Assessment of capacity improvement within IPSARD/CAP: Baseline survey of knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) compared to end-of-project survey of KSA Introduction and method A baseline survey of IPSARD/CAP staff was conducted in August 2007 at the commencement of the project The survey was designed to explore the baseline knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) of the IPSARD/CAP researchers in areas related to the research work and training that would be conducted during the project An end-of-project assessment using the same survey was conducted in April 2010 The end-of-project survey is shown in Appendix I The baseline survey was identical except that it did not include the introductory Questions 1, and 3, or Questions B14 and B15 Table shows the distribution of respondents within IPSARD/CAP who answered the baseline and end-of-project surveys Table Distribution of respondents within IPSARD/CAP completing the baseline and end-of –project assessments for CARD Project 030/06 VIE IPSARD/CAP area Information Centre Policy and Strategy Department Market and Commodity Department Rural Development Centre Center for Agricultural Policy TOTAL respondents August 2007 6 10 29 April 2010 (10)a 16 a In April 2010, the 10 CAP respondents were already counted as members of Market Analysis Unit and Rural Development Unit Respondents (16) who completed the end-of-project survey had worked on average for IPSARD/CAP for 4.7 years (the median was years), and it is probable that some of those who completed the survey had not completed the baseline survey There had been staff turnover at IPSARD/CAP over the duration of the project, and staff numbers were less at the end of the project than at the beginning Several staff members who had worked on the CARD project during 2007/08 had left the organisation during 2009/10 (two of these however completed the end-of-project survey) Of the 16 respondents, three said they had been “very involved” in the project, two had been “relatively involved”, three had been “somewhat involved”, three had been “a little involved” and five said they had “not been involved” Eleven respondents said they had attended a CARD project training, and three others said they were “unsure” if they had attended a CARD training This is understandable in the context of the long project duration and the many and varied training sessions in which IPSARD/CAP staff participate The surveys aimed to assess capacity in knowledge, skills and attitudes in areas directly related to the research work undertaken for the CARD project Respondents were asked to rate: • • • their level of knowledge in 10 subject areas; their level of confidence to perform 15 specified tasks; and their attitude to 18 different statements about policy perspectives relevant to the livestock sector The results are given in Sections 2, and of this report 1.2 Extraneous factors affecting the capacity assessment Although the sample is not exactly the same for the baseline and end-of-project surveys, this can still be regarded as a valid assessment of changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes (for subjects directly related to the CARD project) within IPSARD/CAP over the duration of the CARD project Staff at IPSARD/CAP had been involved in many other projects during this period, and these projects are likely to have had an impact on capacity In particular, staff had been involved in three other projects involved with the livestock sector These were: • ACIAR Project LPS/2005/063 “Improving the Competitiveness of Pig Producers in an Adjusting Vietnam Market” from 2006 and on-going • HPAI insurance project with the Japanese Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2008 In this project CAP staff supervised a survey of 2,100 poultry and other livestock producers in four provinces but did none of the analysis • Socio-economic impacts of HPAI outbreaks and control measures on small-scale and backyard poultry producers in Asia – sponsored by the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) between 2007 and 2009 All these projects involved survey work in the livestock sector However, none of the other projects were specifically involved with the livestock feed production sector Changes in knowledge In Section A of the survey, respondents were asked to rate their knowledge of 10 different subject areas The average rating and mode scores for the baseline and endof-project surveys are shown in Tables and The rating scale used was: = very good, = good, = so-so, = poor, = none 2.1 Overall comparisons of baseline and end-of-project results Overall comparisons are shown in Table Nine out of the ten assessed knowledge areas had improved (based on the average rating score) or remained the same in the end of project survey compared to the baseline The exception was knowledge of the “indicators of competitiveness of firms” (baseline 2.76, project end 2.81) This is not a good result for the project as competitiveness was a focus of the research work, but perhaps reflects the complexity of assessing competitiveness of SMEs in the livestock feed sector However, the remaining results indicate the likely positive input of the project work in a number of knowledge areas that were key research areas for the project Table Comparisons of average and mode baseline and end-or-project rating scores for ten knowledge areas (Scale: = very good, = good, = so-so, = poor, = none.) Avg/Mode Rating Score Knowledge area Baselinea Endb Principles of the economics of supply/value chains 3.21 (3) 2.50 (3) The role of SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam 2.83 (3) 2.38 (2) Indicators of the competitiveness of firms 2.76 (3) 2.81 (3) The theory of transactions costs 3.38 (3) 3.38 (4) Government policies affecting the livestock feed sector in Vietnam 3.31 (3) 2.50 (3) Principles of industrial organization in a market economy – e.g market power, monopolies, economies of scale/scope, vertical integration 3.17 (3) 2.81 (3) Implications for the livestock sector of Vietnam’s acceptance into the WTO 3.28 (3) 2.69 (3) Principles for designing survey questions to minimize bias 2.90 (3) 2.13 (2) Survey sampling techniques 2.97 (3) 2.25 (3) 4.24 (5) 4.00 (5) 10 Testing data on perceptions obtained from Likert Scales (discrete visual analog scales) for reliability and validity – the use of Cronbach’s alpha Note: Mode scores are shown in (in parentheses) a Survey sample for the Baseline measure was 29 b Survey sample for the End-of-project measure was 16 Five knowledge areas improved on average overall by a score of more than 0.5, including: • Principles of the economics of supply/value chains; • Government policies affecting the livestock feed sector in Vietnam; • Implications for the livestock sector of Vietnam’s acceptance into the WTO; • Principles for designing survey questions to minimize bias; and • Survey sampling techniques A further two knowledge areas improved on average overall by a score of more than 0.3, including: • The role of SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam; and • Principles of industrial organization in a market economy – e.g market power, monopolies, economies of scale/scope, vertical integration Mode scores (i.e the most commonly selected rating) were mostly the same for the baseline and end-of-project surveys The mode score improved from “so-so” to “good” for two subject areas: knowledge of “the role of SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam” and knowledge of “principles of designing survey questions to minimize bias” The mode score for knowledge of “theory of transactions costs” decreased from “so-so” to “poor” 2.2 Comparisons based on respondents’ level of involvement in the project A further comparison was made between respondents with different levels of involvement in the project Scores for those respondents who nominated themselves as either “very involved”, “relatively involved” or “somewhat involved” were compared with scores from respondents who said they were either “a little involved” or “not involved” The sample of 16 was evenly split between these two categories The results are shown in Table Table Comparison of average and mode rating scores for 10 knowledge areas: baseline results and end-of-project results for those respondents involved and noninvolved in the project (Scale: = very good, = good, = so-so, = poor, = none.) Knowledge area Avg/Mode Rating Score B/linea End- Ib End-NIc Principles of the economics of supply/value chains 3.21 (3) 2.50 (3) 2.50 (2,3) The role of SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam 2.83 (3) 2.00 (2) 2.75 (2) Indicators of the competitiveness of firms 2.76 (3) 2.38 (3) 3.25 (3) The theory of transactions costs 3.38 (3) 3.50 (3,4) 3.25 (4) Government policies affecting the livestock feed sector in Vietnam 3.31 (3) 2.38 (3) 2.88 (3) Principles of industrial organization in a market economy – e.g market power, monopolies, economies of scale/scope, vertical integration 3.17 (3) 2.75 (3) 2.88 (3) Implications for the livestock sector of Vietnam’s acceptance into the WTO 3.28 (3) 2.63 (3) 2.75 (3) Principles for designing survey questions to minimize bias 2.90 (3) 1.63 (2) 2.63 (3) Survey sampling techniques 2.97 (3) 2.13 (2,3) 2.38 (3) 4.00 (5) 4.00 (5) 10 Testing data on perceptions obtained from Likert Scales (discrete visual analog scales) for reliability and validity – the use of Cronbach’s alpha 4.24 (5) Note: Mode scores are shown in (in parentheses) a Survey sample for the Baseline measure was 29 b Survey sample for the End-of-project Involved (End-I)measure was c Survey sample for the End-of-project Not Involved (End-NI) measure was The average ratings were lower (i.e better knowledge) for the involved group compared to the non-involved group in seven of the ten knowledge areas The score difference was lower by 0.5 or more in four areas: • The role of SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam • Indicators of the competitiveness of firms • Government policies affecting the livestock feed sector in Vietnam • Principles for designing survey questions to minimize bias These are all knowledge areas very relevant to the CARD project The mode scores for those involved and not-involved in the project were also different in a number of cases These were: • • • • Principles of the economics of supply/ value chains The non-involved group had a bimodal score of “good/so-so” compared to the mode of “so-so” for the involved group The theory of transactions costs The involved group had a bimodal score of “poor/so-so” compared to the mode of “poor” for the non-involved group Principles of designing survey questions to minimize bias The involved group had a mode of “good” compared to “so-so” for the non-involved group Survey sampling techniques The involved group has a bimodal score of “good/soso” compared to the mode of “so-so” for the non-involved group Changes in skills In Section B of the survey, respondents were asked to rate their confidence to perform 15 specified tasks The average rating and mode scores for the baseline and end-ofproject surveys are shown in Tables and The rating scale used was: = very confident, = confident, = somewhat confident, = a little confident, = not confident 3.1 Overall comparisons of baseline and end-of-project results Overall comparisons are shown in Table All the assessed skill areas were rated as improved in the end-of-project assessment compared to the baseline Two areas (“Design a database in Access” and “Use Stata for data analysis”) were not included in the baseline, but were assessed in the end-of-project survey as work/training had been done in these skill areas The results indicate the likely positive input of the project in a number of skills which were key components of the project Four skill areas improved on average overall by a score of more than 0.7, including: • Investigate the supply chain for a product; • Design a survey to map/describe a supply chain; • Produce descriptive statistics from survey data; and • Estimate the competitiveness of a firm operating in the livestock feed sector This last skill area (“estimate the competitiveness of a firm”) which is rated by respondents as being considerably improved is contrary to the result obtained in Section A, where respondents did not rate their knowledge in this area as improved A further three skill areas improved on average overall by a score of more than 0.5, including: • Develop a testable hypothesis for a research problem; • Write a policy brief (given that you have knowledge of the subject of the brief); and • Investigate perceptions held by people on a particular subject There were a number of clear improvements in mode scores, including: • Work in Excel; • Conduct and write a literature review on the role of SMEs in the livestock sector in Vietnam; • Develop a testable hypothesis for a research problem; • Write a policy brief (given that you have knowledge of the subject of the brief); • Collect data to estimate a demand function for a product; and • Design a survey to map/describe a supply chain Table Comparisons of average and model baseline and end-or-project rating scores for capacity to perform 15 specified tasks (Scale: = very confident, = confident, = somewhat confident, = a little confident, = not confident) Avg/Mode Rating Score Skill Baselinea Endb Work in Excel 1.90 (1,2) 1.44 (1) Use Solver in Excel 2.90 (2) 2.69 (2) Investigate the supply chain for a product 3.21 (3) 2.38 (3) Conduct and write a literature review on the role of SMEs in the livestock sector in Vietnam 2.52 (3) 2.38 (2) Develop a testable hypothesis for a research problem 3.10 (3) 2.56 (2) Write a policy brief (given that you have knowledge of the subject of the brief) 2.69 (2,3) 2.13 (2) Collect data to estimate a production function for a product 3.07 (2) 2.69 (2) Collect data to estimate a demand function for a product 3.17 (3) 2.88 (2) Design a survey to map/describe a supply chain 3.10 (3) 2.13 (2) 10 Build a mathematical model to describe the livestock feed supply chain 3.66 (3,4) 3.31 (4) 11 Produce descriptive statistics from survey data 2.69 (2) 1.81 (2) 12 Investigate perceptions held by people on a particular subject 2.62 (2) 2.00 (2) 13 Estimate the competitiveness of a firm operating in the livestock feed sector 3.14 (3) 2.44 (3) 14 Design a database in Access 2.69 (2) 15 Use Stata for data analysis Note: Mode scores are shown in (in parentheses) a Survey sample for the Baseline measure was 29 b Survey sample for the End-of-project measure was 16 2.25 (2) 3.2 Comparisons based on respondents’ level of involvement in the project As for the earlier questions about knowledge, a further comparison was made between respondents with different levels of involvement in the project Scores for those respondents who nominated themselves as either “very involved”, “relatively involved” or “somewhat involved” were compared with scores from respondents who said they were either “a little involved” or “not involved” The sample of 16 was evenly split between these two categories The results are shown in Table Taking the average ratings, only in four areas were skills rated better by those involved in the project compared to those not involved in the project These were: • Design a survey to map/describe a supply chain; • Produce descriptive statistics from survey data; • Design a database in Access; and • Use Stata for data analysis In all other skill areas, those not involved in the project rated themselves as more highly skilled The four areas where those involved in the project rated themselves higher were areas where those most involved in the project (often more junior researchers) had done a considerable amount of work Table Comparison of average and mode rating scores for capacity to perform 15 specified tasks: baseline results and end-of-project results for those respondents involved and non-involved in the project (Scale: = very confident, = confident, = somewhat confident, = a little confident, = not confident): Skill Avg/Mode rating score B/linea End-Ib End-NIc Work in Excel 1.90 (1,2) 1.50 (1,2) 1.38 (1) Use Solver in Excel 2.90 (2) 2.75 (3) 2.63 (2) Investigate the supply chain for a product 3.21 (3) 2.50 (3) 2.25 (3) Conduct and write a literature review on the role of SMEs in the livestock sector in Vietnam 2.52 (3) 2.38 (2) 2.38 (3) Develop a testable hypothesis for a research problem 3.10 (3) 2.63 (2) 2.50 (2,3) Write a policy brief (given that you have knowledge of the subject of the brief) 2.69 (2,3) 2.63 (2) 2.00 (2) Collect data to estimate a production function for a product 3.07 (2) 2.88 (2,3) 2.50 (2) Collect data to estimate a demand function for a product 3.17 (3) 3.13 (3,4) 2.63 (2) Design a survey to map/describe a supply chain 3.10 (3) 2.00 (2) 2.25 (2) 10 Build a mathematical model to describe the livestock feed supply chain 3.66 (3,4) 3.75 (4) 3.00 (2) 11 Produce descriptive statistics from survey data 2.69 (2) 1.50 (1,2) 2.13 (2) 12 Investigate perceptions held by people on a particular subject 2.62 (2) 2.00 (2) 2.00 (2) 13 Estimate the competitiveness of a firm operating in the livestock feed sector 3.14 (3) 2.38 (3) 2.38 (2) 2.63 (2) 2.75 (1,2,3) 14 Design a database in Access 15 Use Stata for data analysis 1.75 (2) Note: Mode scores are shown in (in parentheses) a Survey sample for the Baseline measure was 29 b Survey sample for the End-of-project Involved (End-I)measure was c Survey sample for the End-of-project Not Involved (End-NI) measure was 2.75 (3) There was also some evidence of improvement in mode scores for those more involved in the project, compared to those less involved These were for the tasks described by: • Conduct and write a literature review on the role of SMEs in the livestock sector in Vietnam; • Develop a testable hypothesis for a research problem; • Produce descriptive statistics from survey data; and • Use Stata for data analysis We would consider the results for these skills, which were an integral part of the project work, to show capacity improvement directly related to the CARD project Changes in attitudes In Section C of the survey, respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with 18 statements Statements in Section C were designed to test whether respondents’ attitudes to various policy aspects of the livestock feed sector changed during the course of the project In a sense there are no right or wrong answers to these statements, but we would hope that the CARD project research would encourage a more market-oriented policy perspective The average rating and mode scores for the baseline and end-of-project surveys are shown in Tables and The rating scale used was: = strongly agree, = agree, = undecided or unsure, = disagree, = strongly disagree 4.1 Overall comparisons of baseline and end-of-project results Overall comparisons between baseline and end-of-project results are shown in Table Attitudes are often difficult to change, but some evidence of what we would consider positive attitude changes were evident Attitudes to three statements changed by an average overall rating score of more than 0.5 These were: • SMEs are unlikely to be competitive in the livestock feed sector In the end-ofproject assessment, respondents were more likely to disagree with this statement: i.e they were more positive that SMEs could be competitive This is consistent with the findings from the project, which show that medium-size mills are competitive, and that there is scope to supply niche markets and small landholders The breakdown of the scores is shown in Figure • SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology In the end-of-project assessment, respondents were more likely to agree with this statement This is consistent with the findings from the project, which highlighted the technology differences between foreign-owned and domestic firms The breakdown of the scores is shown in Figure • Farmers not pay enough attention to the quality of processed animal feeds In the end-of-project assessment, respondents were more likely to disagree with this statement This is consistent with the findings from the project, which indicated that farmers were very concerned about the quality of industrial feeds, and purchased foreign brand feeds because they perceived it was of better quality than domestic brand feeds The breakdown of the scores is shown in Figure Attitudes to a further five statements changed by an average overall score of more than 0.3 These were: • Vietnam agriculture should focus on growing the raw materials for processed livestock feed rather than importing them Respondents in the end-of-project survey agreed more strongly with this statement Although the research work was unable to find significant price differences between domestic and imported raw materials, there is still a very strong feeling amongst Vietnamese researchers and policy makers that focus should be on improving the production of raw materials This is a difficult attitude to counter, and it has been exacerbated by the large increase in imported raw materials in recent years • SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they tend to operate at a small scale Respondents in the end-of-project survey agreed more strongly with this statement This is consistent with the project findings that indicated that, on average, small feed mills producing less than 10,000 tonnes output/year did not make a profit in 2007 • There are not enough distributors of livestock feed in Vietnam Respondents in the end-of-project survey disagreed more with this statement The research work did not make any conclusions on the number of livestock feed distributors, but in the areas where the work took place there was evidence of many distributors in operation Table Comparisons of average and mode baseline and end-or-project rating scores on level of agreement with 18 policy perspectives Scale is: strongly agree (=1), agree (=2), undecided or unsure (=3), disagree (=4), or strongly disagree (=5) Average/Mode Score Statement Baselinea Endb SMEs are unlikely to be competitive in the livestock feed sector The government of Vietnam should support SMEs in the livestock feed sector Vietnam would be better off importing processed livestock feed rather than manufacturing it Vietnam agriculture should focus on growing the raw materials for processed livestock feed rather than importing them SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they tend to operate at a small scale SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology SMEs in the livestock feed sector are important for providing employment for rural people Foreign-owned companies operating in the livestock feed sector get preferential treatment by the GoV Large foreign-owned and joint venture companies operating in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam provide good employment opportunities for rural people 10 There are too many livestock feed companies operating in Vietnam 11 It is advantageous if livestock feed companies can provide additional services to growers – e.g nutrition advice, veterinary services, grower contracts to purchase products 12 There are not enough distributors of livestock feed in Vietnam 13 Vietnamese SMEs operating in the livestock feed sector have the capacity to adapt to changing market conditions 14 The quality of processed livestock feeds in Vietnam is generally good 15 The quality of processed livestock feeds from SMEs in Vietnam is not as good as that from larger foreign-owned companies 16 Farmers not pay enough attention to the quality of processed animal feeds 17 The production of livestock feeds in Vietnam needs better regulation to ensure quality 18 Research done by CAP can influence government policy in the livestock feed sector Note: Mode scores are shown in (in parentheses) a Survey sample for the Baseline measure was 29 b Survey sample for the End-of-project measure was 16 3.45 (4) 4.00 (4) 2.17 (2) 1.94 (2) 3.83 (4) 3.94 (4) 2.55 (2,3) 2.19 (2) 3.00 (2,3) 2.63 (2) 2.86 (3) 2.25 (2) 2.24 (2) 2.25 (2) 2.69 (3) 2.44 (3) 2.62 (2) 2.38 (2) 2.76 (3) 2.63 (3) 1.83 (2) 3.45 (3) 1.63 (2) 3.81 (4) 2.97 (3) 2.88 (3) 3.03 (3,4) 2.69 (2) 2.45 (2) 2.25 (2) 3.14 (3) 3.94 (4) 1.62 (2) 1.50 (2) 2.45 (2) 2.06 (2) Percent of respondents 80% 70% 60% Baseline 50% Project end 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree Figure Breakdown of respondents’ scores comparing baseline and end-of-project assessment for the statement “SMEs are unlikely to be competitive in the livestock feed sector.” Percent of respondents 70% 60% Baseline 50% Project end 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree Figure Breakdown of respondents’ scores comparing baseline and end-of-project assessment for the statement “SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology.” Percent of respondents 60% Baseline Project end 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree Figure Breakdown of respondents’ scores comparing baseline and end-of-project assessment for the statement “Farmers not pay enough attention to the quality of processed animal feeds.” 10 • • The quality of processed livestock feeds in Vietnam is generally good The respondents in the end-of-project survey were more likely to agree with this statement The research team visited many feed mill businesses that were operating in a highly technical and clean environment, and comparable with businesses visited in Thailand Despite concerns raised by the project results about the quality control of domestic mills, the respondents seem positive about the general quality of livestock feeds produced in Vietnam Research done by CAP can influence government policy in the livestock feed sector Respondents in the end-of-project survey agreed more strongly with this statement This is a good result indicating that CAP staff are more positive about their knowledge and skills in this area, and capacity to influence policy, than they were two and a half years ago Mode scores illustrate clearly that that respondents now have more definite attitudes to many statements In the baseline survey the mode score was “3” (undecided or unsure) for nine statements, compared to three statements for the end-of-project survey At the end of the project, the mode score had moved from “undecided” to “agree” for the statements: • Vietnam agriculture should focus on growing the raw materials for processed livestock feed rather than importing them; • SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they tend to operate at a small scale; • SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology; and • The quality of processed livestock feeds in Vietnam is generally good The mode score had moved from “undecided” to “disagree” for the statements: • There are not enough distributors of livestock feed in Vietnam; and • Farmers not pay enough attention to the quality of processed animal feeds 4.2 Comparisons based on respondents’ level of involvement in the project As for the earlier questions about knowledge and skills, a further comparison was made between respondents with different levels of involvement in the project Scores for those respondents who nominated themselves as either “very involved”, “relatively involved” or “somewhat involved” were compared with scores from respondents who said they were either “a little involved” or “not involved” The sample of 16 was evenly split between these two categories The results are shown in Table Average overall scores that differ by 0.5 or more between involved and non-involved respondents include: • Vietnam would be better off importing processed livestock feed rather than manufacturing it The non-involved respondents tend to agree more with this statement 11 Table Comparison of average and modal rating scores for level of agreement with 18 policy perspectives: baseline results and end-of-project results for those respondents involved and non-involved in the project Scale is: strongly agree (=1), agree (=2), are undecided or unsure (=3), disagree (=4), or strongly disagree (=5) Statement Average/Mode Score B/linea End-Ib End-NIc SMEs are unlikely to be competitive in the livestock feed sector 3.45 (4) The government of Vietnam should support SMEs in the livestock feed sector 2.17 (2) Vietnam would be better off importing processed livestock feed rather than manufacturing it 3.83 (4) Vietnam agriculture should focus on growing the raw materials for processed livestock feed rather than 2.55 (2,3) importing them SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they tend to operate at a small 3.00 (2,3) scale SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology 2.86 (3) SMEs in the livestock feed sector are important for providing employment for rural people 2.24 (2) Foreign-owned companies operating in the livestock feed sector get preferential treatment by the GoV 2.69 (3) Large foreign-owned and joint venture companies operating in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam provide 2.62 (2) good employment opportunities for rural people 10 There are too many livestock feed companies operating in Vietnam 2.76 (3) 11 It is advantageous if livestock feed companies can provide additional services to growers – e.g nutrition advice, veterinary services, grower contracts to purchase products 1.83 (2) 12 There are not enough distributors of livestock feed in Vietnam 3.45 (3) 13 Vietnamese SMEs operating in the livestock feed sector have the capacity to adapt to changing market 2.97 (3) conditions 14 The quality of processed livestock feeds in Vietnam is generally good 3.03 (3,4) 15 The quality of processed livestock feeds from SMEs in Vietnam is not as good as that from larger foreignowned companies 2.45 (2) 16 Farmers not pay enough attention to the quality of processed animal feeds 3.14 (3) 17 The production of livestock feeds in Vietnam needs better regulation to ensure quality 1.62 (2) 18 Research done by CAP can influence government policy in the livestock feed sector 2.45 (2) Note: Modal scores are shown in (in parentheses) a Survey sample for the Baseline measure was 29 b Survey sample for the End-of-project Involved (End-I)measure was c Survey sample for the End-of-project Not Involved (End-NI) measure was 4.13 (4) 3.88 (4) 2.13 (2) 1.75 (2) 4.13 (4) 3.63 (4) 2.13 (2) 2.25 (2) 3.00 (2,4) 2.25 (2) 2.88 (2,3) 1.75 (2) 2.25 (2) 2.25 (2) 2.50 (2,3) 2.38 (3) 2.50 (2,3) 3.00 (2,4) 2.75 (3) 2.63 (2) 1.75 (2) 1.38 (1) 4.00 (4) 3.88 (4) 2.75 (3) 3.00 (2,4) 2.75 (2) 2.50 (2) 2.38 (3) 2.38 (2) 4.13 (4) 3.75 (4) 1.63 (2) 1.25 (1) 2.13 (2) 1.88 (1,2) 12 • • SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology The involved respondents also agree less with this statement, perhaps indicating the project perspective which investigated multiple aspects of competitiveness Large foreign-owned and joint venture companies operating in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam provide good employment opportunities for rural people Those involved with the project agree more with this statement, but the mode score indicates that the uninvolved are split equally between agreement and disagreement The mode scores differ between involved and non-involved respondents for a number of statements Those that differ clearly (i.e not including bimodal scores where one of the scores is the same as the other group) include: • There are too many livestock feed companies operating in Vietnam The majority of involved respondents remain “undecided” on this, whereas the majority of noninvolved respondents agree The project research did tend to indicate that niche markets could be exploited by smaller companies • It is advantageous if livestock feed companies can provide additional services to growers – e.g nutrition advice, veterinary services, grower contracts to purchase products Although both groups agree with this statement, the majority of noninvolved respondents strongly agree • Vietnamese SMEs operating in the livestock feed sector have the capacity to adapt to changing market conditions The majority of involved respondents remain undecided, whereas the non-involved are split evenly between agreement and disagreement • The quality of processed livestock feeds from SMEs in Vietnam is not as good as that from larger foreign-owned companies The majority of involved respondents remain undecided on this, whereas the majority of non-involved agree • The production of livestock feeds in Vietnam needs better regulation to ensure quality Although both groups agree with this statement, the majority of noninvolved respondents strongly agree For a number of these responses above, we might have hoped that the scores might have been reversed: for example, with those more involved in the project agreeing more strongly that “the production of livestock feeds in Vietnam needs better regulation to ensure quality”, as this conclusion was clear from the project research Conclusions The results of this analysis support the idea that CARD Project 030/06 VIE has had a positive impact on capacity of staff at IPSARD/CAP Over a 2.5 year project, in a group such as IPSARD/CAP which is exposed to multiple influences that can change capacity, it would be expected to be difficult to show changes specific to any one intervention This analysis has attempted to show changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) as a result of CARD Project 030/06 VIE Results from a baseline and end-of-project survey are compared, and the end-ofproject results include a comparison of respondents more involved in the project compared to those less involved in the project 13 From the overall comparisons between the baseline and end-of-project results of KSA of IPSARD/CAP staff it is clear that capacity has improved in many areas The comparison of staff more involved in the project compared to those less involved shows some knowledge and skill areas directly related to the project research where more improvement among the involved group suggests that the project has been directly responsible for this capacity improvement In the exploration of attitudes, the non-involved respondents tend to have made more progress These respondents tend to be more senior staff, and it is likely that they have been exposed during the last 2.5 years to the project results (as well as many other policy discussions), and perhaps are better able to realise policy implications Sally Marsh and Donna Brennan University of Western Australia June 2010 14 Appendix I CARD Project 030/06 VIE Developing a strategy for enhancing the competitiveness of rural small and medium enterprises in the agro-food chain: the case of animal feed End of project survey of knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices – April 2010 NAME ………………………………………………………… Kindly answer these following questions before coming to the main survey How long have you worked in IPSARD/CAP? _ years How involved were you with the work for CARD project VIE 030/06? = very involved, = relatively involved, = somewhat involved, = a little involved, = not involved Did you attend a training course of the CARD project? = Yes = No = Unsure Section A: Please rate your knowledge of the following subjects (1 = very good, = good, = so-so, = poor, = none) Subject Rating Principles of the economics of supply/value chains The role of SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam Indicators of the competitiveness of firms The theory of transactions costs Government policies affecting the livestock feed sector in Vietnam Principles of industrial organization in a market economy – e.g market power, monopolies, economies of scale/scope, vertical integration Implications for the livestock sector of Vietnam’s acceptance into the WTO Principles for designing survey questions to minimize bias Survey sampling techniques 10 Testing data on perceptions obtained from Likert Scales (discrete visual analog scales) for reliability and validity – the use of Cronbach’s alpha 15 Section B Please rate your confidence to perform the following tasks (1 = very confident, = confident, = somewhat confident, = a little confident, = not confident): Skill Rating Work in Excel Use Solver in Excel Investigate the supply chain for a product Conduct and write a literature review on the role of SMEs in the livestock sector in Vietnam Develop a testable hypothesis for a research problem Write a policy brief (given that you have knowledge of the subject of the brief) Collect data to estimate a production function for a product Collect data to estimate a demand function for a product Design a survey to map/describe a supply chain 10 Build a mathematical model to describe the livestock feed supply chain 11 Produce descriptive statistics from survey data 12 Investigate perceptions held by people on a particular subject 13 Estimate the competitiveness of a firm operating in the livestock feed sector 14 Design a database in Access 15 Use Stata for data analysis 16 Section C Please state whether you strongly agree, agree, are undecided or unsure, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statements (please note that there are no right/wrong answers for this section – we are just seeking your opinion): Statement SA A U D SD SMEs are unlikely to be competitive in the livestock feed sector The government of Vietnam should support SMEs in the livestock feed sector Vietnam would be better off importing processed livestock feed rather than manufacturing it Vietnam agriculture should focus on growing the raw materials for processed livestock feed rather than importing them SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they tend to operate at a small scale SMEs in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam are uncompetitive because they lack modern technology SMEs in the livestock feed sector are important for providing employment for rural people Foreign-owned companies operating in the livestock feed sector get preferential treatment by the GoV Large foreign-owned and joint venture companies operating in the livestock feed sector in Vietnam provide good employment opportunities for rural people 10 There are too many livestock feed companies operating in Vietnam 11 It is advantageous if livestock feed companies can provide additional services to growers – e.g nutrition advice, veterinary services, grower contracts to purchase products 12 There are not enough distributors of livestock feed in Vietnam 13 Vietnamese SMEs operating in the livestock feed sector have the capacity to adapt to changing market conditions 14 The quality of processed livestock feeds in Vietnam is generally good 15 The quality of processed livestock feeds from SMEs in Vietnam is not as good as that from larger foreign-owned companies 16 Farmers not pay enough attention to the quality of processed animal feeds 17 The production of livestock feeds in Vietnam needs better regulation to ensure quality 18 Research done by CAP can influence government policy in the livestock feed sector 17 ... comparisons of baseline and end -of- project results Overall comparisons between baseline and end -of- project results are shown in Table Attitudes are often difficult to change, but some evidence of what... specific to any one intervention This analysis has attempted to show changes in knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA) as a result of CARD Project 030/06 VIE Results from a baseline and end -of- project... between the baseline and end -of- project results of KSA of IPSARD/CAP staff it is clear that capacity has improved in many areas The comparison of staff more involved in the project compared to those