Rice Value Chains in Dien Bien Province Viet Nam, Agrifood Consulting, 2006

Description
An examination was made of the value chain for rice from Dien Bien province, concentrating on the value chains for IR64 rice and Upland Sticky Rice. The conclusions of the research are that neither IR64 nor Upland Sticky Rice are optimal vehicles for support for poverty reduction amongst poor smallholders. Market analysis reveals that lowland aromatic varieties have far higher potential. However, support for the development of these varieties of rice may not necessarily benefit the upland and lowland poor to any significant degree.

Methods for info gathering
The fieldwork for the report was carried out over 3 months between January and March 2006. The report involved the analysis of background data, field trips and key informant interviews with people involved in all sectors of the rice value chain in Dien Bien Province. Over 200 interviews and observations were made with different actors along the Dien Bien rice value chain.