveness of silk business owners. The Asia Silk Alliance (ASA) was officially formed during the events with the discussion on the way forward of ASA that facilitating business networks and long-term cooperation among silk producers and exporters in Asia countries.  Upon this, the ASA Declaration was announced, agreed and singed among the representatives from Cambodia, China. Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The leader of ASA is India, with the witness of the governor of provincial government of Khon Kaen, The Queen Sirikit Department of Sericulture (QSDS) and MI (Thailand) for signing of the Declaration. 

The 3rd International Seminar and Business Matching attracted a total of 207 participants, comprising of major silk brand owners and manufacturers, SME silk production groups, exporters and importers, intermediaries of silk products, leaders from silk-related government agencies, CSR experts and organizations, silk technologists and other entrepreneurs from different provinces of Thailand such as Roi-et, Khon Kaen, Mahasarakham, Kalasin, NakornRatchasima, Petchaboon, Chiang Mai, Mukdahan, Pitsanulok and Bangkok. 

Ten speakers were invited to present during the two-day event. They were from Thailand’s Department of Sericulture, CSR Asia, ASEAN CSR network, silk manufacturers and exporters, designers and some other GMS organizations. These experts shared experience and knowledge on the following four aspects:

 • Technology, innovation and silk market development

 • Opportunities for CSR initiatives and CSR practices in the silk sector

• CSR- related success stories

The business matching activity, both for CSR and silk sector matching has brought the opportunities for silk businesses in the region. Many possible cooperation and partnership were identified during the event. The participants exchanged the information on their business, various production technique and channels of distribution, as well as CSR initiative projects and activities.  Product samples were given to both up-and-down stream entrepreneurs. Some tangible partnership has led to business negotiations and deals.

The silk business database - www.asiasilkbiz.com has drawn interests of the participants to the event as they can always search for seminar materials and other participant information. Registered members can also use the website as a platform for sharing and exchanging information and possibly fostering their relationship and business. Promotion \of this website and the database would result in greater coverage of silk businesses in this region. 

The 3rd International Seminar and Business Matching yielded a satisfactory result. The evaluation has indicated that the international seminar and business matching activity were successful. The participants’ responses showed that they were neutrally satisfied about the event with a rate of 3.01 out of 4. The event scores in terms of effectiveness ranged from 3.07 to 3.25, indicating that the seminar was fully effective. Regarding the results on meeting its objectives, the event was scored between 3.11 to 3.31. Moreover, when compare this year’s results to the previous year, 40% increases in every part of the evaluation. 

However, recommendations and suggestions were provided for further improvement based on three aspects; the event, E-sarn silk sector and Asia Silk Alliance (ASA). It is summarized as followings;

• The international Event: Two models of the event next year were suggested. Firstly, on the theme of cultural tourism for silk sector in Asia with site visits. Secondly is Asia Silk Trade Fair or Asia Silk Expo 2016 which Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) will be one of the main sponsors of the event.

• E-sarn Silk Sector. Based on Porter’s five force analysis, it is found that E-sarn silk market is very attractive for competitors to compete for market share, therefore E-sarn silk entrepreneurs are required to emphasize on the bargaining for suppliers, also keep developing business strategic skills such as production standards, marketing and business communications.

• Asia Silk Alliance (ASA). There are two phases of ASA road map; the introduction stage, the 1st phase of 6 months to 1 year plan, MI will facilitate ASA in working plan, database management and website at the introduction stage. Khon Kean provincial government and other units/ organizations introduced will take part to support ASA in the long-term working process. 

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong  Institute conducted a 5-day  training programme on  “Post-Conflict Approaches towards Local Economic Development in Kayin State, Myanmar” on August 28- September 1, 2015. Fifteen participants from different government agencies and private sector attended the training. The training aimed to strengthen the skills of the local economic development actors in Kayin State  which  are  necessary  to facilitate  economic  stimulation  in  the  area.

The  training  took place at Grand Hill Hotel, Hpa-an, Kayin State. Mr.Thuta Aung, the Trainer, Ms. Than Tha Aung, the program facilitator from Mekong Institute, Dr. Thet Thet Mar and Dr. Khin Myat Soe  from  RLED-EWEC  Myanmar  office,  contributed to  the  design  and  delivery  of  the program with their technical expertise. The  training  was  composed  of  five  modules.  Module  1  on  Investment  Promotion  aimed  to expose  the  participant  to  the  concepts  of  investment  promotion  and  by  examining  how  to effective  communicate  the  opportunities  to  potential  investor  to  bring  in  responsible investments  into  Kayin  State.  Module  2  on  “ASEAN  Economic  Community  and  National Export  Strategy”  was  to  familiarize  the  participants  with  contemporary  issues  surrounding AEC  at  the  regional  level  and  the  NES  at  the  country  level.  Module  3  on  “Private-Public- Partnership  and  Post  Conflict  Economic  Reconstruction”  provided  case  studies  of  other countries and creation hypothetical scenarios for Kayin State in the future. Module 4 explored the  role  of  government  in  stimulating  economic  development  encouraging  enterprises  and entrepreneurship. The  monitoring  and  evaluation  tools  employed  throughout  the  program  confirmed  that  the program’s objectives were achieved and the program was successful. Most of the participants were very satisfied with the program as shown in the total average rating by participants on the  overall  assessment  of  the  training  program.  

As  targeted  by  the  training,  this  training enabled  the  participants  to  produce  the  action  plans  that could  be  implemented  using  the knowledge attained from the training. As the success of the training will also be measured by the  extent  in  which  participants  are  able  to  implement  their  action  plans,  MI have  planned follow-up activities to provide technical support towards their action plan implementation

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) organized the one-month training course on “
Sustainable Community Development” under the financial support from Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. Ten Cambodian central and provincial government officials from the Ministry of Rural Development participated in this training program, which was organized from June 29 to July 24, 2015, at the MI Residential Training Center in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.

The course aimed to a) increase participants’ skills in community analysis; b) enhance participants’ knowledge of concepts and process of community development in Thailand; c) strengthen participants’ skills to facilitate local participation in rural community development; d) improve the participants’ knowledge and ability to plan for strategies and interventions to cope with the community issues in their work location; and e) advance the participants’ ability to employ monitoring  and evaluation concepts and tools to help improve the performance of community development strategies. 

Five interactive modules were conducted to cover the above objectives. The first module was about Concepts of Sustainable Community Development whichgave an overview of trends and interventions as well as problem and potential in different national and regional contexts. Next, the second module was the discussion on Sustainable Community Development: Diagnostic Processes and Tools. These enabled participants to use participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and stakeholder analysis in community development. In the third module, it was focused on Planning and Implementation Framework in Community Development. Planning technique, SWOT analysis, logical framework, monitoring, and evaluation were emphasized in the session. Afterward, the fourth module was explained about the Leadership in Community Development. Participants learned about the role of leader, people-centered development approach, and management in community development. In addition, the fieldwork was designed as the fifth module for the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) fieldwork which was conducted in Surin province where it gave opportunities for participants to learn about the real practice from the Thailand’s village development. In the final week, participants were brought to the indigo-cotton weaving group in Sakhon Nakhon province, and rice cracker group in Khon Kaen province to learn of some successful community-based enterprise (CBE) in Thailand.                 
Two resource persons, Dr. Suchint Simaraks , and Dr. Chamnan Wattanasiri , responsibled for delivering  lectures and facilitating the training program. Multi- learning methods, from theories as well as practices, were employed. Participatory was a core component; discussion were encouraged. The participants produced a planning and fieldwork report at the end of the course.   

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) and the New Zealand Embassy, Bangkok, launched the Mekong Institute – New Zealand Ambassador's Scholarship (MINZAS) Program for master degree students from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand (CLMT) in 2012. One of its foremost benefits is that besides the research grant the scholarship grantees received a training course on research methodology.

The training course on research methodology for the fourth batches of the MINZAS Program took place from March 9 to April 3, 2015 at the MI headquarters in Khon Kaen province of Thailand. In total, twelve CLMT scholarship recipients (five from Cambodia, one from Lao PDR, three from Myanmar and three from Thailand) attended the training course which drew on the expertise and experience of MI program staff and regional experts from Khon Kaen and Kasetsart Universities of Thailand. During the research methodology training course, the scholarship recipients observed four modules emphasizing the development of academically sound research proposals and new research techniques to assist in fieldwork research projects.

The results of the overall evaluation for the learning program, detailed herein, reveal that the participants were generally satisfied with the program content, resource personnel, recreational activities, training management and delivery. The sessions of the program were rated as "quite useful" by the participants, who indicated that the knowledge and skills acquired therein could (and would) be applied to their fieldwork research projects. Also, during the four-week intensive learning course, the participants developed new friendships and established region-wide networks. Fostering such connections promotes regional cooperation and stands as a consistent, indirect benefit of all training courses and programs. Though the participants were highly satisfied with the learning program, several comments were provided which will help to improve the program for the next MINZAS cohort. These comments expressed a need for more time on individual work on the research topics. The participants also felt they needed more focus on data analysis and interpretation, especially for qualitative research. The four-week training period was somewhat acceptable even though some of the participants felt the need for an even longer duration. However, the theory (technique) and practice should be better-balanced.

Written by Mekong Institute

On October 1, 2013, the Mekong Institute was awarded a grant by the USAID/RDMA to develop an online platform that tracks and lists all foreign-funded food security and agriculture initiatives in the five countries of the Lower Mekong Region (LMR) Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam

 The project consisted of two phases: Phase I which involved research and mapping of food security and agriculture activities in the region; and Phase II which entailed the set up and design of the database and the conduct of information dissemination activities.

Staff of the Rural Development Department under which the project was maintained carried out Phase I from October 2013 to mid-2014. Alongside this, Phase II began on December 2013 with the hiring of a website and database programmer to set up the system.

On May 2015, the project team completed the official version of the database. It is  currently hosted in an in-house server at Mekong Institute and may be accessed at foodsecurity.mekonginstitute.org. The website was presented to USAID/RDMA and selected donors and development partners on June 29, 2015.

With a grant amounting to USD 108,400, the Lower Mekong Initiative Food  Security Donor Mapping Database project ran from October 1, 2013 to June 30, 2015. 

Written by Mekong Institute

The Training Program on “Sustainable Rural Development” was held on 1-5 June 2015 at Mekong Institute (MI) Residential Training Center in Khon Kaen, Thailand, in collaboration with the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD). Nineteen officials of Myanmar, Lao PDR and Thailand participated in the program. The training program aimed to enhance the participants’ professional capacity in sustainable rural development strategies and interventions.

The resource person Dr. Suchint Simaraks, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Thailand contributed to the design and delivery of the lectures in the program. The training program was composed of three interrelated modules. Module 1 on “Introduction to Sustainable Rural Development Concepts” provides an overview of concept of rural development and trends in rural development policies and interventions in current different context including national, regional and international levels. This module introduced the participants to the integrated and multi-sectoral approach to sustainable rural development which will emphasize the links between actors for development of the rural economy. This approach aims to use all available local economic synergies by strengthening production chains and linking with private sector and developing well-functioning markets.

Module 2 on “Issues Related to Sustainable Rural Development” highlighted different issues, challenges and opportunities related to sustainable rural development including inequity alleviation, good governance, environmental protection and regional cooperation, and risk management. Participants gained a better understanding on how to identify and compare the aforementioned issues, challenges and opportunities in their respective working areas.

Module 3 on “Sustainable Rural Development Interventions and Planning” provided an idea of a good example of rural development intervention which demonstrated success and created positive impacts in the livelihood of the community. During this module, a field visit has been made to a community with rural development and income-generating projects. The visit provided participants with firsthand information and exposed them to new ideas and experiences which may be applied in their work.

The training program is running in an interactive learning fashion. Brainstorming and discussion are carried out in most of the sessions. Concepts, principles and methodologies are explained through Powerpoint presentations to reinforce their learning. A field visit is arranged and discussed after in order to link room sessions to real world situations. Before the field visit, participants prepared an interview guide as a tool to collect information. The participants are divided into groups with different nationalities and mixed gender. After the field visit, participants are asked to discuss and present the lessons learned from the visit and indicate practices which can be applied upon their return.

Beside the contents of the program, top-ten world trends from World Economic Forum, Millennium Goals, world poverty distribution, resources limitation and other topics related to sustainable development are added. Causes of un-sustainability as reflected by inequity, urban-rural interrelationship, ecosystems, agro-ecosystems, urban systems interaction are discussed. Rural sustainability is integrated into the mentioned issues. Ideas for intervention are generated according to each country situation, in which the participants are tasked to prepare tentative action plan for learning and discussion, as well as monitoring and evaluation. The participatory action research is introduced and discussed. Towards the end, participants present their findings from the field visit and make some recommendations.

In conclusion, there are three main perspectives that the participants should assimilate: sustainable rural development that must be environmentally bearable, economically viable and socially equitable; network and network management; and functional relationship with outside organizations.