Rolling out the FACT training and enhancing the farmer parcipation on policy advocacy and development programs Viet Nam Farmers’ Union (VNFU) was established on October 14, 1930. The Union is the organization that gathers, encourages, educates its members to bring into full play their initiatives, actively learn to improve their all facet capacity; represent, care and defend the legitimate rights and interests of members; organize activities to provide services, advice, support for member to improve production, business and living conditions.
VNFU is organized at 4 official levels: national, provincial, district and commune level. Under the commune level, VNFU is organized into branches and under the branches, VNFU is organized into groups. At present, VNFU has over 10 millions members working in various sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fishery, salt-making, handicraft and small industry, services… VNFU has nearly 15.000 full time staffs and over 200.000 part-time staff working at all levels of VNFU.

VNFU develops the proposal on “Rolling out the FACT training and enhancing the farmer parcipation on policy advocacy and development programs in 03 provinces: Lao Cai, Nghe An, Dong Nai”. Under the project framework, it will help to effectively realize the Decision number 673 by the Prime Minister and ask more sustainable local authority’s budget to the FU’s activities and Supporting Fund for Farmers, establishement of Centers for Vocational Training and Supporting Farmers as well as to expand the FACT approach in the FU system, particularly at district and commune level. This will make VNFU’s policy advocacy stronger and more influential, social monitoring and feedback better implemented, thus contributing to creating favourable conditions for farmers to develop production and business, particularly increase the competitiveness of the agro-products to improve their living conditions. It also helps VNFU involve deeper in national socio-economic development programs to bring better benefits to members, farmers.

Goal:
- To contribute to creating favourable policy environment for development of production and business of farmers and improve their living conditions by asking local authority to allocate budget to realize the existing policy to increase the loan amount for Supporting Fund for Farmers and building the Centre for Vocational Training and Supporting Farmers.
- To contribute to increasing participation of FUs in national socio-economic development programs in rural areas and to protect the farmers’ legitimate interests and rights

Activities:

Activity 1.1: Organize 1st prepratory training workshop for VNFU leaders and staff at province, district, and commune levels on Farmer Advocacy Consultation Tool (FACT) approach that will be conducted by the FACT TOT trainees and coached by international FACT trainers in 3 provinces.
12 TOT trainers who were trained by international experts on FACT- the special services provided by Agriterra and some of them were trained on constructive engagement funded by the AsiaDHRRA  will conduct the 1st preparatory traning workshop for FU leaders and staff at province, district and commune level. 03 preparatory workshops (1 trainings in each province) will be conducted in 03 provinces and around 60 FU leaders, staffs at province, district, commune levels, farmers with at least 30% of women participation will be trained and applied FACT in their work. The trainings will be coached by the international FACT trainers. 

Activity 1.2 Organizing consultations with the members:
03 consultations with nearly 200 farmers involved in to find out the actual needs from farmers on the loan, vocational training, supporting issues... Through the consultations, farmers can raise and speak out their actual needs, problems, then FU will based on their needs to propose the recomendations to the local authority to allocate more budget to support farmers...

Activity 1.3 Conducting Participatory Research.
Professional researchers will be contracted to give advice for FU to carry out the participaotry research, to do the desk study to give more evidences for FU to advocate. A the same time,  to document the previous experiences from successful cases of other FUs on advocating local authority’s budget allocation to the Supporting Fund for Farmers so that the FUS in the project provinces . Focus Group Discussions and interviews to generate the views of various stakeholders (farmers, local authority, FUs,...) on each of the target programs will be documented. 

Activity 1.4 Writing SMART Proposals: The proposals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound will be deliberated, elaborated and prepared in these consultations and participatory research reports which will be the unifying tasks of  the sector in its succeeding various lobby/advocacy activities. 

Activity 1.5 Conducting Lobbying mapping and Advocacy.This activity includes stakeholders analysis' of power and interest, communication planning, preparation of materials, actual meetings/lobbying.03 dialouges on the issue will be organized with particiapation of the local authority, VNFU leaders, farmers, relevant department, agencies...

Activity 1.6  VNFU leaders and staff with international experts of Agriterra will also attend the workshops to do coaching, do monitoring of the process and meeting with FUs to guiding FU at provincial level to do advocacy.

To contribute to creating favourable policy environment for development of production and business of farmers and improve their living conditions by asking local authority to allocate budget to realize the existing policy to increase the loan amount for Supporting Fund for Farmers and building the Centre for Vocational Training and Supporting Farmers.. To contribute to increasing participation of FUs in national socio-economic development programs in rural areas and to protect the farmers’ legitimate interests and rights