Panel 8 : Social Development - IC-HUSO 2017 - Khon Kaen ...

|Proceedings of 13th International Conference on Humanities & Social Sciences 2017 (IC-HUSO 2017) 2nd-3rd November 2017, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand

IC-HUSO 2017

1. Urban Gardening: Individual Homes Perspective 370

Towards Square Foot Gardening

Hassanal M. Ampang, Kent E. Barcelo, Rochell Mae N. Rojero,

Michael Joseph F. Boniao, Michael Art R. Napoles

2. Impact of External Environmental Factors on Green Supply Chain 381

Management: An Empirical Study in Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry in Vietnam

Duong Van Bay

3. Education for All: The Analysis of Multi-Actor Relation on Implementing 394

Education System in LPKA Wonosari, DI. Yogyakarta

Maria Angelica Christy Aka, Farahita Nandini, M. Dimas Ponco Wirianto

4. Becoming Ajarn: Narratives of the Filipino Teachers in Thailand 403

Eunice Barbara C. Novio, Nancy Guigue Catane

5. Developing Hi-tech Applied Agriculture towards Sustainability 420

and Efficiency: A Case Study in Thai Nguyen Province

Ta Thi Thanh Huyen

Panel 8 : Social Development

370

370 Proceeding of 13th International Conference on Humanities & Social Sciences 2017 (IC-HUSO 2017)

2nd-3rd November 2017, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand |

IC-HUSO 2017

Urban Gardening: Individual Homes Perspective

Towards Square Foot Gardening

Hassanal M. Ampang, Kent E. Barcelo, Rochell Mae N. Rojero,

Michael Joseph F. Boniao and Dr. Michael Art R. Napoles

Department of Technology Teacher Education, College of Education,

MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Philippines

[email protected]

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to determine the level of awareness of the

residence of Purok Mabination in Ubaldo Laya, Iligan City on the square foot gardening. Thirty-two (32) residences were randomly selected with the use of sloven formula in getting

the sample size.

The result shows that majority of the respondents are aware that square foot gardening

on their individuals’ homes have a significant contribution as an alternative source of food for

their daily consumption . There is no significant relationship also between the socio economic

status of the respondents and their level of awareness towards the square foot gardening. This

implies also that the age, gender, monthly income, area’ s space, family members, and

livelihood has no relationship on the perception of the respondents towards the square foot

gardening.

Keywords: Gardening, Square foot gardening, Urban Gardening

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Introduction

Now a day in urban areas, urban gardening is a process of growing plants of all types

and variety in an urban area. This guarantees the consumers that the plant that they are going

to eat is fresh, more natural and healthier than any saleable product from the market. Urban

gardening as defined by Jen Wallace (2014).

Urban gardening and farming are mishmashes of techniques and approaches to

growing and raising food in densely populated urban centers. Because of the very nature of

cities, there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather a plethora of solutions and practices

that are undertaken by individuals, communities, cooperatives and businesses alike. A

restaurant may grow their own herbs in an indoor garden, a neighbourhood may take over a

vacant lot for a raised bed garden, a cooperative may keep bees for honey on the roof, or a

family may plan a container garden for a patio–all are examples of urban gardening. Instead of

the long-standing practice of trucking in the food to cities, city dwellers are taking matters

into their own hands to produce local and sustainable food.

Due to the exponentially increase of the population in a single country, the demands

of the people in consuming good vegetable are also growing but the supply of this products

cannot meet the demands of the total population of the country. Because of this, there are

common rural farmer suppliers are also found some solutions to this problem by using

alternative ways to produce sufficient amount of supply by spraying chemicals like synthetic

pesticides that can damage our brain and nervous system, disrupt our hormones and

contribute to cancer and even washing the vegetables does not completely remove the

pesticide residues. Aside from that, urban gardening is not a big deal for some people who are

very dependable on market products; they have forgotten the essence of good well-being and

healthier body. Due to ignorance and lack of experience, the people of the society suffers

nutrient deficiency, despite of consuming some food products that have some preservative

ingredients this are not enough to provide the right amount of vitamins. Due to chemical

dependent product from the markets give no advantage to the consumers. This problem

should not be tolerated for any reasons that’s why dweller must decide whether what is

needed to be done or what is not.

The importance of this study is it gives insights and realization to the future researcher

and readers and to encourage the people to be somehow dependent in urban gardening as it

can also help to sustain enough amount of vitamins and minerals that human needs.

Some urban dwellers grow their own food for health benefits, by eating fresh harvest

and spending more time outside doing physical work with soil (Ross & Haynes, 1988; Scully

et al. 1998). Hence, urban vegetable gardening has the potential to improve well-being of

gardeners along a variety of dimensions. In addition, urban agriculture provides social

benefits due to the emergence of opportunities to cooperate with other individuals,

exchanging their produce with others, and by meeting new people who have common

interests. Urban agriculture contributes to local economic development, poverty alleviation,

the social inclusion of the urban poor and women, as well as to the greening of the city and

the productive reuse of urban wastes (World Bank s and know-how of food production and

impacts of food production on the natural environment.

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The study only aims to determine the level of awareness of urban gardening and its

contribution to the urban society, the immeasurable reliance of market products that is

exclusively for and enough to sustain the demands of the urban vegetarian residents.

Theoretical Framework

The underpinning theoretical framework of this study is Demographic Theories. These

theories were proposed by Carl Sauer (1889-1975), an American geographer. These theories

postulate that the increase in human population is hampered by the carrying capacity of the

natural environment in supplying food. With further increase in population, the food that the

wild naturally supplies became too insignificant.

Marxist theory, capitalist try to corrupt the minds of the toiling masses and poison

them with their reactionary “values”, they want to “convince” workers that gardening is a great

pleasure and thereby to keep them busy in their leisure time and to prevent them from

making the proletarian revolution. To garden is therefore to participate in the great plot

aiming at the ideological deception of the masses, do not garden.

String Theory for Plants,(2006), Many climbing plants use barbs, tendrils, or rootlets

to attach themselves to the structures they ascend, but so-called twining plants simply wind

themselves around a support and stay there without any adhesive tricks. In the 3 November PRL,

researchers offer a mechanical model of how the free tip of a twining stem can hold onto a

smooth support, allowing the plant to grow upward. The model also explains why these vines

cannot grow on supports of too large a diameter. A twining plant can’t hold up its own weight,

so it wraps around a vertical support. As the vine pulls itself up, it generates tension along its

stem, as in the taut rope of a mountain climber scaling a cliff. But botanists haven’t explained

how, if the growing tip is not attached, the vine can sustain tension, allowing a “pulling” force

with respect to the roots. Another puzzle, noted by botanists dating back to Charles Darwin, is

that these plants can’t wrap around supports that are too fat, like a large tree trunk.

Schematic Diagram

Fig. 1. Schematic Diagram of the Conceptual Framework of the Study

Independent variables

• Availability

• Area’s space

• Monthly income

• Number of family

• Level of interest

• Livelihood

Dependent Variable

Urban residents’ level of

awareness

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Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know the significant effect and importance of urban gardening in

every individual resident, with respect to the following questions: 1. What are the profiles of the respondents according to the said variable?

1.1 Availability (respondents time) 1.2 Area’s Space

1.3 Monthly income

1.4 Number of family members

1.5 Livelihood

2. What is the perception of the respondents in terms of putting up a garden?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the socio economic profile of the respondents

and their level of awareness towards the square foot gardening?

Hypothesis

There is no significant relationship between the socio economic profile of the

respondents and their level of awareness towards the square foot gardening.

Method

This chapter presents the research methodology of the study. It contains the research

design, population and sample, research locale, respondents of the study, research instrument,

data gathering procedure, and statistical treatments that were used to analyze the data.

Research Design

This study used the descriptive research design. According to Glass & Hopkins (2001), the term descriptive research refers to the type of research question, design, and data analysis

that will be applied to a given topic. One of the instruments that were being used to obtain

data in a descriptive study is a survey.

Sample

Figure 1.0 Design of a Square Foot Garden

This figure shows our design in square foot garden. The length of this square foot is

12 inches and there is no division in planting the vegetables. Camote tops and Alugbate are

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the vegetables that we planted in this square foot garden. This kind of square foot garden is

only for small spaces. Here’s the step in creating/making a square foot garden:

• First is gather all the materials needed. *pencil

*saw

*hammer (claw hammer) *nails

*pull push rule

*try square

*1x1 stick

*ply wood

*sack (rice)

Procedures: 1) Cut 4 stick with a length of 12 inches (1 foot) using a saw. 2) Form it into a perfect square using nails in every corner. 3) Then, cut 4 stick with a length of 5 inches tall and nailed it into the corner of

the square foot right inside the 90 degrees. 4) Use sack as a soil holder then cover both sides with ply wood. 5) Lastly, paint it with design and put it wherever you want.

Figure 2.0 Panel of Square Foot Garden

This figure shows the original design of a square foot garden which is divided into

small square sections for the growing area of the plants. In each small squares has a different

plants/vegetables planted. This kind of square foot garden is for big spaces.

Good quality of a square foot garden:

Square foot gardening is very useful in designing your house. It is very effective idea

to set up a garden if you don’t have enough space or backyard in your house. It is also very

effective for stress reliever.

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Research Locale

The researchers conducted the study in Purok Mabination, Ubaldo Laya, Iligan City. Iligan City is a highly urbanized city in the Northern Mindanao region, Philippines. It is

geographically within the province of Lanao del Norte but administered independently from

the province. These places are populated with different types of people.

Respondents of the Study

There were 32 households in Purok Mabination, Ubaldo Laya, Iligan City was

randomly chosen as the respondents of the study through the use of sloven formula. The

researchers selected them with the considering that they will supply the best data required in

the study considering their own experience and training.

Results and Discussion

This chapter describes the analysis and interpretation of data followed by a discussion

of the research findings. The findings relate to the research questions that guided the study. Data were analyzed to identify, describe and explore the significance of the square foot

gardening in urban areas.

Table 7. Summary of the evaluation on the responses of the respondents as to the

Questions of the Survey. Criteria Mean Degree of

Responses

Quality

Description

Questions

1. Square foot gardening is advisable in every

house.

3.75

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

2. I prefer harvesting any of the food from

square foot garden.

3.50

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

3. Having a square foot garden is very good

idea.

3.53

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

4. I think it is necessary to give extra time and

effort in having a square foot garden.

3.81

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

5. The square foot garden vegetable is a good

alternative source of food.

3.63

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

6. I do not have time to grow food. 3.50 Strongly Agree Very Good

Perceptions

7. Having a square foot garden could minimize

your food budget.

3.34

Agree

Good

Perceptions

8. Having a square foot garden could be a

source of income.

3.41

Agree

Good

Perceptions

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9. Harvested vegetables could be used for small

business.

3.25

Agree

Good

Perceptions

10. Growing food in the city makes the city

more beautiful.

3.47

Agree

Good

Perceptions

11. Square foot garden vegetables are more

reliable to eat rather than market products.

3.72

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

12. Square foot garden could help the family

members to ingest sufficient nutrients.

3.38

Agree

Good

Perceptions

13. Square foot garden is much better if it has a

bigger space consumed.

3.75

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

14. Square foot is intended for urban residences

only.

3.16

Agree

Good

Perceptions

15. Square foot as a habit, not a time

consuming.

3.34

Agree

Good

Perceptions

16. Home grown vegetables taste better. 3.66 Strongly Agree Very Good

Perceptions

17. This square foot gardening should be

implemented along all the cities around the

world.

3.69

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

18. Growing your own food is cheaper than

buying it.

3.72

Strongly Agree

Very Good

Perceptions

19. Investing for a square foot garden is a

better idea for healthy vegetables.

3.47

Agree

Good

Perceptions

20. Square foot garden can sustain sufficient

amount of nutritious vegetables for your

demands.

3.28

Agree

Good

Perceptions

Total 70.37 Strongly Agree Very Good

Perceptions

Sum of mean over the number of questions is equal to 70.37/20 = 3.5185 or 3.52

Table 7 presents the summary of the evaluation on the responses of the respondents as

to the Questions of the Survey. The statement number 1 (Square foot gardening is advisable in

every house.) has a mean of 3.75 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which

have a very good perceptions. The statement number 2 (I prefer harvesting any of the food from square foot garden.)

has a mean of 3.50 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which have a very

good perceptions. The statement number 3 (Having a square foot garden is very good idea.) has a mean

of 3.53 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which have a very good

perceptions.

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The statement number 4 (I think it is necessary to give extra time and effort in having

a square foot garden.) has a mean of 3.81 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents

which have a very good perceptions. The statement number 5 (The square foot garden vegetable is a good alternative

source of food.) has a mean of 3.63 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which

have a very good perceptions. The statement number 6 (I do not have time to grow food.) has a mean of 3.50 and

responded as strongly agree by the respondents which have a very good perceptions. The statement number 7 (Having a square foot garden could minimize your food

budget.) has a mean of 3.34 and responded as agree by the respondents which have a good

perceptions. The statement number 8 (Having a square foot garden could be a source of income.)

has a mean of 3.41and responded as agree by the respondents which have a good perceptions. The statement number 9 (Harvested vegetables could be used for small business.) has a

mean of 3.25 and responded as agree by the respondents which have a good perceptions. The statement number 10 (Growing food in the city makes the city more beautiful.) has

a mean of 3.47 and responded as agree by the respondents which have a good perceptions. The statement number 11 (Square foot garden vegetables are more reliable to eat

rather than market products.) has a mean of 3.72 and responded as strongly agree by the

respondents which have a very good perceptions. The statement number 12 (Square foot garden could help the family members to

ingest sufficient nutrients.) has a mean of 3.38 and responded as agree by the respondents

which have a good perceptions. The statement number 13 (Square foot garden is much better if it has a bigger space

consumed.) has a mean of 3.75 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which

have a very good perceptions. The statement number 14 (Square foot is intended for urban residences only.) has a

mean of 3.16 and responded as agree by the respondents which have a good perceptions. The statement number 15 (Square foot as a habit, not a time consuming.) has a mean of

3.34 and responded as agree by the respondents which have a good perceptions. The statement number 16 (Home grown vegetables taste better.) has a mean of 3.66

and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which have a very good perceptions. The statement number 17 (This square foot gardening should be implemented along

all the cities around the world.) has a mean of 3.69 and responded as strongly agree by the

respondents which have a very good perceptions. The statement number 18 (Growing your own food is cheaper than buying It.) has a

mean of 3.72 and responded as strongly agree by the respondents which have a very good

perceptions. The statement number 19 (Investing for a square foot garden is a better idea for

healthy vegetables.) has a mean of 3.47 and responded as agree by the respondents which have

a good perceptions.

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The statement number 20 (Square foot garden can sustain sufficient amount of

nutritious vegetables for your demands.) has a mean of 3.28 and responded as agree by the

respondents which have a good perceptions. This data have proven that all of the respondents have agreed and having a positive

perception about the square foot gardening in their home as the result of their respond to the

researcher’s survey questionnaire. The sum of mean of this table over the number of questions

is equal to 3.52. According to Vicki Been and Ioan Voicu (2006), “We find that gardens have

the greatest impact in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Higher quality gardens have the

greatest positive impact.” According to the Northscaping ITDS (2012), “We always hear about

the negative impact humans have on the environment, but by gardening we can truly "go

green" to benefit the earth. Plants act as highly effective air cleaners, absorbing carbon

dioxide, plus many air pollutants, while releasing clean oxygen and fragrance. Also, a dense

cover of plants and mulch holds soil in place, reducing erosion and keeping sediment out of

streams, storm drains and roads. By planting new gardens, such as rain gardens, we can make

use of the rain water run-off and help prevent harmful pollutants from making it in our

streams and lakes.”

Table 8. Results of the Pearson Moment Correlation on the significant relationship between the

profile of the respondents and their perception towards the square foot gardening. Variables N Correlatio

n

Sig. Decision

Interpretation

Age 32 0.196 0.283 Not

significant

Accepted No relationship

Gender 32 -0.074 0.686 Not

significant


Monthly Income 32 0.288 0.110 Not

significant


Area’s space 32 -0.182 0.319 Not

significant


Family members 32 0.197 0.279 Not

significant


Livelihood 32 0.123 0.502 Not

significant


Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Table 8 presents the results of the Pearson Moment Correlation on the significant

relationship between the profile of the respondents and their perception towards the square

foot gardening. There were 6 variables as the profile of the respondents correlate to their

perception towards the square foot gardening. The correlation value as shown in the table has

signified a no relationship on the perceptions of the respondents with the correlation value of

0.196, -0.074, 0.288, -0.182, 0.197, and 0.123. The result shown also on the level of significant

is higher than 0.05 (2 tailed) which means the null hypothesis was rejected. Therefore, it

concluded that there is no significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and

their perception towards the square foot gardening. This implies also that the age, gender,

monthly income, area’s space, family members, and livelihood has no relationship on the

perception of the respondents towards the square foot gardening.

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Conclusion and Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. The profiles of the respondents that effect on their interest on having the square foot urban

gardening are availability, area’s space, monthly income, family members and livelihood. 2. Majority of the respondents have a very good perception in putting up square foot garden

in their homes. The respondents have their desires but there were factors that could affect

their interest on the urban gardening. 3. There is no significant relationship between the perception of the respondents towards the

square foot gardening and the profiles of the respondents.

Based on the findings and conclusions presented, the following recommendation is presented:

1. The researchers recommend that the residents in Purok Mabination, Ubaldo Laya, Iligan

City or any urban area should have a little amount of time in taking care of the square foot

garden in order to meet the desired results. In every house, the researchers recommend that

the small unused space can be utilized in having a square foot garden. If the respondents have

a high monthly income the researchers recommends investment for their square foot garden. 2. The researchers recommend that the residents in urban area should have a square foot

garden in their homes since some of the products in the square foot garden can be sold which

can add up to their income and it can provide sufficient vegetable foods. 3. The researchers recommend that the future researchers should focus only in one Barangay

to achieve the maximum accuracy in gathering the data.

Bibliography

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Pearson, Philippa (2014). Small Space Garden Ideas. New York: p.11 and page 236.

Raymond, Francine (2010). Lady gardening pioneers in a man’s world. p.2.

Wendin, Lori (2002). Gardening in Small Spaces. USA: p. 3.

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Been and Voicu (2006). The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values. Retrieved from http://lsr.nellco.org/nyu_lewp/46/

Derbyshire, David (2011). If you want a great garden, hand her the gloves. Retrieved from

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Guinness, Bunny (2015). Profit from your plot: 10 ways to make money from your garden. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/11655370/Profit-from-your-plot-10-ways-to-make-money-from-your-garden.html

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useful for moving manure and hiding in the shed. Retrieved from

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Impact of External Environmental Factors on Green Supply Chain Management:

An Empirical Study in Fast Moving Consumer Goods Industry in Vietnam

Duong Van Bay

International School of Management and Economics,

National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The study is aimed at exploring the external environmental factors that affect green supply

chain management. The official study was conducted with 479 fast moving consumer goods

(FMCG) businesses through direct and online surveys. Collected data is used for scale re-

measure, factor analysis and strutural equation modelling with the support of SPSS and AMOS

statistical software. The study identifíes four external environmental factors that influence green

supply chain management, including (i) Environmental regulation, (ii) Supplier and community

pressure, (iii) Competitive pressure and (iv) Buyer pressure. In addition, it also finds that green

supply chain management consists of three main practices, including (i) Environmental

Management, (ii) Reverse Logistics, and (iii) Investment recovery.

Keywords: External factor, environmental management, green supply chain management

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1. Introduction

Green supply chain management is a new innovative management tool that can be used to

enhance competitiveness and promote the environmental and financial performance of

businesses. The previous studies have shown that there are various factors driving the adoption of

green initiatives and standards in businesses’ operations. These factors include internal strategic

motivation and exterrnal pressure. External factors are mainly related to pressure from

stakeholders while internal factors are related to specific business strategies. The effects of

supply chain management on economic and environmental performance can be differentiated on

the basis of the origin of these pressures (Zhu et al., 2007). Businesses’ commitments to

environmental issues can improve the adoption of green supply chain management (Drumwright, 1994).

Although research on green management has increased, only a few ones have focused on the

drivers to motivate organizations to adopt green supply chain management. Most previous studies

have simply attempted to find a relationship between green supply chain management and

economic and environmental performance. In addition, these studies have been conducted mainly

in the developed countries and very few done in emerging-market countries.

Vietnam is one of the developing economies. After joining the World Trade Organization,

Vietnamese businesses have paid more attention to environmental issues. This is one of the

significant contributions to the sustainable development of businesses in the general economy. In

practice, Vietnamese businesses have relatively few supply relationships with foreign businesses.

One of the main reasons for this situation is that the products of Vietnamese busineses do not

meet the quality and environmental requirements of foreign companies. In addition, the lack of

interest in environmental management from businesses has led to an increase in the pollution of

land, air and water resources (Nguyen Thi Viet Anh et al., 2013).

In the context of increasing environmental degradation, businesses are forced to pay more

attention to the "eco-footprint" by changing their strategic stance and adopting green initiatives.

With the increase of competition in the global market, busineses must adopt modern strategies to

build themselves sustainable and gain competitive advantage.

Thus, this study is an empirical investigation of the relationship between external

environmental factors and green supply chain management. In which, the author selected

manufacturers and suppliers of FMCG for supermarkets, convenience stores and food stores for

research. The study on FMCG businesses would draws valuable experience for other businesses

to adopt green supply chain management in the process of international economic integration.

Based on the above reasons, the research topic on "The impact of external environmental

factors on green supply chain management" was selected for study.


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2. Literature review and theoretical framework

2.1. Green supply chain management

Green supply chain management is the process of integrating environmental ideas into

supply chain management (Zhu & Sarkis, 2004). Vachon (2007) argued that green supply chain

management is the integration of environmental management and supply chain management, or

green supply chain management is a well-thought-out design of environmental elements in the

decision making process. By adding "green" ingredients to supply chain management practices,

Lee (2012), Huang (2010); Zhu & Sarkis (2004), Min & Galle (2001) and Carter & Ellram

(1998) showed that green supply chain management practices were implemented to improve

environmental performance through internal environmental management, green purchasing, eco-

design, reverse logistics and investment recovery. Rao (2002) argued that green supply chain

management practices were quite diverse, including participants and practices in supply chain

management.

2.2. External environmental factors affecting green supply chain management

2.2.1. Environmental regulations

Environmental regulations play an important role in the implementation of environmental

management in businesses and serve as one of the key drivers of eco-innovation. Environmental

regulations include domestic environmental regulations, government environmental policies, and

international environmental agreements (Zhu and Sarkis, 1998 and 2006).

Domestic environmental regulations require businesses to adopt strategies and take measures

to improve environmental performance. Domestic regulations and corporate environmental

mandates are two major pressures (Zhu and Sakis, 2006). Moreover, the main drivers on

environmental perceptions of businesses increase the role of government regulations (Handfield

et al., 1999).

Communities are increasingly conscious to environment, mandatory requirements imposed by

government policies, regulations and pressures from organizations are seen as factors that drive

businesses towards adoption of green production or environmental management policies.

Environmental policy on air emissions remains one of the most important factors in saving

environmental strategies. Domestic environmental regulations have a direct and significant

impact on eco-design. Many governments and businesses are also affected by international

environmental agreements, such as the Kyoto Agreements, the Climate Change Treaty, and the

Montreal Protocol.

Hypothesis H1: Environmental regulation has a positive impact on green supply chain

management.

2.2.2. Buyer pressure

Buyers, especially the buyers who are the manufacturers of the products for the end

consumers in the supply chain are the most important and influential people to suppliers. As a

result, changes in buyers' purchasing policies and practices have a direct impact on suppliers’

behavior. The fact that large buyers have a significant influence on changes in the entire supply



IC-HUSO 2017

chain. In addition, suppliers who receive technical and managerial support from buyers when

increasing environmental performance can participate in environmental initiatives alongside

business partners. Suppliers can feel positive about changes because they can benefit from

reduced costs, improved operational performace, and increased value for customers when

participating in green supply chain initiatives with buyers (Lippman, 1999, 2001)

Hypothesis H2: Buyer pressure has a positive impact on green supply chain management.

2.2.3. Competitive pressure

Successful large businesses in an industry are closely monitored by competitors and outside

environmentalists (Zhu and Sarkis, 2007). Therefore, many organizations operating under

competitive pressures are often required to adopt green initiatives to compete and gain

competitive advantage (Carter and Ellram, 1998). A business can gain competitive advantage

over its competitors by acquiring products. Taking advantage of market agility and corporate

reputation, manufacturers can purchase and resell refurbished products to increase revenue (Zhu

et al., 2008). Businesses cooperate for green initiatives to achieve sustainable competitive

advantage (Hart, 1995). Moreover, collaborative orientation in pollution prevention, product

management, and sustainable development strategies are essential to achieving sustainable

competitive advantage (Hart, 2000).

Hypothesis H3: Competitive pressure has a positive impact on green supply chain

management.

2.2.4. Public pressure

Environmental awareness of consumers is increasing due to rapid environmental degradation

(Min and Galle, 1997). Consequently, consumer perceptions of environmental protection and

energy conservation can raise the society’s awareness on social issues as one of the most

influential pressures on businesses starting adoption of green supply chain management.

Purchasing behavior is changing due to environmental awareness of the society (Skrentny, 1993).

As a result, many younger consumers are becoming more aware of environment and are starting

to favor greener products, using less packaging, less pollution and less energy consumption

(Greenan and et al, 1997). In fact, increasing awareness of environment can be seen as an

opportunity for businesses to acquire new consumers by providing more environmentally friendly

products or services (Walker et al, 2008). The environmental considerations of businesses are not

only due to requirements from global criteria but also from consumer pressure in the society

(Rao, 2007).

The products impact on human health so sustainable solutions are always of full attention and

awareness to the community so it has an impact on the businesses’ decision-making. Most

experts say that the community of stakeholders is likely to influence and change the attitudes and

behavior of the businesses.

Hypothesis H4: Community pressure has a positive impact on green supply chain

management.


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2.3. Research model and hypothesis

Based on the findings of the literature review and the theoretical background presented above,

the author proposes a model of research on the relationship between external environmental

factors and green supply chain management of FMGC suppliers (as Figure 4). Accordingly, the

study shows four external environmental factors that influence on green supply chain

management, including (i) Environmental regulation, (ii) Buyer pressure, (iii) Competitive

pressure, (iv) Community pressure.

Green supply chain management consists of five main practices, including (i) Environmental

Management, (ii) Green purchasing, (iii) Eco-Design, (iv) Reverse logistics and (v) Investment

recovery.

Figure 1: Research model

- Hypothesis H1: Environmental regulation has a positive impact on supply chain

management.

- Hypothesis H2: Buyer pressure has a positive impact on green supply chain management.

- Hypothesis H3: Competitive pressure has a positive impact on green supply chain

management.

- Hypothesis H4: Public pressure has a positive impact on green supply chain

management.

3. Methodology

3.1. Research process

The study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research in two phases,

preliminary research and formal study. Qualitative research was conducted by in-depth interview

method with 10 FMCG busineses. The interview results helped the author adjust the model and

the scales before conducting quantitative research and formal verification of model. Preliminary

quantitative research was conducted with 120 FMCG businesses through direct survey.

Green supply chain

management

a. Environmental

regulation

b. Green purchasing

c. Eco-design

d. Reverse logistics

e. Investment recovery

Exte

rnal

fac

tors

Environmental regulation

Buyer pressure

Public pressure

Competitive pressure



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Quantitative research was conducted with 479 FMCG busineses through direct survey and

online survey. Data collection was used to re-measure the scale, to analyze the exploratory factor,

confirmatory factor and to test the models and hypothese with SEM with the support of SPSS and

AMOS version 23.0.

3.2. Data colletion method

The population of research is the FMCG businesses in Vietnam. To achieve the research

objectives, the author selected non-probability sampling method. Samples were selected by

stratified random sampling and the 479 samples were obtained in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The survey questionnaire was developed based on the studies by Lee (2012), Huang (2010) Zhu

& Sarkis (2004, 2005), Min & Galle (2001), Carter & Ellram (1998), which focused on

evaluating the influence of external environmental factors on green supply chain management.

Specifically, the survey was designed in three parts. The first part covers questions about green

supply chain management practices. The second part contains questions about the external

environmental factors affecting green supply chain management. The questions were answered

with a five-point Likert scale. And the third part is the personal information of the interviewee.

4. Research findings

4.1. Sample descriptive statistics

The statistical results show that out of 479 surveyed enterprises, SOEs account for 8.4%;

Private enterprises for 68.2%; Foreign invested enterprises for 19.4% and other types of

enterprises for 4.0%. Of which, enterprises with less than 100 employees account for 46.1%;

Enterprises with 100-300 employees for 20.5%; Enterprises with between 301 and 500 for 7.5%;

Enterprises with 500 employees or more for 25.9%. Moreover, food enterprises account for

33.4%; Alcohol, beer and beverage products for 12.7%; Milk and dairy products for 3.5%;

Personal and family care products for 11.3% and other related products for 39.1%.

4.2. Testing the scale reliability with Cronbach’s alpha

The Cronbach's alpha analytical results of green supply chain management show that all

scales have the Cronchbach's alpha reliability coefficients greater than 0.6 and the item-total

correlations greater than 0.3. Specifically, the environmental management with the item-total

correlations ranging from 0.79 to 0.855 and coefficient α = 0.860; Green purchasing with the

item-total correlations varying from 0.879 to 0.896 and coefficient α = 0.912> 0.6; Eco-design

with the item-total correlations ranging from 0.61 to 0.763 and coefficient α = 0.840; Investment

recovery with the item-total correlation ranging from 0.831 to 0.88 and the coefficient α = 0.895;

Reverse logistics with the item-total correlations ranging from 0.961 to 0.968 and coefficient α =

0.972.

In addition, the statistical results on external environmental factors show that all scales have

Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients greater than 0.6 and item-total correlations greater than

0.3. Specifically, the scale of environmental regulation with the item-total correlations ranging

from 0.444 to 0.823 and coefficient α = 0.875; Buyer pressure with the item-total correlation of

all observed variables varying from 0.331 to 0.782 and coefficient α = 0.808; Competitive


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pressure with the item-total correlations varying from 0.488 to 0.781 and the coefficient α = 0.849;

The public pressure with the item-total correlations varying from 0.564 to 0.675 and coefficient α = 0.789.

4.3. Testing the scale validity with the exploratory factor analysis EFA

The scale of external environmental factors includes 23 observed variables verified by EFA

with the Principal Axis Factoring extraction method and the Promax rotation. After removing 07

unmatched variables, the results of KMO and Bartlett's test showed KMO = 0.876 (> 0.5) and

Sig. = 0.000 (<0.05), suggesting that the remaining 16 variables were correlated on the whole.

Furthermore, the EFA results in Table 1 showed that four factors were extracted with a total

variance of 65.178% (> 50%). That is, the general part of the scale contributes to the concept of

external environmental factors that affect green supply chain management. This demonstrates

that these scales explain well the concept of external environmental factors affecting green supply

chain management. In other words, these four factors accounted for 65.178% of the variation of

the data. Variables in the scales have factor loadings ranging from 0.537 to 0.961, which are

greater than 0.5 and there is a difference in factor loading greater than 0.3.

Table 1: The EFA results of external environmental factors

Seq. Code New factor No. of variables

1. QDMT Environmental regulation 04

2. ALCD Public pressure 06

3. ALCT Competitive pressure 03

4. ALNM Buyer pressure 03

(Source: Author)

The scale of green supply chain management consists of 20 observed variables verified by

the EFA method with the Principal Axis Factoring extraction method and Prorimax rotation.

After removing the unmatched variables ST2 and ST3, the EFA showed that KMO = 0.902 was

in the range of 0.5 ≤ KMO ≤ 1 and Bartlett's test with Sig. = 0.000. The results show that the five

groups of factors converge into three new groups of factors (Table 2) with a total variance of

65.601%. That is, these three groups of factors account for 65,601% of variation of the data. This

demonstrates that these scales explain well the concept of green supply chain management. In

addition, the variables in the scales have factor loadings ranging from 0.649 to 0.922 which are

greater than 0.5 and there is a difference in factor loadings greater than 0.3.

Table 2: The EFA results of green supply chain management

Seq. Code New factor No. of variables

1. QLMT Environmental management 10

2. GVN Reverse logistics 5

3. PHDT Investment recovery 3

(Source: Author)



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4.4. Adjusted research model and hypothesis

Figure 2: Adjusted research model

- Hypothesis H1: Environmental regulation has a positive impact on environmental

management (a); reverse logistics (b); and investment recovery (c).

- Hypothesis H2: Buyer pressure has a positive impact on environmental management (a),

reverse logistics (b), and investment recovery (c).

- Hypothesis H3: Competitive pressure has a positive impact on environmental

management (a), reverse logistics (b), and investment recovery (c).

- Hypothesis H4: Public pressure has a positive impact on environmental management (a),

reverse logistics (b), and investment recovery (c).

4.5. Testing the theoretical model with structural equation modeling SEM

The structural equation modeling SEM is used to test theoretical and hypothetical models.

The test results show that, after eliminating the non-significant relationships out of the model and

adjusting the Modification Indices (MI), the model had 471 degrees of freedom with Chi-square

= 1383,920; P = 0.000 and CFI = 0.926 (> 0.9) and RMSEA = 0.064 (<0.08). Thus, although the

GFI and TLI scores are less than 0.9, other indicators are satisfactory, so the model is compatible

with the data collected (see Figure 3).

Green supply chain

management

a. Environmental

management

b. Reverse logistics

c. Investment

recovery

Ex

tern

al f

acto

rs

Environmental regulation

Buyer pressure

Public pressure

Competive pressure


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Figure 3: The results of SEM

The estimated results of the parameters in the model presented in Table 3 show that 06

relationships are not statistically significant because P values are greater than 0.05. Accordingly,

six hypotheses H4b, H1a, H1c, H3a, H3c, H2b are not accepted. The remaining six relationships

are statistically significant because the P values are less than 0.05. That means the hypotheses

H4a, H4c, H3b, H1b, H2a, H2c in the model are significant. In which, there are five hypotheses

having positive relationship, including the relationship between community pressure and

environmental management (β = 0.386; P = 0.000); Community pressure and investment

recovery (β = 0.285; P = 0.000); Environmental regulation and reverse logistics (β = 0.289; P =

0.000); Buyer pressure and environmental management (β = 0.387; P = 0.000); and buyer

pressure and investment recovery (β = 0.294; P = 0.000). And one has a negative relationship,

that is, the relationship between competitive pressure and reverse logistics.



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Table 3: The relationship between external environmental factors and green supply

chain management

Hypothesis Relationship Estimate S.E. C.R. P Results

H4a QLMT <--- ALCD ,386 ,098 3,922 *** Accepted

H4b GVN <--- ALCD ,155 ,180 ,857 ,391

H4c PHDT <--- ALCD ,285 ,145 1,969 ,049 Accepted

H1a QLMT <--- QDMT ,046 ,043 1,057 ,290

H1b GVN <--- QDMT ,289 ,085 3,401 *** Accepted

H1c PHDT <--- QDMT ,064 ,067 ,966 ,334

H3a QLMT <--- ALCT -,044 ,049 -,905 ,366

H3b GVN <--- ALCT -,206 ,095 -2,175 ,030

H3c PHDT <--- ALCT ,006 ,075 ,081 ,935

H2a QLMT <--- ALNM ,387 ,058 6,641 *** Accepted

H2b GVN <--- ALNM -,047 ,106 -,444 ,657

H2c PHDT <--- ALNM ,294 ,085 3,463 *** Accepted

5. Discussion and conclusion

The main purpose of this study is to explore the external environmental factors that affect

green supply chain management. Specifically, the formal research findings have identified four

external environmental factors that affect green supply chain management, including (i) Public

pressure, (ii) Environmental regulation, (iii) Competitive pressure and (iv) Buyer pressure. In

addition, the study has identified green supply chain management as consisting of three main

practices instead of five ones in the original research model, including (i) Environmental

management, (ii) Reverse logistics and (iii) Investment recovery.

The results of this study are important for businesses to make up strategies. The results of

this study provide some implications for corporate executives. Firstly, because of the impact of

products to human health, sustainable solutions are always of full attention and awareness to the

community, so they have an impact on the decision-making process. Most experts believe that the

community of stakeholders is likely to influence and change the attitudes and behavior of the


391

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businesses. Thus, the hypothesis about the relationship between public pressure and green supply

chain management is consistent with this finding.

Second, businesses need to raise environmental awareness due to public pressure and buyer

pressure. At the same time, businesses also need to adopt green supply chain management

practices to improve environmental performance to accelerate production so that businesses can

serve more effectively as suppliers. This is not different from any other business at almost

anywhere in the world. Consequently, the education of awareness on green supply chain

management is one of the first important steps.

And the fact that green supply chain management in Vietnam is still in its infancy. Although

businesses recognize the importance of green supply chain management, the adoption of this

activity is still limited. It remains unclear whether there are any barriers or restrictions to this

implementation, but it is clearly lacking of the needed tools, management skills and knowledge.

Thus, the government should introduce new policies to promote environmental activities in order

to achieve both economic and environmental performance.

6. Suggestion for further research

This research is one of several attempts to study the impact of external environmental factors

on green supply chain management. Therefore, the results are still only exploratory and limited.

Firstly, the theoretical model is only validated for the FMCG enterprises in Hanoi and Ho Chi

Minh City. The models need to be tested in other cities to increase the generalizability of the

results. A larger random sampling will also reflect a clearer picture of these activities not only in

the manufacturing of FMCG. Secondly, the research results show the influence of external

environmental factors on green supply chain management but in overall sampling some

relationships are is not statistically significant. Therefore, these relationships should continue to

be confirmed in subsequent studies.

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394 Proceeding of 13th International Conference on Humanities & Social Sciences 2017 (IC-HUSO 2017),


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Education for All: The Analysis of Multi-Actor Relation on Implementing Education System in LPKA Wonosari, DI. Yogyakarta

Maria Angelica Christy Aka1, Farahita Nandini2, M. Dimas Ponco Wirianto3

1,2,3 Undergraduate Student of Politics and Government, Faculty of Social and Political Science 1,2,3 Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract

In 2017, criminality rates in Yogyakarta has increased significantly which led them ended

up in detention center. This finally change the existence of detention center from a prison to a

haven for the children, thus urge the detention center to provide some educational activities as

an effort of children development during their period of detention. Therefore, we need to pay

attention to things like the facility, teachers, curriculum, and other facility to support the

education system in detention center, and especially the actors involved in nurturing the

detention center, particularly in LPKA Klas IIB Wonosari. This research focuses on the analysis

of multi-actor relation in implementing education system in LPKA Wonosari as a manifestation

of education for all. Other than that, we also provide a recommendation for the local

government. For the research method, we are using qualitative paradigm with case study and

data triangulation to collect the data.

Keywords: Education for All, Education System, Multi Actor Relation


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1. Introduction

This research will analyze multi-actor relation on implementing education system in

Lembaga Pembinaan Khusus Anak (juvenile detention center) Wonosari. The moments of

childhood through teens should be a fun time to pass. But the conditions will be different if in the

span of time they have made a big mistake, especially if related to criminal acts that involved

other people. Violations perpetrated by these children is supported by various factors, such as

social influence, the lack of attention, and even the development of technology. Until early

September 2017, there are around 35 juvenile detainees with criminal cases involved. Especially

with the current case of klitih or student violence that emerged in Yogyakarta, triggering an

increase on the number of juvenile detainees. This case absolutely raises concerns because the

capacity in LPKA is not sufficient as there is not enough land to build a new building because

LPKA Wonosari itself is still very new, as they just began operating on early January, and

currently use the vacant land next to the adult prison. So, it is feared that there will be some cheat

cooperation between adult prisoners with the juveniles that might violate the applied rules. A criminal who commits crime and is being imprisoned has a probability to do it again in

the future, and this is what we called as recidivism.1 This is because the social environment in

prison at general were not guaranteed clean from criminality. Therefore, education is one

important thing if we see it from social perspective because it will gradually lower the recidivism

rate. Education in prison, and detention center obviously, can also be some kind of a supply for

their next life after being freed. On the other hand, from economic perspective, education is

needed in detention center as a long-term saving for the state because it will somehow sharpen

their skills and therefore increase their chance to get a job.2 Not only that, when education can

function maximally, as being said above, it will reduce the recidivism rate and subsequently will

save the state’s expenses for detention centers themselves. The matter about the rights to access education in general has been manifested on The

Nation’s four goals that had written in fourth paragraph, third point of The Preamble of 1945

Constitution of The Republic of Indonesia which said “to develop the nation’s intellectual life”.3 Therefore, since the declaration of the Nation of Indonesia, the founding fathers were already

have commitment to actualize the shape of Indonesia’s education. And as being written in Article

31, paragraph (1) the 1945 Constitution, all citizens have the right to pursue education. Article 28,

paragraph (1) also said the same meaning, that is every citizen (of Indonesia) have the right to get

education and also the impact from having knowledge, technology, art and culture, to improve the

quality of their life and for the welfare of the citizen of Indonesia.4

1 Katherine Twomey in The Right to Education in Juvenile Detention under State Constitutions. Virginia Law

Review, Vol. 94, No. 3 (May, 2008), p. 765-811. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25470570 2 Ibid. 3 The Preamble of 1945 Constitution of The Republic of Indonesia 4 Ibid



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The sentence is also in line with the concept of education for all (EFA). There are at least

six goals that UNESCO try to emphasize for its concept: (1) early childhood care and education, (2) universal primary education, (3) youth and adult skills, (4) adult literacy, (5) gender equality, and (6) quality of education.5 In this research, our main focus is on the last goal which aims to

improve every aspect related to education quality and ensuring excellence of all. Therefore, the

equitable distribution of education and learning opportunities is not only limited to certain

parties, but ideally can be felt thoroughly for every level of society. Equivalency program within the concept of education for all is currently perceived as the

right solution to address the issue of education distribution in Indonesia. Equivalency program is

a non-formal program that provides general education which equivalent to elementary, junior

high, and senior high school consisting of package A, package B, and package C.6 With the

emphasis on the system of educational equality, Indonesia began to adopt more rules by

formulating the Ministerial Regulation of The Ministry of Culture and Education No. 97 of 2013

which contains the rules of graduation criteria through the educational equality.7 This concept fits to the educational equality effort on the Mental Revolution (revolusi mental), a concept by

Indonesia’s current President Mr. Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in the eighth concept of Nawa Cita as

the orientation of education in Indonesia. By applying the concept of education for all and simultaneously referring to equivalency

program, this will automatically help anyone who has not or could not continue formal education

because everyone has the right to education, especially in Indonesia where education became one

of the crucial factor to improve nation’s welfare. But in this case, welfare must also be owned by

juveniles in LPKA Wonosari by applying the last goal of education for all by improving the

quality of their education. Research about juvenile detention center in Indonesia at general mostly goes with such a

mainstream perspective that only focuses on the implementation of children’s development in the

detention center. While the condition is quite different in LPKA Wonosari that is still consider

new, so clearly research about this particular detention center is not quite many. One of the few is

research from Vincencius et al, student of Law in Universitas Diponegoro. The research focuses

on the guidance of the child with juridical empiric perspective, which means the research was

using legal-formal approach in accordance with the children’s guidance.8

5 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. 2015. Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges. France: UNESCO Publishing. 6 Ministerial Regulation of National Education No. 14 of 2007 on Package A, Package B, and Package C Content

Standard. 7 On Graduation Requirements of The Education and Management Units of School Examination and National

Examination. 8 Vincencius, et al. Pelaksanaan Pembinaan Anak Didik di LPKA Klas IIB Wonosari, Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. Diponegoro Law Journal, Vol 5 (2016).


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The same goes to what Anggraini wrote in 2015 about The Fulfillment of Right to

Education at Special Institution of Children of Yogyakarta.9 The journal mainly talked about how

the officers had to fulfill the children’s right to get the same education as what they used to have. Anggraini thought that the government, in reality, had not fulfilled their task, for example the

lack of facility and the absence of the pamongs (teachers). Anggraini used law perspective with

legislation as the instrument to analyze the data. Lastly, a research has done by Andi Saputro about the guidance of child prisoner which is

arranged in Act No. 11 of 2002 about Juvenile Criminal Justice System that enacted children

imprisonment as an ultimatum remedium.10 The researcher focused on the condition of children

prisoner’s right and whether or not they are having the same treatment as children in general as

well as proper supervision with no discrimination. Therefore, what distinguished our research to previous researches is the main focus that

we brought that is education for all. This concept emphasized education as the political rights of

every Indonesian across the nation including the children prisoner in LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. Another thing our research has in content is the participation of stakeholders and how their

relation works in order to maintain the sustainability of LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. Most

research would likely to see if the children develop well that automatically means that the

government had fulfill their duty. Otherwise, if not, it is crystal clear that the government are

incompetent without even seeing the dynamics happened on the government’s side. Thereafter,

many researchers before us were using descriptive type of research to analyze this topic and

putting legal-formal perspective on it. As the result, previous study only explaining on how well

the law has been implemented on children prisoner. But to get deeper result, we are trying to

engage on what really happened on field as we explore the involvement of stakeholders to

concretely actualize the main concept of education for all. Based on the explained background

above, this research tries to examine more deeply about the implementation of education system

in LPKA Wonosari. Not only by discussing the LPKA Wonosari development guidance, but also

trying to identify and analyze the actors involved to support education in LPKA Wonosari.

2. Methods

This research is focusing on the concept of education for all and how this concept applied

in one of juvenile detention center in Indonesia that is LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. Therefore,

literatures that needed to analyze the main focus, as well as the secondary data, are mainly about

the concept itself which is education for all. This research also referring to 1945 Constitution of

The Republic of Indonesia Article 31 Paragraph (1) as the foundational regulation that contain

obligation to fulfill Indonesian right of education.11 By using as many as possible relevant

9 Anggraini, Martha Yusfika. Pemenuhan Hak Pendidikan Bagi Anak Didik Pemasyarakatan di Lembaga Pembinaan

Khusus Anak Yogyakarta. Jurnal Universitas Atma Jaya 2015. 10 Saputro, Andi. Sistem Pembinaan Anak Didik Pemasyarakatan di Rumah Tahanan Negara Klas II B Wonosari

Setelah Berlakunya UU Nomor 11 Tahun 2012 tentang Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak. Thesis of Law Department

UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta (2015). 11 The 1945 Constitution of The Republic of Indonesia



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references, this research is conducted to hopefully serve and bring the topic in a new perspectives

while rooting on the main regulation of education that applied in Indonesia. This research is using two type of data; primary and secondary, which are categorized

based on the relevance of data resources with the research subject. Primary data is the type of data

when the researchers collected themselves directly and pertinent to the focus of the main topic. Whereas, secondary data is obtained from relevant literatures such as journal, book, and the

previous study of the same topic. By doing direct observation and in-depth interview right in the

LPKA Wonosari, researchers have higher chance in acquiring much more accurate data based on

the actual reality. Furthermore, researchers also obtain data such as theory by extracting

literatures which in the following categorized as secondary data.12

Researchers are also using triangulation technique to test data validity. Triangulation is

used in order to look the case with more than one point of view. There are some type of

triangulation, first is Observer Triangulation where every single one of the researcher’s

perspective is taken into account so differences are not a limit or an obstacle in the process of

research. Second, Data Triangulation which allowed researchers to collect information from any

source such as interviewee, books, and documentation. This type will enriched the data with

information from various sources. And third, Interviewee Triangulation which allowed

researchers to compare data, which is the outcome of interview, from different sources. Interviewees have their own perspective on answering provided questions and each of them are

not always contain same meaning. This is why the importance of this type is to minimize the

overlapping data or even the contradictory answer from different interviewees that afterwards

become one unit of data.13

3. Results A. The Implementation of Education System in LPKA Wonosari

The juvenile detention center was made to re-educate humanity and norm values, and also

knowledge that should be owned by the children in general. Fristch and McCoy (1979) mentioned

this as educational approach.14 But in this context, LPKA Wonosari applied education system

that is similar to independent approach style, which has the following characteristics: first, the

school is located inside the detention center. Second, they usually have a certified and qualified

teachers to teach one or many lessons at once and sometimes also help to deal with their

behaviour or even psychological disorders through counselling. LPKA Wonosari held classes every Monday and Thursday with equivalency programme

as written in Sanggar Kesatuan Belajar (SKB) by the local Education Authorities. The class will

be conducted by a Pamong (teacher) and will be divided ─as refer to the curriculum─ to three

classes, which are; package A equivalent to elementary school, package B equivalent to junior

12 Neuman, W. L., 2016. Metodologi Penelitian Sosial: Pendekatan Kualitatif dan Kuantitatif. 7 ed. Jakarta: Indeks 13 Ibid 14 Fritsch dan McCoy. 1979. “The Role of Special Education in The Juvenile Detention Center”. Correctional

Education Association.


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high, and finally package C equivalent to high school. Next, they also had Friday class for

spiritual lesson, but only have two classifications that are for Moslem and Christian. This lesson

will be taught by pamong from Ministry of Religion. For those who is moslem will obviously

learn from ustad, whereas the christians with priest. But on one side, we think that the curriculum applied is actually still a bit ambiguous

because there is no accountability and publicity that explains coherently about what the

curriculum really is and whether or not it would be really helpful to the children’s development

while it only contains formal lesson. In addition, the education system applied in LPKA was

more like an informal education that does not even have the government-ruled characteristics

such as firm, stiff, and strict rules that must be followed. Afterwards, the lack of pamong in

number become a problem too because there is only two remaining pamong from the Education

Authorities to teach the whole detention center in Yogyakarta Province. This finally affects to

ineffective ways in teaching and learning activities in LPKA Wonosari because the pamong is

often absent and thus the lessons have to be replaced with various activities, or even had to be

emptied completely. Furthermore, the facility in LPKA Wonosari is still very minimum too. The classrooms

are small and they do not have chairs so the children will sit on the floor or what the local called

as lesehan. The quantity of the available books is also very few and only in textbooks, they did

not have books that specifically match the the children’s interests. This is because the books only

came from parents’ donations so no wonder that the quantity is very limited. They did not get a

fixed or official textbooks to study just like the other school in general. This finally forced them

to study from any available books which some of them are somehow far from relevant to fixed

curriculum in Indonesia. Not only that, the arts instrument also actually owned by LPKA

Wonosari’s officers and some from the juvenile. This shows that the facility in LPKA Wonosari

still owned by personal and not provided from the government itself which is indeed in contrary

with what is written on National Education System Act which explicitly said that the state shall

be responsible and provide all matters so the citizens can receive education.

B. Multi-Actor Relation

The data above shows how local government has not implement the system which

globally known as “good governance” because up until now the management that they are holding

is still very dependent on the main actors which, in this context, are Kemenkumham, Dinas

Pendidikan, and Dinas Sosial. The lack of participation from other actor (except the government) has become a problem itself especially for the sustainability of LPKA Klas II B Wonosari as the

actors involved are showing how small the resources they have. Moreover, the main actor itself

cannot coordinate well from one institution to another. As the result, the service that they have

given is not being optimized.



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On Article 31 Paragraph (2), government has responsibility to cover all the financial

needs related to basic education of all Indonesians across the nation. It is their duty, in the first

place, to disburse the budget to LPKA Klas II B Wonosari which will be used for books, art

instrument, class’ chairs and tables. They are also in need of devices and hardwares which

allowed them to computerize data on the internet for integrating reasons. Online operation has

been applied inside the whole government apparatus in order to speed up the process of data

collection, but unfortunately this online operation’s benefits has not yet felt by LPKA Klas II B

Wonosari. The long-waited budget for LPKA Klas IIB Wonosari assumed to be the result of

online operation work. This operation is not going smoothly as expected, resulting in slow and

complicated system forcing LPKA Klas II B Wonosari to orient their education system based on

facilities they owned which are very limited because, again, the financial support from the

government is stuck in nowhere. The facilities itself are actually from donations of parents which

is not much, so the officers of the LPKA Klass II B Wonosari have to use their personal funds to

support the children’s education need. The funds itself spent in a quite big amount, to be said. Government should reflect on what really happened and realize that they cannot stand by

themselves to operate LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. They need help and cooperation with other

stakeholders. The absence of teachers is actually a chance for government to open up and let other

stakeholders such as local community that focused on children’s protection, book community,

education-oriented community, and others to take part in filling the absence of formal teacher in

LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. By doing this, stakeholders will have bigger chance to participate and

slowly minimize the deficiency in LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. The chance to participate has been

opened beforehand, yet the place still facing resource crisis which indicate that communities still

unable to act well on the aspect they persevered. This is showing the lack of interest for other

stakeholders, especially from society side, to take part in succeeding LPKA Klas II B Wonosari

children’s education. Saying that both sides are still lack of effort to cooperate on each other is

also not wrong. Ideally, both are expected to work together and show reciprocal relation where

government should have been more open, while communities should be ready to participate as

well, knowing that relying on issue’s popularity won’t change anything. There should be official

relation between both sides regarding this cooperation so they will have such an official bond and

attachment towards the success of LPKA Klas II B Wonosari’s education. Moving on from society side, there is another stakeholder who is known for their profit-

oriented characteristic, the market side and also goes by private sector. Having to learn about

government’s fund problematic, it is assuring that government cannot be the only financial source

to depend on for LPKA Klas II B Wonosari to perform an optimized education based on the

concept of “education for all”. A solution is proposed in order to fix the deficient facility in LPKA

Klas II B Wonosari which involved cooperation of government and private sector. Just like

government-society relation, they also have to build a relation that is mutual for each side and

most importantly, for LPKA Klas II B Wonosari’s education.


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4. Discussion and Conclusion

The concept of education for all emphasizes on education equality in various aspects

which currently adopted by the central and local governments of Indonesia. The problem is that

the implementation of this concept does not go as smooth as what happened on reality which is

very contrary to the point listed in local regulations that have been ratified. The case study in

LPKA Klas II B Wonosari proves that the system is still far from ideal. This is being justified by

the education system that is not implemented properly such as unreasonable absence of pamong,

the lack of classroom facilities and other supporting facilities for reading materials. Moreover,

the actors involved only dwell on a handful of government agencies, families of child prisoner,

and even the officers in LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. The government that had always been a

single actor all this time was overwhelmed, and so we need to look up for necessary solution that

involved various actors to actualize better condition and to maintain the sustainability of LPKA

Wonosari. This research is certainly necessary to be a recommendation for the government

regarding to educational achievements, especially for the case of the fulfillment of right to access

education for all the child prisoner. Therefore, there should be priority in providing funds,

especially in the field of education in LPKA Klas II B Wonosari. As stated in the discussion of

Inter-actor Relation in this study, the indicator of the lack in facilities is implicated by the

vagueness of special budget that is allocated for education of child prisoner purpose. So it is

necessary to private actors to look at this matter as a contribution to the education of children by

mutually connecting a network with several parties so that achievements is truly realized. In

addition, other actors such as community and civil society that focused on children cannot

guarantee in spreading equitable efforts concerning education as a whole. Other than that,

researchers also assume that the geographical location between the city center and the area of

LPKA Wonosari affecting the lack of support too because the location is honestly not easily

reached by some of those communities. This research aims to give recommendations especially to the government to pay more

attention about various efforts such as increasing the relationship between actors by applying the

principles of good governance, because we found that this issue unfortunately has not become a

regional issue in Yogyakarta, but only the responsibility of the Government of Gunung Kidul

regency. That the relationship between the actors we discussed in this research, should not be

interpreted to stop at the network between external actors, but also become a reference for the

provincial government to improve relations and cooperation among government agencies in

order to implementing better education system in LPKA Wonosari.



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5. References

Anggraini, M. Y. (2015). Pemenuhan Hak Pendidikan Bagi Anak Didik Pemasyarakatan di

Lembaga Pembinaan Khusus Anak Yogyakarta. Jurnal Universitas Atmajaya. Fritsch, & McCoy. (1979). The Role of Special Education in the Juvenile Detention Center.

Correctional Education Association. Neuman, W. L. (2016). Metodologi Penelitian Sosial: Pendekatan Kualitatif dan Kuantitatif (7 ed.).

Jakarta: Indeks. Saputro, A. (2015). Sistem Pembinaan Anak Didik Permasyarakatan di Rumah Tahanan Negara

Klas IIB Wonosari Setelah Berlakunya UU Nomor 11 Tahun 2012 tentang Sistem

Peradilan Pidana Anak. UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. Twomey, K. (2008). The Right to Education in Juvenile Detention under State Constitutions.

Virginia Law Review, 765-811. UNESCO. (2015). Education for All 200-2015. France: UNESCO Publishing. Vincencius, e. a. (2016). Pelaksanaan Pembinaan Anak Didik di LPKA Klas IIB Wonosari,

Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. Diponegoro Law Journal.


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Becoming Ajarn: Narratives of the Filipino Teachers in Thailand

Eunice Barbara C. Novio1, Nancy Guigue Catane2

Faculty of Education, Vongchavalitkul University; Faculty of Humanities, Naresuan University

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract

Most Filipino teachers in Thailand teach in anuban (pre-school), phratom (elementary) and

Mathayum (high school). Few Filipinos are able to teach in the university level where professional

development is highly esteemed in the academic community. They are pressured to improve their

teaching methods as well as seeking avenues to improve their professions to ensure that their

employers will renew their contracts yearly.

This paper presents the professional development of the Filipino teachers in Thailand

which they could not have if they remain in the Philippines. Filipino teachers are in demand due

to their abilities to adapt to any work environment. The study explored the lives of five Filipino

teachers working in elementary and university levels and their struggles to professionally improve

themselves to ensure the continuous renewal of their contracts.

The study sought to understand the various reasons for migrations of the Filipinos in Thailand;

to present the professional development undertaken by the Filipino teachers for professional

development; and to present the struggles and the issues confronting them as migrant workers.

Employing the life story method the author did questions, interviews via internet and review

of related literature as secondary data. The questions were semi-structured which provided the

respondents to reflect and dissect their situations open-mindedly.

To date, the Philippine Embassy in Thailand accounts Filipinos as more or less 16 to 17

thousand. There is no accurate data since the Filipinos move constantly. Thus, one of the

problems cited by the Embassy.

The respondents are from Phitsanulok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buriram, Khampeang Pet and

Nonthaburi.

Key words: ASEAN, English teachers, development, Filipino, migration, tourists



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1. Introduction

According to Tulud-Cruz (2004) Asia has a long history of permanent, temporary and

cyclical migration due to trade, work, religion or cultural interchange. In pre-colonial times the

Malay peninsula and the Indonesian and Philippine archipelago is an area marked by mobility of

people of various ethnicity especially via the sea. Arab and Chinese traders are key players in this

period of history of people mobility in Asia.

The ancient kingdoms of Siam (Thailand’s old name) and Luzon had a long history of

trading relationship. The Sukhothai and Ayutthaya dynasties also employed mercenaries from

Luzon to fight the Burmese and Cambodian invaders (Morga, 1907; David, 1984).

Philippines was also the popular destinations among Thais before World War 2 since the

country’s education system was patterned to the American curriculum aside from cheap tuition and

living compared to the United States and England. In a newspaper article, Novio (12 Feb 2012)

wrote that in the ‘70s few Filipinos came to work with Bangkok-based international agencies or

multinational firms, or as missionaries or entertainers. Among the popular Thai personalities who

were Philippine educated is the popular band, Kalabaw. The members studied at the Gregorio

Araneta Foundation (now La Salle). The band’s name is from Tagalog “kalabaw”. Older Thais

know the Philippine universities as the best in Asia if not of the world. Adamson University,

Central Luzon State University and the University of the Philippines are known universities where

Thais usually studied. On the same article, Novio mentioned that Filipinos has been coming to

Thailand since. However, only during the year 2000, when the then, Prime Minister Thaksin

Shinawatra opened the country for foreign teachers to teach English that swarm of Filipinos came in.

On 14 June 1949 the Philippines and Thailand signed the signed the Treaty of Friendship,

formalizing their bilateral relationship (Philippine Embassy website).

The Philippines made the one million mark OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) deployment

in the world in 2006 (Depasupil, 2006; NSO, 2012) with Saudi Arabia as the top destinations. This

trend does not change in the last years. Besides nurses, engineers, seafarers and household workers,

the country has exported approximately four thousand teachers, primarily in the subjects of math,

science, English, and special education in the last ten years (Tubeza, 2009). The top destinations

of the teachers are Japan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. The United States, an

English speaking country, imports foreign English teachers and is included as one of the top

destinations for Filipino teachers. Recently, China, Macau and Thailand became the destinations

of professionals seeking teaching jobs.


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Migration among the Filipinos and ASEAN

In 1973, President Ferdinand Marcos formalized the opening of the country as a source of

labor market, through its export-oriented policy. Aside from the growing unrest in the country

where many Filipinos trooped to foreign embassies to fled, the rising oil prices attracted many

workers to the Middle East for contractual labor. However, at this time majority of those who left

the country were males while the nurses bound to the United States were mostly females. (Asis,

2011; Choy, 2003; O’neil, 2004)

The Philippine Government however has different perception in encouraging migration.

The study of Rodriguez (2005) stated that the political benefits of migration, as the state makes

plain in official policy documents, include mitigating the growth of the communist insurgency.

The availability of employment overseas addresses the Philippines’ perennial un- and

underemployment problem, which, state officials believe communists take advantage of to

increase their ranks.

Migration resulted to “brain drain”. However, Yuen (2013) emphasized that although

receiving countries benefited from the “brains” of the skilled migrants, the emigrants help their

own countries through sending of remittances; transfer technology and knowledge; and provide

crucial networks for trade and investments. It also leads to higher level of human capital

formation. Further, upon returning of the emigrants to their home countries, they are able to share

the skills they have learned from their host countries.

The pattern of migration significantly change in the past years due to the strong

collaboration of South East Asian nations. It resulted to the establishment of ASEAN Economic

Community (AEC) in 2015. AEC aims to give employment and other economic opportunities to

622 million people. With a US$2.6 trillion market, AEC is the third largest economy in Asia and

the seventh largest in the world (http://asean.org/asean)

The ASEAN region is now gearing on the full implementation of the Asean Economic

Community, more and more Filipino workers and job-seekers flock to middle and upper income

countries in the ASEAN region like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand due to its open-door policy

on skilled and professional workers in the region.

Despite the open-door policy, there are only eight professions in the MRAs (Mutual

Recognition Agreements) allowed for skilled labor recognized to work in ASEAN region. These

are medical doctors, dentists, nurses, architects, engineers, accountants, surveyors and tourism

professionals. These professions are yet to freely move in any ASEAN countries because each

countries prioritize their own professionals (Muennoo, 2012). The Asean Economic Community

Blueprint facilitates only the mobility of these skilled professionals. However, according to critics,

the arrangement to facilitate the movement of these professionals is also problematic in some



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countries because the requirements imposed on ASEAN professionals are the same as those of the

non-ASEAN countries. (Tangkitvanich, Rattanakhamfu, 2017).

Teaching profession may be excluded, but it is still the most in demand among the non-

English speaking countries in SE Asia excluding Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

As Thailand struggles to meet the standard of the ASEAN community in English language

proficiency, it becomes a haven for job-seekers from English speaking countries including the

Philippines. Known for their adaptability, excellent work ethics, and even accepting low salary

Filipinos are becoming in demand in Thailand as teachers or ajarns.

Thailand’s Labor Market

Thailand is known for tourism with its foods, beaches, country sides, night markets and the

alluring night life of Bangkok. Tourists, retirees and job seekers flock to Thailand because of its

low standard of living and relatively relax immigration rules especially workers from ASEAN countries.

As a receiving country, Thailand’s workers are from neighboring Myanmar,Cambodia,

Laos (Mekong countries) and now the Philippines. Compared to the other three countries, Filipino

workers are mostly professionals and demanding higher compensation. Philippines on the other

hand is the largest labor-sending country in the ASEAN region (OECD, 2015).

Despite the strong diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Thailand, the absence

of Bilateral Labor Agreement (BLA). Thailand has Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with

the Mekong countries on labor. (Go,2007a; http://www.mekongmigration.org)

Therefore, most workers from the Philippines entered as tourists. Engineers, development

workers and missionaries are sponsored by multi-national companies with sub-offices or

churches based in Thailand.

Bilateral agreements (BAs) have traditionally been used to manage migration flows

between countries. These are formal, legally binding treaties relating to cooperation in various

aspects related to labor migration while MOUs are nonbinding and less formal (Bacalla, 2012,

Go, 2007b).

Recently, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Declaration on the Protection

and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers was adopted by the ASEAN heads of state in

Cebu, Philippines in 2007. The Declaration calls on countries of origin and destination to ensure

the dignity of migrant workers by outlining their obligations in the areas of: (i) protection from

exploitation, discrimination, and violence; (ii) labour migration governance; and (iii) the fight

against trafficking in persons. (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice). The Declaration also

includes the undocumented workers. On April 27-29, 2017, it is expected that the final draft on

the instruments of the Convention will be finalized.

http://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice


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The Filipino Migrants

The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and

Members of their Families (1990) defines a migrant worker as a person who is to be engaged, is

engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a

national.

The Commission of Overseas Filipinos (CFO) classifies the Filipino migrants into the

following:

• Permanent migrants – These refer to Filipino migrants and legal permanent residents

abroad. Permanent migrants may be Filipinos who are Filipino citizens, who are

Philippine passport holders, or who have been naturalized citizens in the host country.

Popular labels to these kinds of migrants are “immigrants” and “emigrants”;

• Temporary migrants – These refer to Filipinos whose stay overseas, while regular and

properly documented, is temporary. This is owed to the employment related nature of

their status in the host country. Temporary migrants include contract workers, intra-

company transferees, students, trainees, entrepreneurs, businessmen, traders, and others

whose stay abroad is six months or more, as well as their accompanying. These migrants

are popularly referred to as “overseas contract workers (OCWs)” or “overseas Filipino

workers (OFWs)”; and

• Irregular migrants – These are migrants whose stay abroad is not properly documented.

They also do not have valid residence and work permits; they can also be overstaying

workers or tourists in a foreign country. These migrants falling into this category shall

have been in such status for six months or more.

The Convention categorized the migrant workers as documented or in regular situations

“if they are authorized to enter, to stay and to engage in a remunerated activity in the State of

employment pursuant to the law of that State and to international agreements to which that State

is a party”. Otherwise, they are considered to be non-documented or in an irregular situation.



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The Filipinos in Thailand

The table shows the estimated number of Filipinos in Thailand covering the period of July

to December 2015 in a Report to Congress by the Philippine Embassy.

Table 1

Male Female Total

a. Permanent Migrants

*2004-2015

1,025

b. Temporary Migrants

*figure is taken from the

12,921 work permits issued

by the Thai Ministry of

Labor as of September

2015 and the 345 reports of

births received by the

Embassy in 2015

13,266

c. Irregular/undocumented

*based on the information

provided by clients who

approached the Embassy in

2015 for various consular

and ATN-related services

1,371

Total 15,662

In the same report, the Philippine Embassy admitted that the number of males and females

were not provided. Further, in January to June 2015 report there was a discrepancy due to the

continuous mobilization of the Filipino migrants.

Table 2

Male Female Total

a. Permanent Migrants

1,000

b. Temporary Migrants

12,921

c. Irregular/undocumented

4,000

Total 17,921*


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Table 3 is based on the work permits issued by the Thai Ministry of Labor in the same period.

Table 3

Professions Male Female Total

a. Professionals 9,597

b. Skilled 897

c. Semi-skilled 335

d. Low-skilled 157

e. Household Service Workers 83

f. “Others” (as grouped by Thai authorities) 2,197

g. Not identified (includes figures 1a and 1c 2,396

Total 15,662*

In an interview to former Vice Consul Edgar Badajos, he confirmed that majority of the

Filipinos entered Thailand as tourists (Novio, 2012). In separate interviews Filipinos admitted

that they were tourists upon their entry and later found work in different provinces in Thailand.

* Philippine Embassy in Bangkok (Bangkok PE) Report to Congress from the period July

to December 2015

The Filipino Teachers

Philippines is the third largest English speaking society in the world (Bolton and Bautista,

2004). English is the official language of the government and in education and a large part of the

media, music, films and televisions. Philippines has high literacy rates of 87% and good English

speaking ability (Jinkinson, 2003). In the past ten years, the Philippines has exported approximately

four thousand teachers, primarily in the subjects of math, science, English, and special education.

Tubeza (2009) enumerates the top destinations as being primarily non-English speaking countries

such as Japan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. The United States, an English

speaking country, imports foreign English teachers and is included as one of the top destinations

for Filipino teachers.

Besides English, Filipino teachers working abroad are given other subjects to teach such as

Mathematics, Science and other related disciplines. Further, since English is the language of

commerce and politics in the Philippines, majority of the Filipinos understand English thus can be

categorized as native English speakers. (Frederiksen, 2014).



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In 2001, it is generally believed that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra opened

Thailand for teaching employment as it prepared for ASEAN integration. Thus, a new wave of

migration began paving the way for Filipino professionals seeking jobs. However, most job seekers

from the Philippines are classified as tourists. It is assumed that the 3,000 undocumented Filipinos

on the record of the Philippine Embassy in Thailand in December 2015 were either tourists or

workers with expired work permits or not issued with working visa.

As a labor sending country, the Philippines relies on overseas remittances to keep the

economy afloat. Categorize as global work force, the Filipino workers continue to seek personal

development to remain competitive in their chosen fields to improve quality of life through income

and livelihood, and job security. Achieving higher education, accreditations and recognition from

both the sending and receiving countries, are considered capital investments to continue working abroad.

Statement of the Problems

Few Filipinos are able to teach in the university level where professional development is

highly esteemed in the academic community. The Filipino teachers are pressured to improve their

teaching methods as well as seeking avenues to improve their professions to ensure that their

employers will renew their contracts yearly. The paper answered the following questions: 1.) What

are their reasons for migration; 2) How do they improve their professions to ensure the continuity

of their contracts and 3) What are their struggles as migrant teachers? And 4) What are the issues

confronting them as migrants?

According to Becker, education, training, and health are the most important investments in

human capital. Human Capital Theory (HCT) examines the relationships between education,

economic growth and social well-being.

This paper explored the lives of five Filipino EFL teachers who started as tourists and now

working as teachers in universities in Thailand. The paper narrates their struggles to prove their

professional worth as English teachers as well as their success as Filipino teachers in a foreign country.

Objectives of the study

Despite the presence of the Filipinos in Thailand, it is seldom that their contributions to the

Thai society and to the Philippines as well, are recognized. Hence this study was able to:

1. Identify the reasons for migrations of the Filipinos in Thailand;

2. Present the professional development undertaken by the Filipino teachers for

professional development; and

3. Present the struggles and the issues confronting them as migrant workers.


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2. Method

Life story method is used in this paper where the following were employed: questions,

interviews via internet, review of related literature as secondary data. The questions were semi-

structured which provided the respondents to reflect and dissect their situations in an open mindset.

Messenger chat and calls were used for the interviews. Fact to face interviews were done to those

based in Nakhon Ratchasima.

In life story method, the researcher selected the five respondents based on the

following criteria: length of stay in Thailand; university lecturers; has access to university funding

for professional development; consent; accessibility to the author and location.

The data collected were interpreted according to their perceptions of professional

development and how does it define them as an EFL teacher in Thailand. Other factors such as

family, education, cultures, and migration were also analyzed.

The study was conducted from October to December 2016. Each respondents were

given two weeks to answer the interview. Follow-up interview were also done for three months.

Respondents

The paper has five respondents; three females and two males. All of them are teaching in

university level. The three female respondents have twelve years teaching experience, while one

has been teaching for eight years and the other one has six years teaching experience.

Three of the respondents have Master’s Degree. The two female respondents already

finished their Master’s Degree in the Philippines while the other female respondent finished

Master’s in Thailand. One male respondent is currently enrolled in a Master’s degree while the

other has no plan to pursue Master’s degree.

Three respondents were teachers in the Philippines while the two females became teachers

in Thailand. The respondents are from Phitsanulok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khampeang Pet and Nonthaburi.



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3. Results

The table shows the Push and Pull factors in migration of the Filipino teachers in Thailand.

Table 1

Push Factors from the

Philippines

Pull Factors to Thailand

No permanent jobs; low paying

jobs; limited financial opportunities

Perceived high paying jobs for

English speaking people and more

opportunities to have tutorials,

professional opportunities

stressful relationship; stressful work Perceived to provide security due to

distance and low-stress level in the

workplace

Desire to uplift the standard of

living; looking for adventure;

change of lifestyle;

Perceived financial security thus the

ability to buy material things; lifestyle

is considerably changed;

Encouragement from friends and

relatives

Perception that the successful life of

others could be the same or even

surpassed.

Professional Development

The study revealed that the push and pull factors in migration were the main reasons why

the respondents migrated to Thailand, except for one male respondent who was a volunteer in an

international non-government organization. However, this respondent did not leave after his one

year contract because his Thai colleagues encouraged him to apply for a teaching job. Eventually,

he was able to bring his wife and children in Thailand.

Josemari said:

“I was sent by an international organization based in the UK to OBEC (Office of the Basic

Education Commission) in Bangkok to document the Burmese refugees across Thailand. After my

contract, my boss, an alumnus of the Gregorio Araneta University (in the Philippines) told me to

apply as a teacher since there is a huge need of English teachers. Since then, I taught in a university

in Khampeang pet and finally in Nakhon Ratchasima. I am in Thailand now for 9 years.


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Opportunities abound in Thailand especially for talented Filipinos. Pursuing hobbies like

photography is easier and could be an advantage especially for teachers.

Jojit, a teacher in Nonthaburi said:

“Equipment are cheaper. I bought a DSLR camera in Bangkok. In the Philippines, it would

just be a dream because I was only an ordinary teacher.”

Thailand provides professional and individual growth among the respondents. Attending

conferences, workshops, trainings both in Thailand and abroad are fully supported by their

universities. Thus, the respondents have to improve their teaching strategies and update learning

materials to assure their universities that they are deserving of the financial supports.

Nancy, a lecturer in one of the top university in Thailand emphasized:

After twelve years in Thailand and working in the same university, I am still worried when

September comes because that is the time to renew our contracts. That’s why I have to attend

conferences and seminars. Last year, I presented a paper in a TESOL conference in Indonesia.

This was my first ever international presentation. Our university paid for the trip and everything.

There is really no reason for us not to improve ourselves.

Nancy also mentioned that in the Philippines, it would be difficult to get financial support

from the schools for such travels because of the limited funding for education. Josemari attested to

that being a teacher in a state college in the Philippines. In his experience, his department’s fund

for research was only P5,000 for more than 10 instructors.

Two respondents took Master’s in Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) for

personal and professional development since universities preferred lecturers/teachers with master’s degrees.

Teachers with MA also receive higher salary compared to those who only have bachelor’s degree.

Marie, a Filipina married to Thai came to Thailand as tourist. She was twenty-three years

old, a management graduate who had only one year working experience in a food chain in the

Philippines. Her friends encouraged her to try Thailand. Teaching in a private university in Nakhon

Ratchasima, Marie receives B30,000+ because she has Master’s Degree.



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“I’ve been here for 17 years. I know I could never get a high paying job if I would not enroll

in a Master’s Degree. After working in several village schools, I took MA in TEFL (Teaching

English as Foreign Language) at Rajhabat University in Bangkok. I was teaching in a university

in Lampang and studying at the same time. I am trying to finish my research which is funded by

my university.”

Prime, a university lecturer in Phitsanulok came to Thailand upon the invitation of her Thai

friend whom she met in the university in the Philippines. She has already a Master’s Degree in

Psychology, thus, looking for a job was easy. She lives in Thailand for the past twelve years.

“We are required by our university to attend seminars and conferences; even abroad. I do

that. I also update reading materials of the students. I make my own materials because some

English books are not suited to their level of English.”

All the respondents agreed that professional development is a lifetime achievement that

they can bring anywhere. Since four of them still plan to go back to the Philippines upon their

retirement, the skills and technology they have gained will be beneficial to them when they re-

apply again as teachers.

Nancy said:

“Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is needed in the Philippines now to be able

to renew a teacher’s license. CPD has a corresponding points for promotions. It includes research,

presentations, trainings, etc. My experiences here are more than enough to for CPD.”

The respondents also mentioned that technology is advanced in Thailand as compared to

the Philippines. Technology-based education and teaching such as flip-classroom using learning

management systems such as Google classrooms, Edmodo, and Moodle are commonly used in

Thai classrooms which they also adapt.


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Struggles as migrants

Josemari experienced depression when he was first assigned in Khapeang pet. He did not

realize it at first. He is never properly diagnosed but he said he recovered already.

“I see blood everywhere whenever the students were noisy. I just leave the room to calm

myself. Every night, I wake up and just cry. I stayed with my Filipino friend and tell him to just

watch me while I’m sleeping. . In the afternoon, we played basketball. I felt so energetic even with

just a little sleep.”

Josemari finally realized that he needed help. He asked his wife and children to join him

in Thailand. His family has been here for seven years now.

Before being employed in a university, some of the respondents were deployed in the rural

areas. Majority of the Thai students in both rural and urban areas do not understand English. “Lost

in translation” is a term the respondents used when what they meant is understood by Thai

differently due to the difference in Thai meanings, tones, and alphabet compared to the respondents

who are educated in the English medium.

To ease homesickness, the Filipino respondents communicate to their families through

Facebook and Skype. They also meet with other Filipino in various Filipino organizations and

church-based activities. They also engaged in hobbies such as cooking Filipino foods and

photography.

Prime, a university lecturer learned to bake pandesal, ensaymada (Filipino breads) and other

delicacies for sale to other Filipinos and to ease her homesickness.

Nancy said:

“I can only say, “taw lain a ka; suay; kotot naka.”

The respondents’ inability to speak and read in Thai also posed a major setback in

communicating between the students and the superiors. Despite this, all respondents were able to

understand Thai, speak passable Thai and adapt to their environment as years passed. They have

no desire to study Thai in formal setting.

Despite being married to Thai, Marie still struggles with her Thai.



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Documented or undocumented

In the Philippines, a migrant worker is considered illegal if she/he does not undergo process

at the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency) such as PDOS (pre-departure orientation

seminar) and other requirements deemed necessary by the agency.

Four of the respondents came to Thailand as tourists. Since they were not given any

orientation by the POEA, they did not have any idea about the culture and traditions. They relied

information only from friends who already settled in Thailand. Asked if they sought information

from the Philippine Embassy, all of them responded negatively.

Upon their employment, they were issued with work visa (Non-B) and work permit which

are renewable every year. Thus, a person with Non-B visa and work permit is a legal migrant

worker in Thailand and is covered with insurances and benefits.

All the respondents agreed that the yearly-renewal of contract hinders also their full

capacity for development because there is always a chance of not getting renewed.

Jojit added:

“The hassle of preparing the same sets of documents and going to the Immigration office

every year cause me anxiety every time I sign my contract”.

Jojit’s wife and child are holding Non-O visa which is renewed at the same time he renews

his work visa.


Filipino workers in Thailand, particularly the teachers are as important as the other

migrant workers in the other parts of the globe because of their contributions to the Philippine

economy. Furthermore, their role in nation-building through education of the youth in their host

country cannot be disregarded.

As a receiving/host country, Thailand benefitted from the Filipino teachers who teach

English in the universities. Further, the skills they acquire are also given back to the Thai

students. As a sending country, the Philippines receives monthly remittances thus, strengthening

the purchasing power of the individuals in the micro-level. In the end, the skills and knowledge

gained by the teachers will be useful in the Philippines if they choose to come home.


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The Philippine government only recognized the legality of the migrant workers upon their

return in the Philippines to register at the POEA and OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare

Association).

The absence of Bilateral Labor Agreement (BLA) between the Philippines and Thailand

contributes to the increasing tension between the Filipino teachers and the employers particularly

on the benefits as migrant workers and unfair labor practices despite of the Thai Labor Laws

covering all migrant workers.

The Filipino teachers take all the opportunities offered to them for professional

development which is nearly impossible to achieve if they remain in the Philippines. As university

lecturers they are respected both by their colleagues and students.

Despite homesickness, depressions, inability to speak the language and other hindrances,

the Filipino teachers in Thailand remain optimistic the continuity of their contracts as well as the

Philippine government’s recognition to their contribution as overseas workers (OFW). The

continuing push factors drive away the Filipinos to search for “greener pasture” thus finding this

in Thailand as the pull factors.

Though majority arrived in Thailand as tourists and became illegals according to the

definition of the Philippine government of legal workers, the Filipino teachers were able to

become legal in both countries by following the laws prescribed by the immigration.

As a recommendation, comprehensive research on the Filipinos in Thailand shall be

conducted to further understand their situations to be able to come up with a comprehensive plan

to advance their welfare.

5. References

Asis, M.B. (2001). "The Return migration of Filipino women migrants: Home, but not for

good?" In Female Labour Migration in South-East Asia: Change & Continuity. Edited

by Christina Wille and Basia Passl. Bangkok: Asian Research Centre for Migration

_________(2008) ‘How international migration can support development: A challenge

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Bacalla, T. (Sept. 11, 2012) Asean locks horns on migrant workers’ rights. Malaya.

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locks-horns-on-migrant-workers-rights

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Becker, Gary S. (1975.) Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special

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Choy, C. (2003). Empire of care: nursing and migration in Filipino American history. Duke

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Tulud-Cruz , Gemma and Raúl Fornet-Betancourt, ed. (2004), Migration and Interculturality:

Theological and philosophical challenges Migration in the

Asian Region: Retrospect and prospects. Aachen: Institute of Missiology, p. 21-30.

Depasupil, W. (December 3, 2006) RP breaches one million mark in OFW annual deployment.

Manila Times. Retrieved April 8,2013 from

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Go, Estella (2007) Asian Labor Migration: The Role of Bilateral Labor and Similar Agreements.

Paper presented at the Regional Informal Workshop on Labor Migration in Southeast

Asia:What Role for Parliaments, 21-23 September 2007, Manila, Philippines.

Muennoo, T.( Jan. 17,2012) Eight professions to face tough competition. The Nation. Retrieved

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National Statistics Office (2012). Overseas Filipino Workers estimated at 2.2 million. Retrieved

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Novio, E.B. (Feb. 25, 2012) OFW teachers find niche in Thailand. Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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Novio, thailand#ixzz2Pl07zbJc

O’niel, K. ( Jan. 01, 2004) Labor export government policy: the case of the Philippines

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/labor-export-government-policy-case-philippines

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labor migration in Asia. ADB,OECD,ILO

Philippine Embassy (January-June 2012) Report to Congress

Rodriguez, Robyn M.(2005) “Domestic insecurities: Female migration from the Philippines,

Development and National Subject-Status. Working paper 114, March 2005. University

of California, Berkeley.



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Tangkitvanich, & Rattanakhamfu, S. ( March 17, 2017. Assessing the ASEAN Economic

Community. East Asia Forum. Retrieved January 05, 2017

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/03/21/assessing-the-asean-economic-community/

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Workers and Members of their Families, 18 December 1990

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eseasia.org/projects/migrant/mig_pub.htm www.notre-europe.eu/.../pdf/Policypaper24-en-

droitdesmigrants.pdf

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Developing Hi-tech Applied Agriculture towards Sustainability and Efficiency:

A Case Study in Thai Nguyen Province

Ta Thi Thanh Huyen

Program:, Faculty of Management – Economic Law

University of Economics & Business Administration, Vietnam

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Developing hi-tech applied agriculture is a necessary direction in agricultural restructuring,

and an effective solution to increase production value, production efficiency and income for

farmers. This purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the current situation and propose

solutions to the development of hi-tech applied agriculture towards sustainability and efficiency

in Thai Nguyen province. To fulfill this purpose, the study used a top-down approach and an open-access approach, i.e., on the theoretical basis of hi-tech applied agriculture, which requires

criteria to be met when applying high technologies to agricultural production, the author analyzed

the current situation of hi-tech applied agriculture development in the world, in Vietnam and in

Thai Nguyen province. To evaluate the economic efficiency of hi-tech applications to production

in Thai Nguyen province, the author collected information from two groups of subject, including (1) farming households who have used traditional methods of agricultural production and (2) enterprises, farms and farming households who have applied high technologies to agricultural

production. Next, the author used analytical methods such as descriptive statistics, comparison,

forecasting, etc. to analyze, evaluate and propose solutions for the research.

Keywords: Hi-tech agriculture in Thai Nguyen, Hi-tech application model, Hi-tech production

efficiency.

mailto:[email protected]


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1. Introduction

After more than 30 years of innovation, Vietnam's agriculture has developed strongly and

achieved great results. However, the growth rate of Vietnam’s agriculture is on the decline; the

growth rate of agricultural productivity has been slowing down and slower than that in most other

countries with the same level of development in the region. This situation has been caused by the

fragmented and unstable production, the small size of households, the weak application of science

and technology to production and processing, the low productivity and income, and the limited

added value. The main cause is the impact of strong competition derived from extensive

international economic integration, environmental pollution, climate change, food safety and

hygiene.

In order to overcome the constraints of the agricultural sector, developing hi-tech applied

agriculture is a necessary direction in agricultural restructuring, and an effective solution to

enhance production value, production efficiency and income for farmers. The hi-tech applied

agricultural development is a major and inevitable trend in the integration trend, and a powerful

and effective solution in agricultural restructuring, in which enterprises, cooperatives and scientists

are the center of innovation and creativity.

Thai Nguyen province has favorable natural, geographical, economic and social conditions

to develop agriculture, forestry and aquaculture. The particularly powerful product of the province

is tea. In addition, the province has favorable conditions to develop other agricultural products such

as cattle and poultry, high-quality rice, safe vegetables, flowers and fruit trees of all kinds. The

province also has strengths in production of forestry and freshwater aquatic products, etc. The

province has large agricultural areas and high agricultural productivity. However, the product

quality, value and competitiveness and the efficiency in agricultural, forestry and fishery

production have not been high; the potential and strength of the province have not exploited

effectively. In order to promote the industrialization and the modernization of rural agriculture, as

well as to realize the objective of agricultural restructuring towards the improvement of added

value and sustainable development, the province should enhance agricultural development towards

hi-tech applications to improve productivity, quality, value and competitiveness of products and to

promote the efficiency of production and business. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the current

situation and propose solutions for the development of hi-tech applied agriculture towards

sustainable and efficiency in the future.

2. Method

The author used a top-down and an open-access approach, which are comprehensive analyses

on the current situation of the hi-tech applied agricultural development in the world, in Vietnam

and in Thai Nguyen province; thereby evaluating and proposing solutions to develop hi-tech

applied agriculture towards sustainability and efficiency in Thai Nguyen province.

The study collected secondary information from publications, documents, projects, reports

of the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural

Development, from researches carried out by individuals and organizations related to hi-tech



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applied agricultural development; and primary data from two groups of subject, including (1) farming households who have carried out traditional agricultural production and (2) enterprises, farms and farming households who have applied high technologies. Then, the

study used analytical methods such as descriptive statistics, comparison, forecasting, etc., to

propose some solutions for the sustainable and effective development of hi-tech agricultural

applications in Thai Nguyen province.

3. Results

3.1. Theoretical basis

The concept of hi-tech applied agriculture: According to the Department of Science and

Technology – the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, hi-tech applied agriculture is an

agriculture that applies new technologies to production, including agricultural industrialization

(mechanizing production stages), automation, information technology, new material technology,

biotechnology, plant varieties and livestock varieties of high quality, economic efficiency per area

unit, and sustainable development on the basis of organic farming.

Thus, the hi-tech applied agricultural development aims to resolve the conflicts among low

agricultural productivity, low-quality products, intensive labor investment, low economic

efficiency and the application of scientific and technological achievements to ensure that

agriculture grows steadily with high productivity, outputs and quality; to best realize the

coordination between people and resources, making the advantages of resources become the most

effective in the harmony of social, economic and eco-environmental benefits.

Criteria for evaluating hi-tech applied agriculture

Technical criteria: There must be advanced technologies to make an increase of at least

30% in productivity with superior quality compared to the technologies being used.

Economic criteria: Hi-tech applied products should have an increase of at least 30% in

economic efficiency compared to the technologies being used. In addition, there are other social

and environmental criteria.

For agricultural enterprises, applying high technologies must create good products and an

increase of at least twice in efficiency and productivity.

A hi-tech applied agricultural region (understood as a place where the production focuses

one or several hi-tech applied agricultural products on all or several stages) must have an increase

in productivity and efficiency of at least 30%. Thus, nylon cover is also a hi-tech application

because nylon can moisture and control weed, which can raise productivity by over 30% of normal

productivity. Next, the technology that uses hybrid superiority in breeding and the biotechnology

that raises productivity by over 30% are high technologies. In aquaculture, the mono-sexual fish

production is also a high technology; economical irrigation and poly-greenhouses, etc. are also

high technologies (Decision No. 738, 2017).


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Therefore, the nature of high technology is to create high-quality products with large

production scale. The quality requirement must be met on 03 aspects including technologies,

functions and services. A hi-tech applied agriculture should not only meet the people’s daily needs

but also bring high profits. Accordingly, the selection of appropriate products and production

direction for meeting the needs of the market are very important.

3.2. The current situation of hi-tech applied agricultural production in the world and in Vietnam

The hi-tech applied agricultural production in the world: In the mid-twentieth century, the

developed countries were interested in hi-tech applied industrial zones to promote scientific and

technological innovations for the economic development. In the early 1980s, with more than 100

zones of science and technology, the United States used hi-tech irrigation facilities, studied the

development of new varieties, planted biotech crops on the largest area scale in the world, and

studied genetically modified varieties. In England, in 1988, there were 38 scientific and

technological gardens with the participation of more than 800 enterprises. In the Netherlands, the

government annually invested 140 million euros in land renovation with an average capital of 4,000

euros per hectare a year. The government sponsored land planning, re-allocation of agricultural

plots, construction of canal systems, ensuring the requirements of mechanization. In addition, the

Netherlands also applied the technology of "increasing land areas", focused on the application of

intensive farming measures and the improvement of productivity per unit area, resulting in an

increase in productivity compared to the average productivity in the world. In Israel, in the 1980s,

10 hi-tech applied agricultural areas were built with a crop revenue record of 200,000 dollars per

hectare. At present, an Israeli farmer can feed 100 people. Those achievements were because the

Israeli government had developed a national plan for hi-tech applied agricultural development in a

turnkey manner including planning, developing projects and managing hi-tech applied

agricultural projects (Thai Nguyen Provincial People’s Committee, The Scheme on hi-tech

applied agricultural development, 2017).

Apart from the developed countries, many countries and territories in Asia have also shifted

their quantitative agriculture to a qualitative agriculture with the application of biotechnology,

automation technology, mechanization, computerization ... to create high quality, safe and effective

products. In China, more than 405 hi-tech applied agricultural areas have been built, including one

national-level area, 42 provincial-level areas and 362 city-level areas. In addition, there are

thousands of hi-tech applied agricultural areas across the country. These areas have made an

increase in agricultural production value of 42% of the gross added value and reach an average

output of 40,000-50,000 dollars per hectare per year, which is 40-50 times higher than the old

production. Thailand is a super country for exporting tropical fruits with a turnover of about 50

billion bahts per year (about 1.7 billion dollars) to major markets such as China, India and Japan,

etc. Thailand’s fruits have strongly penetrated Vietnam’s market. The combination between farms

applying Thai GAP, clean agricultural products and tourism has made Thai agricultural product

brands more spawned. To improve the quality of agricultural products towards sustainable

development, Thai scientists have used hi-tech applications such as gene technology, hybridization

of plants and animals.



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In breeding and aquaculture: Many countries in the world have introduced animal varieties

through artificial insemination and transfer of embryos to production; these countries have also

used fish varieties through chromosomal alterations and sex reversals in fish; have supported

animal nutrition and technologies in diagnosis and epidemiology (Thai Nguyen Provincial

People’s Committee, The Scheme on hi-tech applied agricultural development, 2017).

The hi-tech applied agricultural production in Vietnam: In recent years, for the

implementation of Decision No. 176/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister on the approval of the Scheme

on hi-tech applied agricultural development to 2020, all provinces and cities throughout the country

have been constructing hi-tech applied agricultural zones; hi-tech applied agricultural production

areas and hi-tech applied agricultural production models.

Hi-tech applied agricultural zones: These zones are mainly located in big cities and

provinces. At present, there are 7 hi-tech applied agricultural zones in operation in the whole

country: Ho Chi Minh City (researching, producing, training, transfering varieties of vegetables,

flowers, ornamental fish); Hanoi City (researching, producing varieties of vegetable and flowers;

training, transfering technical advances on varieties and production procedures); Hai Phong

(researching, training, producing varieties of vegetables, flowers and seedlings); Son La

(researching varieties, producing vegetables, flowers and fruits); Khanh Hoa (researching,

producing, transfering varieties of rice, corn, vegetables, flowers, sugarcane, cashew, mangos,

pigs, fish); Phu Yen (researching, producing, training, transfering varieties of sugarcane, cotton,

fruit trees, cattle and poultry); Binh Duong (researching, producing, training, transfering varieties

of vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants).

Hi-tech applied agricultural production areas: This type has a practical significance in

agricultural production in our country currently. Many localities have established a number of hi-

tech applied agricultural production areas. Ho Chi Minh City has over 1000 hectares of hi-tech

applied safe vegetables, with the capacity of about 30,000 tons per year; more than 700 hectares of

hi-tech applied flowers and ornamental trees with the income of 600 million to 01 billion dongs

per hectare per year. Lam Dong is the place which has a large number of hi-tech applied production

areas such as the area for planting vegetables and flowers in Dalat, the area for growing O Long

tea in Bao Loc, so on. The technologies much applied here include planting vegetables, flowers in

poly-green houses and net houses; applying embroidered covers, sprinkler irrigation and drip

irrigation. The province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau has constructed many models of forest plant

production, pig and super lean pig breeding, and chicken breeding applying Japanese technologies.

Hi-tech applied agricultural enterprises: At present, 4 hi-tech applied enterprises are

recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: Da Lat Flower Forest

Biotechnology Corporation (in Lam Dong province); Dalat GAP Co., Ltd (in Lam Dong

province) and TH True Milk Company (in Nghe An province). The size and type of products

depend on the enterprises’ ability of investing capital (Thai Nguyen Provincial People’s

Committee, The Scheme on hi-tech applied agricultural development, 2017).


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There has been an increase in the demand for agricultural products and food. Therefore, the

application of high technologies is an indispensable way to develop a modern agriculture in order

to create new breakthroughs in agricultural production as a basis for rapid transfer of agriculture

towards industrialization and modernization. However, the greatest difficulty in developing the

current hi-tech applied agricultural products is related to production organization, investment

capital, consumption network, branding and product certification testing. The first thing to

overcome the difficulties, and to gradually develop a hi-tech applied agriculture is the planning of

hi-tech applied agricultural regions and areas, thereby producing agricultural products which are

safe to consumers and friendly to the environment, creating confidence for consumers (Nguyen

Minh Phuong, Nguyen Tran Minh Tri, 2015).

The results of hi-tech applied agricultural production in Vietnam has confirmed the

correctness of policies, in accordance with the development trend. These policies have helped to

mobilize and effectively use resources to produce high-quality and safe agricultural commodities;

to enhance competitiveness; and step by step to occupy domestic and foreign markets in a

sustainable way. To achieve these results, the State has played a very important role in capital

support, management and administration. Especially, the State has had incentive policies to attract

enterprises and agricultural farms to the application of high technologies.

3.3. The current situation of hi-tech applied agricultural production in Thai Nguyen

Currently, Thai Nguyen province is taking the first steps, as the foundation for the

development of hi-tech applied agriculture. Thai Nguyen province has been mainly applying partly

or synchronously high technologies on a large scale to the existing sectors of agricultural

production, based on plants and animals, which are the strengths of the province in order to rapidly

increase the proportion of production scale, output and value of hi-tech applied agricultural

products. At the same time, the province has been developing a number of "Point models" of hi-

tech applied agriculture for demonstration and replication. In addition to the development of hi-

tech applied agricultural enterprises, which is identified as a key task, the province has attracted

and supported various types of production organization: farming households, farms and

cooperatives involved in hi-tech agricultural applications. The current development of hi-tech

applied agriculture in Thai Nguyen may include the following areas:

Cultivation: Many new plant varieties with high capacity and quality have been applied to

production: hybrid rice varieties, high-quality purebred rice varieties, hybrid corn varieties and new

tea varieties. The province has applied advanced and effective cultivating measures such as SRI

(System of rice intensification), IPM (Integrated pest management) and Viet Gap (Vietnamese

Good Agricultural Practices) for production of fruit, vegetable and tea on a large scale. The rate

of mechanization in production has been applied in a number of stages in some branches.

Specifically, the mechanized rice production made the land reach 60% of sowing and the

ploughing machines reach 30%; the crop harvest reach 20%; the mechanized tea production made

the tea cutting stage reach 40%, and the tea picking stage reach 20%, the planting stage reach

60%. In tea processing, there has been an application of the semi-automatic tea-firing machine,

which uses GAS fuel.



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Some effective production models of hi-tech applied agriculture: The first example is the

production model of edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms of Phu Gia Biotechnology Co.,

Ltd - the only enterprise with 100% of foreign investment capital in the province currently. From

the initial investment capital of about 50 billion dongs, up to now, after more than 6 years of

operation, the Company has become a prestigious address in the country in planting mushrooms;

transferring mushroom planting technologies; supplying mushroom varieties, bagasse, and

mushroom planting equipment. Each year, the Company produces about 100 tons of fresh

mushrooms and 400 tons of dried mushrooms, 80% of which are exported. Particularly in 2016,

the Company's revenue reached about 20 billion dongs, which resolved regular jobs for more than

30 local laborers with the income of 4 to 5 million dongs per month.

The Thai Nguyen Clean Agriculture Farm (a branch of Cao Bac Private Enterprise) located in Hoa Thuong Commune, Dong Hy District has an estimated expense of about 100

billion dongs to invest in site clearance, land improvement, and construction of irrigation

systems, green houses and poly-green houses. Since its approval (2015), the project has invested

30 billion dongs in site clearance (15 hectares), and infrastructure construction of the farm.

Accordingly, the project has planted 15,000 lilies, 01 hectare of tomatoes, 500 square meters of

Mizuna vegetables, 1,000 square meters of sweet peppers, 01 hectare of other vegetables. The

project has also bred 1 hectare of fish. The farm's products have been supplied to supermarkets in Thai Nguyen and some

supermarkets in Hanoi and other neighboring provinces. After more than a year of operation, the

farm has achieved remarkable results. Due to the application of proper technological procedures,

the lilies of the farm bloomed on Tet, so the farm had nearly 200 million dong profit. Especially,

thank to the highly qualified scientists and agricultural engineers from the University of Agriculture

and Forestry – Thai Nguyen University, the farm have recreated the lily varieties, and from now

on, the farm will not have to buy varieties as the first time. High-yield and safe products such as

tomatoes, sweet peppers and other vegetables have been usually sold with a price that is 1.5 to 2

times higher than the same products grown by traditional methods (Thai Nguyen Provincial

People’s Committee, The Scheme on hi-tech applied agricultural development, 2017).

Cattle and poultry breeding: High technologies in cattle and poultry breeding in Thai

Nguyen province have been mainly applied in industrial intensive animal farms. The whole

province has 606 animal farms (250 pig farms and 356 poultry farms). Most of the farms have

applied scientific and technological advances to production. In chicken breeding, 200 out of 356

chicken farms have applied high technologies (high-yield varieties, cold storage, automatic care,

nourishment), accounting for 20% of the total chickens in the province. In pig breeding, 40 out of

250 farms have applied high technologies (high-yield varieties, cold storage, automation in

operation of food and drinking water, antisepsis and environmental treatment) under advanced

breeding technologies, accounting for 11.2% of the total pigs in the province.

At present, 05 animal farms are applying the Viet GAP procedures and 56 animal farms are

free of pests and diseases. There are five companies producing food stuffs by automation lines;

there is a project on constructing an animal farm with 2,500 high-quality cows and high-yield

beefs, using European and Israeli herd management and nutrient technology (in Dinh Hoa

district).


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Although hi-tech applied animal breeding zones, areas and enterprises have not been

established, in fact, some high technologies in breeding (breeds, equipment, disease control and

environmental treatment ...) have been approached and transferred by enterprises, farms, farming

households, but the application rate is still low (Thai Nguyen Provincial People’s Committee, The

Scheme on hi-tech applied agricultural development, 2017).

Aquaculture: The province has applied advanced technologies to the production of aquatic

species, and scientific and technological application models in intensive farming; however, these

applications have not been multiplied (Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee, The Scheme

on hi-tech applied agricultural development, 2017).

In general, in cultivation, the processing and the preservation of hi-tech applied products in

Thai Nguyen province have been at low level with a demonstration model and a small scale only.

Effective agricultural practices such as System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Integrated Pest

Control (IPM) and Viet Gap (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices) have been applied to large

areas of vegetables, fruits and tea at a very modest level, mainly in form of models. For breeding

and aquaculture, the application of high technologies to production has been done in farms but has

not been synchronized from the input to the output of products.

3.4. Evaluating the efficiency of hi-tech applied agricultural production in Thai Nguyen

province

Economic efficiency: From the data collected from the two groups of subject including

traditional farming households and enterprises, farms, farming households applying high

technologies, the author used statistical methods to synthesize and analyze, then used the methods

of comparison and economic statistics to analyze data on tea production and processing;

preliminary treatment and packing of vegetables. The results are as follows:



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Table 01: Evaluating the economic efficiency on 01 hectare of hi-tech applied tea

Calculation unit: 1.000 Vietnamese dongs

No. Criteria Without

hi-tech

applications

With

hi-tech

applications

Comparison

(±) (times)

1 Production stage

1.1 Total production value 184.000 336.000 152.000 1,82

1.2 Total expenses (intermediary

expense, labor expense,

depreciation of fixed assets, etc.) 110.900 140.800 29.900 1,26

1.3 Profits 73.100 195.200 122.100 2,67

2 Tea processing stage

2.1 Total revenue 460.000 1.600.000 1.140.000 3.47

2.2 Total expenses (expenses of

materials, labor, tools,

equipment, losses, taxes, bank

interest rates ...)

253.000 640.000 387.000 2,52

2.3 Profits 207.000 960.000 753.000 4.63

3 Profits in both production and

processing stages 280.100 1.155.200 875.100 4,12

4 Production/ labor values 335 840 505 2,51

5 Income/Labor 233 588 233 2,52

Source: Synthesized from survey data

From the analysis and the comparison between the hi-tech applied tea production method

and the common tea production method without hi-tech applications, it is shown that the total profit

of both production and processing stages when applying high technologies is 12 times higher; the

production/labor values increased by 2.51 times, and the income / labor increased by 2.52 times.


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Table 02: Evaluation of economic efficiency on 1 hectare of hi-tech applied vegetables

No. Criteria Without

hi-tech

applications

With

hi-tech

applications

Comparison

(±) %

1 Production stage

1.1 Total production value 108.000 200.000 92.000 1,85

1.2 Total expenses (intermediary

expense, labor expense,

depreciation of fixed assets,

etc.)

77.000 80.000 3.000 1,04

1.3 Profits 31.000 120.000 89.000 3,87

2 Processing & packing stages

2.1 Total revenue 126.000 350.000 224.000 2,78

2.2 Total expenses (expenses of

materials, labor, tools,

equipment, losses, taxes,

bank interest rates ...)

111.000 223.900 112.900 2,02

2.3 Profits 15.000 126.100 111.100 8,41

3 Profits in stages of

production and processing

& packing

46.000 246.100 200.100 5,35

4 Production/ labor values 216 500 284 2,32

5 Income/Labor 178 400 222 2,25

Source: Synthesized from survey data

It is shown that for the method of hi-tech applied vegetable production, compared to the

traditional production method without hi-tech applications, the total profit in production,

preliminary processing and packaging increased by 5.35 times, the production value/labor

increased by 2.32 times, the income/labor increased by 2.25 times. In particular, profits from

preliminary processing and packaging increased by 8.41 times.

Social efficiency: the establishment of hi-tech applied agricultural areas will be a core of

technologies and production organization with the spreading throughout the province. This has

contributed to changing the perceptions and actions of producers, strongly shifting from a

traditional agriculture to a modern agriculture, applying advanced technologies, raising the added



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value, bringing high-quality products to consumers in and outside the province. In addition, hi-tech

applied agricultural areas will help to raise people’s awareness in production and consumption of

agricultural products through the transfer and replication of advanced production models and the

use of safe and clean products. Partly supporting the infrastructure construction will contribute to

creating a new rural area with modern infrastructure, improved cultural standard and life. Hi-tech

applied agricultural areas will contribute to restructuring labor force, creating new occupations,

increasing labor productivity and increasing income for the people.

Environmental efficiency: Hi-tech applications in agriculture will contribute to make a

green, clean agriculture. It is one of the effective methods to minimize risk factors causing

environmental pollution, and to exploit natural resources efficiently.

3.4. Evaluating difficulties and constraints in the development of hi-tech applied agriculture in

Thai Nguyen province

Despite certain results, in fact, Thai Nguyen province has been put behind many other

provinces in the development of hi-tech applied agriculture. As a neighboring province of Hanoi

capital, with convenient transportation, and as an economic, cultural and social center of the

Northern midland and mountainous area, which is convenient for receiving scientific and

technological advances, Thai Nguyen province has had weak application of high technologies to

agricultural production. There have not been agricultural areas in the province. The application

models are not diversified and synchronized from production to processing, preservation and

consumption of products.

In the development of hi-tech applied agriculture, the biggest obstacles to Thai Nguyen

province currently are the spontaneousness and the lack of planning. Production is typically

fragmented, on a small scale. Scientific and technological resources such as human resources,

capital, machinery, equipment, technical facilities ... are limited and there are no specific policies

to support this field. In addition to these obstacles, the lack of knowledge of hi-tech applied

agriculture is also a big challenge for Thai Nguyen province.

To develop a hi-tech applied agriculture, it is required to accumulate and settle land to create

large-scale commodity production areas. The province should renew forms of production

organization management and develop the model of linking production with consumption of

products based on strongly developing the model of hi-tech applied agricultural enterprises,

cooperatives and farms. In addition, it is important to minimize household production, small-size

production, less efficient production.

3.5. Some solutions for the hi-tech applied agricultural development in Thai Nguyen province

The value of hi-tech applied agricultural production in Thai Nguyen province is estimated

to reach 2,397,550 million dongs (at current price) by 2020, accounting for 20% of the whole

sector. To achieve this goal, Thai Nguyen province needs to implement the following fundamental

solutions:


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Solutions on information dissemination: Promote the propaganda on the achievements and

results of research; promote the transfer of scientific & technological advances and technological

procedures in agriculture. Promote the transfer of advanced models and examples of hi-tech

applications in the country and in the province to bring about socio-economic and environmental

efficiency. Promote the brand development and the consumption market of hi-tech applied

agricultural products, which are the strength of the province. Implement policies to encourage and

support investment in hi-tech applied agricultural development in the province. Encourage

economic components to invest and link in production organization, processing and consumption

of hi-tech applied agricultural products.

Solutions on planning and plans of land use for hi-tech applied agricultural development:

Have a detailed planning of hi-tech applied agricultural areas and regions in accordance with the

master plan of socio-economic development of the province, districts, cities, towns; with the

master plan of agricultural development of the sector; and with the master plan of plant and

animal development mainly related to hi-tech applications. Have a planning of hi-tech applied

agricultural centers and services systems. Propose investment projects on the construction of

essential hi-tech infrastructure (transport, electricity, water, environmental treatment, green

houses, net houses ...) and projects / plans on activities in the hi-tech applied agricultural areas

and centers for implementation. Review, supplement and adjust planning and plans in the field of

agriculture and rural development. Encourage the people to "accumulate and exchange plots" and

encourage the accumulation of land to develop large-scale agricultural production. Encourage

people to lease land, share investment capital by land use rights with enterprises to invest in

production. Simultaneously, update, supplement and adjust the plan of land use in 5 years and

annually serve for hi-tech applied agricultural development.

Solutions on the research and transfer of science and technology, technical procedures for

the development of hi-tech applied agriculture: Propose, implement scientific and technological

research projects, experimental production projects, projects on applying science and technology.

Coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches at the central and provincial levels in

research and transfer of science and technology. Support and encourage enterprises to import new

technologies, renovate and upgrade their technological lines. Concentrate on researching,

crossbreeding and importing new breeds of superiority to meet the requirements of the market.

Develop and complete procedures of cultivation, intensive breeding which synchronously apply

high technologies; high technologies in post-harvest preservation, processing and packing of

agricultural products to ensure criteria. Strengthen the agricultural extension, develop

demonstration models of linking production organization, processing and consumption of hi-tech

applied products and apply good agricultural practices, GAP standards, HACCP.

Have training sessions and effectively use human resources of science and technology in

the province. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development should cooperate closely

with universities in the province, research institutes, centers for research and scientific and

technological transfer, domestic and foreign hi-tech applied agricultural enterprises in the

construction of strategies and plans of training hi-tech human resources to perform research tasks,

receive technology transfer and production capacity. Have training sessions for the improvement



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of qualifications, skills and effective use of cadres and civil servants currently working in the field.

Combine the nourishment of hi-tech human resources, which are direct labors in the hi-tech applied

agricultural areas, regions with agricultural vocational training projects for rural labors, projects on

scientific and technological application, training projects that belong to agricultural extension

projects and national target programs to build new rural areas. Associate the training of hi-tech

human resources with the development of hi-tech applied agricultural areas, regions, centers and

services systems in the province. Effectively implement policies of supporting the development of

hi-tech human resources and hi-tech applied agricultural enterprises.

Solutions on the investment in hi-tech technical infrastructure construction: Use the

detailed planning of agricultural areas and regions to develop investment projects, apply supporting

policies, and integrate capital resources for implementation. Prioritize the investment capital in the

construction of technical infrastructure for the pilot projects on hi-tech applied agriculture approved

by Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee. Support site clearance as prescribed to create

conditions for investment attraction. Encourage enterprises, cooperatives, farms and small holders

to develop small irrigation systems, transportation systems, production electricity, green houses,

net houses in the project area.

Solutions on the development of hi-tech applied agricultural service development system:

Make plans of developing a system of hi-tech applied agricultural services bases in association

with the planning of hi-tech applied agricultural area, based on production demand of the area.

There should be main service activities: consulting to apply hi-tech agriculture; have training

sessions, transfer technologies, hi-tech applied product supply services (supplies, equipment,

machinery, fertilizers, bio-preparations, pesticides, veterinary drugs ...), market information

services and consumption of hi-tech applied agricultural products. Implement policies of

encouraging investment in services: preferential policies on land, human resources training, and

interest support for credit loans. Support the development of research, application of high

technologies; support the propaganda and promotion for services market development.

Solutions on linking production, processing and consumption of products: Encourage and

support enterprises to invest in agriculture; develop hi-tech applied agricultural enterprises. Playing

a leading role, these enterprises, together with centers for research, technology transfer, production

and processing of hi-tech applied agricultural products need to develop models of linking value

chain from production to consumption of hi-tech applied products. Connect hi-tech applied

agricultural areas with hi-tech applied agricultural regions, centers, enterprises. Have a link

between production bases and preservation, processing and consumption of products in the hi-tech

applied agricultural regions and in the province. Have a link among Hanoi region and among

provinces in the Northern midland and mountainous area in production and processing,

consumption of hi-tech applied agricultural products domestically and for export.

Solutions on policies and investment capital: Effectively implement policies and resources

of the central and provincial programs and projects related to agricultural development. Based on

the Central guiding documents, define the state management of agricultural centers and areas

applying high technologies in accordance with the province’s conditions. Manage, review and

inspect the planning and the state management of agricultural materials; manage the quality of hi-tech

applied agricultural, forestry and aquatic products. Give priority to the investment in infrastructure


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construction in hi-tech applied agricultural areas. At the same time, for the development of new

technologies with relatively large capital investment, the State needs to combine resources from

the budget with the development of resources from the people in different forms to implement pilot

investment models effectively, thereby, creating the effect of "spreading" to the whole province.


In the trend of international integration and climate change, together with specific

characteristics of nature, economy and society, the development of hi-tech agriculture is an

appropriate direction in Vietnam in general and in Thai Nguyen province in particular. Apart from

this, for the sustainable and effective agricultural development, it is important to promote the hi-

tech agricultural development and build the agricultural product brands. The paper analyzed and

evaluated the current situation of hi-tech application development in the world, in Vietnam and in

Thai Nguyen province. Particularly, the research compared and evaluated the economic, social and

environmental effects between traditional agricultural production and hi-tech applied agricultural

production to find difficulties and limitations in the development of hi-tech agriculture in Thai

Nguyen province. Accordingly, the paper proposed solutions on information dissemination; land

use planning; research and transfer of science and technology; investment in hi-tech infrastructure

construction; development of hi-tech applied agricultural service system; solutions on linking

production, processing and consumption of products; solutions on policy mechanism and

investment capital to develop a hi-tech applied agriculture towards sustainability and efficiency for

Thai Nguyen province in the future.

5. References

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. (2017, March 14). Decision No. 738/QĐ-BNN-

KHCN on the criteria for determining hi-tech agricultural programs and projects, clean

agricultural projects and lists of hi-tech applications in agriculture.

Nguyen, Minh Phuong, Nguyen Tran Minh Tri. (2015, December 01). Nút thắt phát triển nông

nghiệp ứng dụng công nghệ cao [The knot of hi-tech applied agricultural development].

Retrieved August 01, 2017 from http://www.nhandan.com.vn/kinhte/nhan-

dinh/item/28138702-nut-that-phat-trien-nong-nghiep-ung-dung-cong-nghe-cao.html

Prime Minister. (2015, May 04). Decision No. 575/QĐ-TTg approving the master plan of hi-tech

applied agricultural areas and zones by 2020, vision to 2030.

Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee. (2016, December 12). Decision No. 34/2016/QĐ-

UBND promulgating regulations on special supporting policies to encourage enterprises

to invest in agriculture and rural areas in Thai Nguyen province for the period

2016-2020. Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee. (2017). Đề án phát triển nông nghiệp

ứng dụng công nghệ cao [The Scheme on hi-tech applied agricultural development in Thai Nguyen

province for the period 2017-2020].

Thu Nga. (2017, March 21). Mạnh dạn đầu tư vào nông sản công nghệ cao [The bold investment

in hi-tech applied agricultural products]. Retrieved August 01, 2017 from

http://baothainguyen.org.vn/tin-tuc/kinh-te/manh-dan-dau-tu-vao-nong-san-cong-nghe-

cao-244279-108.html

http://www.nhandan.com.vn/kinhte/nhan-dinh/item/28138702-nut-that-phat-trien-nong-nghiep-ung-dung-cong-nghe-cao.html

http://www.nhandan.com.vn/kinhte/nhan-dinh/item/28138702-nut-that-phat-trien-nong-nghiep-ung-dung-cong-nghe-cao.html

http://baothainguyen.org.vn/tin-tuc/kinh-te/manh-dan-dau-tu-vao-nong-san-cong-nghe-cao-244279-108.html

http://baothainguyen.org.vn/tin-tuc/kinh-te/manh-dan-dau-tu-vao-nong-san-cong-nghe-cao-244279-108.html

Panel 8 : Social Development - IC-HUSO 2017 - Khon Kaen ...

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