13pgs, This study aims to analyze the influence of neighborhood effects (NE) on tea farmers' intention to convert from traditional to organic farming in the mountainous areas of northern Vietnam. It differs from previous studies in two aspects. First, we combine the theory of planned behavior and the theory of herd behavior to explain farmers' intention to convert from traditional to organic farming, focusing on the impact of the NE. Secondly, to measure NE, we use a combination of questionnaires and methods of measuring herd behavior by McCartney and Shah. Using the generalized structural equation modeling and data collected from 263 tea farmers in Thai Nguyen, we found that NE has a positive and direct significant effect on farmers' intention to convert to organic tea production in the case where neighbors both live nearby and have a close relationship with the subject. In addition, it indirectly impacts farmers' conversion intention through attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavior control. To encourage tea farmers to convert to organic farming, policymakers and extension workers should take advantage of the NE to increase farmers' confidence about the benefits and the possibility of successful organic farming.
8 pages, via online journal, Dense networks of rivers, canals, ditches, dikes, sluice gates, and compartmented fields have enabled the farms of the Red River Delta to produce 18% of Vietnam's rice (Oryza sativa) crop (figure 1), 26% of the country's vegetable crops, and 20% of capture and farmed aquaculture (Redfern et al. 2012). Agriculture in this fertile delta was transformed in the 11th and 13th century AD by large-scale hydraulic projects to protect the delta from flooding and saltwater intrusion, and provide field drainage during the wet season and crop irrigation in the dry season (Tinh 1999). The 20th century brought advancements in agricultural science globally—new crops and livestock genetics, inorganic fertilizers, mechanization, and pesticides that could double and triple food production per unit of land. It was the diesel pump combined with post-Vietnam War agricultural collectivization from 1975 to 1988 that brought the Green Revolution to the Red River Delta.
3 pages, via online journal, Agriculture is the backbone of most developing economies and structural transformation an important vehicle for economic development in low-income agrarian contexts. This special issue brings together a set of high quality academic studies to answer key research questions of importance to understanding agricultural development and change in developing country settings. Using the case of Vietnam, this collection provides comprehensive analytical contributions, that rely on detailed microdata, to understand crucial topics within the fields of agricultural and development economics. Together, these studies provide important insights into the mechanisms underlying structural transformation and its consequences that can contribute to the design of policies to manage the structural transformation process effectively, particularly for the most vulnerable groups in society.
16 pages, via online journal, We examine important changes in agriculture in Vietnam in the context of ongoing structural changes in the economy. We use a household-level panel dataset and a quantitative framework to document the extent and consequences of factor misallocation in agriculture during the period between 2006 and 2016. Despite rapid growth in agricultural productivity and a reallocation of factor inputs to more productive farmers, we find that misallocation across farmers remains high and increased during the period. Reallocation of factor inputs has not been strong enough to accommodate substantial changes in farm productivity over time. Our analysis also reveals important differences between the north and south regions.
14 pages, via online journal, We combine nationally representative household and labor force survey data from 1992 to 2016 to provide a detailed description of rural labor market evolution and how it relates to the structural transformation of rural Vietnam, especially within the agricultural sector. Our study adds to the emerging literature on structural transformation in low-income countries using micro-level data and helps to answer several policy-related questions. We find limited employment creation potential of agriculture, especially for youth. Rural-urban real wage convergence has gone hand-in-hand with increased diversification of the rural economy into the non-farm sector nationwide and rapid advances in educational attainment in all sectors’ and regions’ workforce. Minimum wage laws seem to have played no significant role in increasing agricultural wages. This enhanced integration also manifests in steady attenuation of the longstanding inverse farm size-yield relationship. Farming has remained securely household-based and the family farmland distribution has remained largely unchanged. Small farm sizes have not obstructed mechanization nor the uptake of labor-saving pesticides, consistent with factor substitution induced by rising real wage rates. As rural households rely more heavily on the labor market, human capital accumulation (rather than land endowments) have become the key correlate of improvements in rural household well-being.
13 pages., Article 4395, via online journal, This article characterizes the health risk perceptions toward excreta and wastewater management practices among waste management stakeholders in Vietnam and explores the implications of such perceptions on hygiene behaviors and preventative actions. Key informant interviews (n = 19; 12 women and 7 men) were conducted with farmers, community leaders, researchers, and government representatives in Hanoi and Ha Nam Province. Interviews were audio-recorded with permission, transcribed, and analyzed using a constant comparative method and qualitative thematic analysis. Researchers and government representatives perceived that the lack of knowledge of safe waste management practices among farmers was responsible for the use of “outdated” and often “unsafe” waste management practices. However, many farmers were aware of the health risks and safe hygienic practices but felt that safety measures were impractical and viewed susceptibility to diseases as low risk. Farmers also identified unfavorable climate and working conditions, limited financial capacity, and limited farm space as barriers to adopting safe management practices. At the broader level, inadequate communication between ministries often led to the creation of inconsistent waste management regulations. These barriers create constraints on efforts to improve sustainable waste management practices. Promoting collaboration between sectors, encouraging farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing, and designing and implementing risk communication strategies that account for risk perceptions of stakeholders are recommended.
Findings suggest that social media seem more useful to disseminating information rather than allowing people to make full sense of the full economic and political impact extreme weather will bring.
Nicetic, Oleg (author), Sen, Pham Thi (author), Nga, Le Thi Hang (author), Huan, Le Huu (author), and van de Fliert, Elske (author)
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
2013-08
Published:
Vietnam
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D02449
Notes:
Page 87 - Abstract of a paper presented at the International Conference of the Australasia Pacific Extension Network (APEN), Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand, August 26-28, 2013. 100 pages.
