Contribution from Livestock Smallholders in

the Upgrade of Food Security and Food Safety

in South East Asia.
Patrice Gautier, Dr Vet.

“FOOD FOR ALL”

Investment Forum for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific
7-9 July 2010 – Manila, Philippines.

Session 6A.
Driving Food Security through Investments in Connectivity:
Solutions from the Private Sector (Smallholders)
 = ASian VEterinary & LIvestock Services

• Hanoi-based private company. Primary focus in ASEAN

countries. 25 staff. Benefits from short-term support from
foreign specialists (academic, private sector, consultants …)
• Dedicated to the “animal” sector: small, medium & large scale
livestock farming.
• Customers: 100 to 5,000 chickens; 5 to 500 dairy cows; 1 to
500 sows; etc.

ANIMAL LIVESTOCK VETERINARY

HEALTH & VALUE PUBLIC
PRODUCTION CHAINS HEALTH
 The story of the STOP AI project
Steps

2008 Research & Design

2009 Implementation Phase 1
2010 Implementation Phase 2
> Oct. 2010 Sustainability & Duplication
 The story of the STOP AI project
Context

• Since 2005, several donor-funded projects to improve

biosecurity in poultry farms for HPAI control. BUT:

 Major issues with cost-efficiency, compliance and

sustainability.

• Customers unsatisfied with the lack of taste and lack of

diversity of meat from intensive farming systems and /
or poorly informed about food safety risks.
 The story of the STOP AI project
Hypothesis

More adequate
linkages Improved
between farmers commercialization Adoption of Improved
& customers and innovative biosecurity
between the farming / in a
food produced => Increased / processing / sustainable
and the food Sustained marketing manner.
preferred. incomes. practices.

Food Food Control of

Security Safety Zoonosis

Veterinary Public Health

 The story of the STOP AI project
Research & Design

• Identification and SWOT analysis of existing free-range

chicken farmers.

• Market assessment to study customers’ preference for

tasty and clean chicken meat.

• Preliminary design of the project.

Moving from selling live chicken at farm gate,

to selling chicken carcasses directly to consumers.

 The story of the STOP AI project
Implementation / Phase 1 (2009)

• Memorandum of Understanding with 7 producer groups.

• Design of farming & slaughtering standards according to
national legislation and to OIE & CODEX guidelines.
• Grant matching for slaughterhouse building.
• Training to implement standards.
• Verification of compliance with standards.
• Marketing support.

Results
• 4 promising producer groups
• 1 dropped out
• 2 unlikely successful ones
• Initial successes in marketing but insufficient.
• Challenges with food safety.
Good Animal Husbandry Practices Good Slaughtering Practices
Marketing
For Free-Range Chickens For small-scale slaughterhouses
 The story of the STOP AI project
Implementation / Phase 2 (2010)

• 3 additional producers or producer groups:

• Memorandum of Understanding with 3 more producer groups
• Rapid Implementation of activities as in Phase 1
• Duck & Chicken eggs

• 4 previous producer groups:

• Stronger marketing support: HORECA sector.
• Compliance with GAHP & GSP.
• Further grant matching in cold chain.
• Gradual solving of remaining food safety issues (residues).
• Economic analysis.
• Potential role of third party certification.

• Final workshop (September 2010)

 The story of the STOP AI project
> October 2010

• The economic incentives make it possible for some of the

7 producer groups in partnership with ASVELIS to
continue and expand in volume and quality, with no or
limited USAID funding.

• ASVELIS now recruiting more smallholders to diversify

products (fresh milk, guinea-fowl, lamb, pork …)

• Opportunities arising for further development

• Requests from large retailers for ASVELIS to assist in the set up of
value chains.
• Market opportunities in other locations in Vietnam and SEA
• Potential Public-Private Partnerships (Government, USAID …)
 Long-Term Partners

Bank

SMALLHOLDERS Local
Public
Individually Agencies
In Groups Policy
In Cooperatives Makers

Academic
ASVELIS
Input
Manufact
urers

CUSTOMERS
 BEFORE AFTER

Objective: HPAI control Results: HPAI, Food Safety & Food Security

Amateur chicken farming Good Animal Husbandry Practices

Selling & Transporting Live Chickens Selling & Transporting Chicken Carcasses

Smallholders Smallholders with a leader / organized

ASVELIS: Implementing Agency ASVELIS: partner in the value chain

HORECA purchase industrial chicken HORECA purchase free-range chicken meat

meat.
Chicken Meat Plus: eggs, duck, milk, pork …

HORECA main customer Expand to retailers?

Pilot locations Expand in other provinces / countries?

 Very wrong common beliefs / practices

• “Big = Hygiene” & “Small = Dirty”

• “Developed countries = Big intensive farming only”

• “Small is beautiful” (some donors prefer to achieve very

small impact from one big well-disbursed project rather
than real impact through several well designed smaller
projects)

• Subsidies for non-innovative work are still too common.

Matching grants for innovations are essential and safer!

• Training workshops & Educational Materials as main

project activities versus a professional on-the-job support.
 Conclusions

- Smallholders in both developed and developing countries

are emerging as key “new” players in food supply chains.

- Public and / or private professional service providers like

ASVELIS are essential.

- There is an automatic “Smallholder Social Responsibility”

whereby a successful smallholder will then win even more
in involving other smallholders.

- Direct or close linkages between farmers & customers

make it possible for:
- Farmers to invest in quality
- Consumers to source food that they prefer.