Agricultural transformations in vietnam in light of the evolutionary process of agricultural development in a land-poor country

Abstract

During Vietnam’s thirty years of economic growth, government policies have been central in raising rice production and export. However, the relevance of the ‘rice first’ policy and the place of smallholder agriculture has recently been questioned in the discussion on Vietnam’s agricultural development strategy. The objective of this study is to analyze the insights of the evolutionary process of agricultural development in a land-poor country in examining Vietnam’s agricultural transformation. The study shows that despite significant reforms during the three past decades, restructuring Vietnam’s smallholder agriculture is still one of major challenges facing policy makers. Vietnam appears to follow the path of East Asian economies, which implies that the comparative advantage of smallholder agriculture will decline in the face of rising part-time farming and rising rural wages in this middle-income stage of development. The analytical framework shows that Vietnam should implement land reforms by promoting the pattern of mechanization in agriculture. Rice land designation policy should be changed in favor of crop diversification. These strategies ensure more efficient development paths for Vietnam and avoid failures in maintaining the comparative advantage of agriculture.