Gender Training in Aquaculture in Northern Vietnam: A Report

Abstract

From September 1995 to June 1996, the Vietnamese Women’s Union (VWU), in collaboration with the Dutch development organization, ProFound, implemented the pilot project ’Training of Trainers to Promote Women’s Small-scale Aquaculture Enterprises in Rural Areas of Northern Vietnam.’ The pilot project provided knowledge and experience to poor rural women on small-scale aquaculture enterprise management through training, and collected data on integrated fish farming, training needs and methodologies through on-farm research. The focus of the project was on the aquaculture component in the typical Vietnamese integrated farming system, VAC (vuong/ao/chuong = garden/pond/animal husbandry). The immediate target group of this pilot project consisted of poor women in rural areas in two northern provinces of Vietnam. In general, the training teams observed that through their contribution to food security and income generation, women were allowed to take more decisions in the management of VAC aquaculture as a result of their acquired knowledge. According to the rural women, their husbands encouraged them to take more decisions in aquaculture management and this strengthened their position in the family.