Activity 1: Overview study (Nov – Dec 2005)
- Background review
- Desk study.
- Interviews / agency carried out with key persons in government and research as well as representatives of donor agencies.
- Design and preparation of Activity 2.

- Project base established.
- The assessment of the main difficulties/challenges of agri-SMEs in Vietnam, iputs for Working paper No.1 “Overview of agri-SMEs and the efforts to find sustainability in Kenya and Vietnam” 
- Set of indicators for SD selected, both for this individual project and for the group interaction.
- List of success agi-SMEs was selected

Activity 2:  Study of success agri-SMEs (Jan – Jun 2006)
- Field survey of 21 success agri-SMEs  (questionnaire/interview)
- POPSe Workshops in Hanoi
- Sharing DURAS and POPSe projects in 2 workshops in Hue. March 2006 (Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry and Women and Poverty reduction in Hue)

- Agreements/Set up/Planning with the partners in 2 case studies
- In-depth survey reports
- Background papers for the POPSe workshop in Hanoi (time Sept 2006)
- 21 studies were conducted
- Report design of the qualitative assessments of success agri-SMEs
- Workshop in Hanoi with the participations of decision makers, researchers, administrations, selected SMEs (10 papers for the workshop relate to policy, information and market access, etc.)

-Working Paper No.2 “Agri-SMEs in action. Success lessons for the entrepreneurial poor” cover the results of Activity 2, proceeding of 2 national workshops in Vietnam and Kenya. The report includes 15 papers for the workshops which integrated under a project study

- New proposals submitted for extend POPSe: (i) The interaction between local leaders and agri-SMEs’ entrepreneurs for good governance based on POPSe project (SAREC/Sida)

- Lack of support to the extended POPSe proposal led to a stand-still for this initiative (not enough time to follow up) in order to concentrate on the core project

Activity 3. In-depth studies of agriSMEs among impoverished groups by applying findings from the success cases
1. In-depth field survey in Van Noi safe vegetables cooperative +Hue fish sauce women groups
2. Carried out local meetings in 2 cases with stakeholders à find out their challenges, design activities to improve accessing markets, capacity building issues relating to management and marketing
3. Institutional capacity building with the interactions with local stakeholders to
- rearrange self-support groups of fish sauce to strength their capacity and cooperation with Women Union
- Follow up with the idea of the establishment of Safe Vegetable Cooperatives’ Union with district authorities and Hanoi Cooperatives Alliance.
4. Consulted safe vegetable cooperative to complete the registration of trademark and quality certificate for organic vegetables
- certified results of fish sauce products from Health dept.
5. Support/consult techniques on value addition:
- Support to the initiative to improve quality of fish sauce processing and produce organic vegetables. Technical advice is provided from Plant protection Dept, Hanoi DARD.
- Test food preservation (charcoal cooling houses for vegetable)
- Improve packing/labeling for fish sauce and safe vegetables
6. Improve market access:
- Set up/Improve distribution networks, wholesale trading to expand the markets
- Open new markets for organic vegetables
7. Enhanced awareness on environment in the combination with improved quality of products: 
- combined traditional knowledge & modern techniques
- formation of self-control local organisations

- Expanded distribution networks, intermediate shops, new customers through marketing, the participation in Food Fairs (fish sauce in Hue festival food fair (Sept 06), Safe Vegetables and Fruits Fair in Hanoi (Nov 06).
- Expanded markets for fish sauce products in the supermarkets (4 up to now) and local markets (5 up to now) à increased number of customers, increased selling income (from local markets: 10 mill VND/month, from supermarkets: 3-4 mill VND/month. Profits: 20-40%).
- Expanded markets for safe vegetables:
increased productivity (2004: 10-15 tons/month, 2005: 30-40 tons/month, 2006: 45-60 tons/month, 2007: 70 kinds of vegetable, 80-90 tons/month. The main customers: 5 supermarkets, 15 shop places, 7 retail markets, 10 schools, kindergartens and factories. 1 ha was first tested for organic vegetables in Van Noi commune then increased to 2 ha. Assessments have taken place on marketing concerns; pricing, harvesting time, packaging, and transport
trials are just started with a new shop located in My Dinh, a middle-class urban area in Hanoi.
- Technical and financial supports from Plan Protection Institute for organic vegetables production (harmonised theory and experiment among researchers and farmers)
- Enhanced quality of products of safe vegetables and fish sauce thanks to harmonize traditional skills and new knowledge of technical advice in production and processing: first prize safe vegetables in the Food Fair.
- Tested charcoal cooling house to preserve safe vegetables
- Positive influences of the process to the members of the mobilized cooperative, neighboring cooperatives and farmers,

1. Original plan to select pig production was dropped since it led to overlap with another of the DURAS projects. This brought no major problem since the project concerns process and draws on specific production for illustration and empirical case

Activity 1: Overview study (Nov – Dec 2005)
- Background review
- Desk study.
- Interviews / agency carried out with key persons in government and research as well as representatives of donor agencies.

- Project base established.
- Paper on the main difficulties/challenges of agri-SMEs in Kenya, input for Working paper No.1 “Overview of agri-SMEs and the efforts to find sustainability in Kenya and Vietnam”
- Set of indicators for SD selected in Kenya

Activity 2:  Study of success agri-SMEs (Jan – Jun 2006)
- Field survey of 49 success agri-SMEs  (questionnaire/interview)
- POPSe Workshops in Kenya

- Agreements/Set up/Planning with the partners in 2 case studies
- Background papers for the 2 POPSe meetings in Kenya (when??)
- 49 studies were conducted in Kenya

Activity 3. Two case studies of agri-SMEs among impoverished groups by applying findings from the  success cases
1. Detail survey in 2 pilots in Kenya (peri-urban milk production and honey production)
2. Carried local meetings: interaction to find out their challenges and design activities to improve accessing markets
3. In depth preparation for upscaling and outscaling milk and honey production done.
4. Support/consult techniques on value addition: (i) for production (honey with langstroth hives) & processing (milk, yoghurt, cheese, ice-cream, honey), (ii) for food preservation (charcoal cooling houses for milk), (iii) for packing/labelling (milk, honey)
5. Formation of group-based marketing network (honey, milk)
6. Open markets for new products (yoghurt, cheese and ice-cream)
7. Enhanced awareness on environment combining with improved quality of products: 
- combined traditional knowledge & modern techniques

- An inventory on key forages resources that support milk and honey production in Kajiado and Kibwezi has been done.
- Production and marketing challenges of both enterprises has been analysed in two local brainstorming sessions and seminars with key stakeholders.
- The agreements on transfer of value adding techniques such as:
(i) Charcoal cooling house to preserve milk, (ii) Milk value addition through processing into yoghurt, cheese and ice-cream, (iii) Introduction of langstroth hives for improved honey production, (iv) Small-scale honey processing, (vi) Improved packaging of milk and honey for the market, (vii) Formation of group-based marketing network for improved market access and penetration, (viii) Strategize for improved milk and honey flows through improved vegetation resources, (ix)
Studies of international regulations (FDA norms and Good Manufacturing Practice, GMP)
- ToT courses begin March 07: total of 27 ToTs will be trained per site (03 members per agri-SME group).

Activity 4
Activities in Kenya continued to emphasize training on value addition and demonstrations at Kajiado & Kibwezi.
- ToT for value addition and demonstration on appropriate technologies for milk and honey products processing in Kajiado and Kibwezi,
- the training programs for women groups and communities in Kajiado and Kibwezi that carried out by trained trainers under the supervision of project coordinator team.

– Tested charcoal cooler,
- On site demonstration and installation.
1. At Kajiado milk groups:
+ training programs focused on processing milk products, Yoghurt, Mala, cream, ghee, and ice-cream.
+ Demonstrations for making Yoghurt and Mala were held. Cost benefit analyses for making a liter of Yoghurt were done.
+ 34 local trainers benefited from the training and demonstrations.
+ 8 women groups were trained by  the trainees from To T
+ Pasture/browse improvement for increased milk production was done.
+ 04 representatives of for camel groups were given seeds of enteropogon grass for reseeding to improve grass production on-farm.
+ Demonstration of homemade charcoal cooler
+ Engaged the local country council officers to work on possibilities of set up a milk parlour at Kajaido market to be used for marketing the products

2. At Kibwezi honey production:
+ 35 trainers benefited from training
+  Demonstrations on apiary management, honey extraction from Kenya top bar hives, honey processing and packaging. Aspects of other bee products were covered; bee wax and propolis.