Application of ICT to improve rural livelihood in Vietnam

In recent years, information and communication technologies (ICT) impacted greatly socioeconomic development in developing countries. Encouraged by the development of rural IT network projects in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Philippines, the government of Vietnam focused on IT infrastructure and capacity building efforts. Under the framework of public administration reform in Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (MARD) project scheme, a study was conducted in setting up Rural Telecentres (RTs) to provide information to farmers in Vietnam. Farmers' opinions and their needs in relation to agricultural and rural issues were considered in establishing 13 RTs in rural communities. The post-implementation survey indicated that the RTs fulfilled their objectives in improving the livelihoods of rural farmers. This paper presents the experiences and lessons learnt from the RTs project particularly in strengthening arguments in favour of national level ICT projects in rural development.