Dak Lak - Climate change affects the most vulnerable groups, and farmers in Viet Nam were no exception since 2015. Viet Nam was drastically affected by the impacts of El Nino in 2015-6 and the regions of the Central Highlands, South Central Region and Mekong Delta experienced the most severe drought in the past 90 years, with the government declaring the state of emergency in 12 provinces during its peak time. The livelihood of 1.75 million people has been affected and over 660,000 ha of crops were severely damaged due to this drought and salt water intrusion disaster.

With the financial support from the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Viet Nam, in collaboration with Action Aid Viet Nam (AAV), is rolling out the project ‘Restoring food security and provide livelihood support to poor rural communities affected by the drought in the Central Highlands Region of Vietnam’, which aims to assist 25 725 people in the central highlands with unconditional cash transfers, agricultural vouchers and post-harvest equipment. The project will also target an estimated 93 000 people in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta with extensive awareness raising activities through coordination and trainings to safeguard livelihoods of communities from potential climate change induced disasters.

As activities have been underway since September, delegates from ECHO, FAO Viet Nam and AAV visited the cash and voucher distribution site in Dang Kang Commune in Dak Lak Province on 2 November. From 2 to 3 November in this commune, 259 households received a voucher worth 2 500 000 Vietnamese Dong (US$112) and 65 households received the first of 2 unconditional cash transfers of 1 050 000 Vietnamese Dong (US$47) to enable them to secure the coming season’s production, restore their food security and build their resilience.

“The cash and voucher distribution was very successful in Dang Kang and we were surprised to see some beneficiaries going directly to the suppliers to use their vouchers on the same day that they received it. By distributing unconditional cash and agricultural inputs vouchers to the most vulnerable, we hope to strengthen food security whilst stimulating the local market and minimize current negative coping strategies such as household debt and migration. We will continue to distribute cash and vouchers to households in Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Giai Lai Provinces throughout November and aim to support a total 5 145 households in Viet Nam.” said Roberta Tranquilli, the International Operations Coordinator of FAO Viet Nam.

With predictions of climate change impacts becoming the “new normal”, FAO Viet Nam is planning to collaborate with local authorities and partners in the Central Highlands and in the Mekong Delta to ensure that early warning messages reach rural communities in time and that communities are informed of the best actions they can take to protect their livelihoods and assets in the event of a sudden or slow onset disaster. The project will also distribute post-harvest equipment to minimize post-harvest losses due to climate change induced disasters.