Organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in the Red River Delta, North Vietnam

摘要

Like many other nations of South-East Asia, Vietnam is a predominantly agricultural country. Rice is the predominant cereal crop and occupies an area of 3.5 million hectares of which the Red River Delta in North Vietnam accounts for 25%. The use of pesticides in rice (paddy) fields, as well as in sugar cane and tobacco growth, has contributed to increasing crop yields in recent years. The boom in agricultural production is attested by the drop of agricultural products imported, from US$53.0 million in 1976 to US$7.5 million in 1991, and by the gradual increase in exports of such products from US$37.7 million in 1976 to US$42.7 million in 1991.