A micro-economic analysis of the differences between farms in the Red River delta in north Vietnam.

摘要

Since the start of the 1980s, farms in the Red River delta have changed considerably as a result of the economic reforms that encouraged a return to family farming. Differences between farms in different villages are growing. A micro-economic study is being carried out into these differences in an intensively-farmed district in the region. The factors that cause this differentiation between farms are very complex. They are linked to the family’s economic situation (the age of the head of the household, use of capital, returns on capital) and to agroecological and socioeconomic conditions. The increase in the disparity between farms is more pronounced in areas suitable for the development of non-agricultural activities than in less favoured areas where only food crops are grown. Some farmers will leave farming to specialize in rural non-agricultural activities. In exclusively agricultural districts, smallholders often move to towns for seasonal work. In areas where high-value crops such as litchis are produced, people tend to accumulate land and specialize in agriculture, which heightens the disparities in land ownership and standard of living.