challenges for sustainable agri & nat res mgt in vietnam uplands

7/31/2019 Challenges for Sustainable Agri & Nat Res Mgt in Vietnam Uplands

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Challenges on Sustainable

Agriculture and Natural Resource

Management in Vietnam Uplands:

A Case Study

USAIDUnited States Agency for International Development

PCARRDPhilippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry

and Natural Resources Research and Development

SEAMEO SEARCASoutheast Asian Ministers of Educational Organization(SEAMEO) Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture

SANREM CRSP SEASustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource ManagementCollaborative Research Support Program in Southeast Asia


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Published bySEAMEO SEARCA

COPYRIGHT 2004 by

SANREM CRSP SEA

First Year of Publication, 2004

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any

form or by any means, except for briefannotations for a review, without permission

in writing from the authors.

Cover and Book Design by

Jerome P. Bonto

Printed by

ISBN 971560-101-4


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Table of Contents

List of Figures/Tables ................................................................... 4

List of Case Studies ..................................................................... 4

Foreword ..................................................................................... 5

Acknowledgment ........................................................................ 6

Findings .......................................................................................... 7

Introduction................................................................................. 9

Research Methodology................................................................ 12

Driving Forces of Change at the National Level .......................... 15

Nature of Land Use Change ....................................................... 29

Conclusion .................................................................................. 48

Selected Research Notes ................................................................ 51

How to Assist Farmers in Coping with Changes in Market Prices 53

Soil Erosion: Causes or Consequences? ...................................... 58

Can Forestland Allocation Policy Succeed

without the Participation of the Local People? ..................... 63

Changing Agricultural and Forestry Extension Approach in the

Management of Natural Resources to Address the Needs

of Diversified Bio-physical and Socioeconomic Settings

in the Vietnam Uplands ....................................................... 66

Women and Rural Development .................................................. 72

Speed Up or Go Slow Policy for Water Intervention

in Bac Lieu Province, Mekong Delta .................................... 76

References ...................................................................................... 87

Authors Profile ............................................................................... 88


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List of Figures/Tables

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Process of Land

Management ............................................................... 11

Figure 2. Coffee Production in Vietnam, 1985-1997 ...................... 19

Figure 3. Changes in Cultivated Area of Major Crops

in Dai Lao and Loc Chau Commune ............................... 31

Genders Economic Contributions................................................... 74

Table 1. Area Planted with Major Crops in Dai Lao

and Loc Chau Commune .................................................. 37

Table 2. Average Monthly Income Per Capita

and Percentage of Farmers by Wealth Category

in Dai Lao Commune in 2001 .......................................... 39

Table 3. Major Cropping Pattern by Villages ................................. 80

Table 4. Costs and Returns from Shrimp versus Rice Cultivation

in Winter-Spring Season .................................................. 80

Table 5. Income Sources by Villages ............................................. 81

Table 6. Reasons and Places of Migration .................................... 82

Table 7. Determinant of Household Income ................................. 83

Table 8. Self Economic Situation Evaluation

by Respondents ............................................................... 84

Table 9. Stated Reasons for Improvement

in Economic Conditions ................................................... 84

Table 10. Stated Reasons for Deterioration

(percent of multiple response) ......................................... 85

List of Case StudiesBao LocLarge Farm ...................................................................... 17

Medium Farm ................................................................................. 20

Large Farm ..................................................................................... 25

New Migrants to the Area ............................................................... 35

Diversified Farming ......................................................................... 42

Tea-Mulberry Farming .................................................................... 43

Mulberry-Black Pepper Farming...................................................... 44

Black Pepper-Banana-Livestock Farming ........................................ 47


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Fo rewo rd

The Southeast Asian upland environment is undergoing a rapid transition.Deforestation and conversion of forest lands into non-sustainable agriculturalareas are serious concerns among the scholars and resource managers in theregion. In 1993, the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural ResourcesManagement Collaborative Research Support Program (SANREM)Collaborative Research Support Program Southeast Asia (CRSPSEA)embarked on a participatory research program aimed to address the issue ofsustainable development in the uplands of the region, with the Philippines asthe pilot site. SANREM is funded by the United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) and is a collaboration between international scientistsand local counterparts in universities, government, non-governmentorganizations and local communities.

The Philippine research site is the Manupali watershed within the Mt.Kitanglad, Lantapan, Bukidnon in Mindanao. The Philippine experienceyielded substantial learning in innovative strategies and technologies relatedto promoting sustainable agriculture in the uplands. The research resultsfeatured the adherence to the principles of participation, interdisciplinaryand intersectoral collaboration, and a landscape approach to resource andenvironmental issues (Coxhead and Buenavista 2001). In 1999, with the goalof adapting and transferring some lessons learned from the ManupaliWatershed, Philippines to other critical watersheds in Southeast Asia,SANREM CRSP SEA embarked on examining the conditions of mainlandSoutheast Asia, particularly Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in order to select acomparable site for replication. The search for the site ended up with Vietnam.

Vietnams selection as a replicate site of SANREM in Southeast Asia is

based on the fact that it is viewed as undergoing a similar land resourcetransformation, brought about by multitude of factors such as integration toglobal economy, population growth, and national and local policies. Thismonograph is the result of a case study using Participatory Landscape-Lifescape Appraisal as a research methodology, the same methodology usedin the Philippines. The case study showcases the process of land usetransformation and how the integration to the global market has influencedand continues to influence land management decisions of the upland farmers.

Hopefully, this book will serve as a useful reference material to studentsof environmental science, geography, human ecology and resource economics,as well as to colleagues in the development profession engaged in promotingsustainable agriculture and natural resource management.

Arsenio M. BalisacanDirector


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Acknowledgment

Interaction, collaboration, as well as expertise and suggestions,

involvement and commitment of all concerned made an international and

interdisciplinary research project like this successful. This research has

been so fortunate because dedicated individuals who have deep

commitment, knowledge and experience in conducting research

participated in it. Therefore, it is appropriate and necessary to recognize

those who contributed to make this study successful. We would like to

express our sincere appreciation and thanks to the following:

To our partners in Vietnam, faculty and staff of Nong Lam University

in Ho Chi Minh City: Dr. Pham Hong Duc Phouc, head of the team, and to

his members namely, Dr. Dang Thanh Ha, Dr. Le Quang Thong, Mr. Nguyen

Ngoc Tuy, Mr. Le Van Du, Dr. Phan Thi Giac Tam, Mr. Pham Trinh Hung,

Mr. Huang Huu Cai, Mr. Trang Thai Huy Nhat, and Mr. Phan Trieu Giang;

To the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) who

facilitated the teams entry to the study area and helped in gathering related

information and materials needed by the team;

To the people of Dai Lao and Loc Chau village in Bao Loc Province,

Vietnam who were very helpful and cooperative;

To the members of the State Farm who provided maps and other

information, which made data gathering easier and significant;

To the management of SEARCA who were supportive of this

undertaking especially to Dr. Arnulfo G. Garcia and Dr. Paulo Pasicolan,

head of NRMP during the conduct of the study;

To the management of SANREM CRSP SEA Regional Office in PCARRD

previously headed by Dr. Rogelio Serrano and currently headed by Dr.Romulo T. Aggangan for giving their technical and financial support;

To SANREM CRSP Management in the University of Wisconsin for

giving their all out support technically, financially and morally, headed by

Dr. Ian Coxhead, Dr. John Rowe, Dr. Gladys Buenavista and to the

University of Georgia, headed by Dr. Carlos Perez.

To the editors of this publication: Dr. Victoria O. Espaldon, Teodoro

A. Casio, and Jennifer Lee-Bonto;

To Erlinda H. Belen for editing the research notes;

To USAID for giving us financial support and being considerate in our

request;

We are expressing our profound appreciation and sincere gratitude to

all the people, agencies and institutions who helped in accomplishing and

finishing this piece of work.


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Findings


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I n t roduc t ion

OVER THE PAST two decades, the Central Highlands of Vietnam have

undergone rapid social, economic and environmental changes. Deforestation,

high rates of migration and increasing commercialization in agricultural

production have been observed in many parts of this region. These rapid

changes were the result of government interventions over the past 25 years

and more recently by institutional and policy reforms and changed market

conditions (Kerkvliet and Porter, 1996, Thuy, 2000).

At the national level, while deforestation has been a concern of government

for years, policies contrary to upland development have been implemented.

For instance, driven by stereotypes that cast swiddeners as the primary agents

of deforestation, the governments efforts largely invested in sedentarization

and fixed agriculture which started in 1968. This national program expanded

to the Central Highlands after the countrys reunification in 1975. Another maingovernment agenda for the area casts the uplands as a frontier for economic

development, treated like a sleeping princess to be awakened. Interventions

in this direction include the establishment of New Economic Zones, state farms

and forest enterprises, and a program for long-term population redistribution

through a mass organized migration to the Central Highlands (Thuy 2000).

In the 1970s and 1980s, people were sent here from densely populated provinces

in the countrys northern and central coastal provinces (Giang et al., 2001).

With a series of institutional and policy reforms implemented since the

early 80s, Vietnam deviated from a centrally planned economy towards a

state-regulated, market-oriented economy. The main focus of production in

the agricultural sector shifted from cooperatives and state farms to

individuals. The household became the basic unit of agricultural production

and was free to decide on the kind and amount of crops to grow based on

market signals. Through such policy reforms, the country achieved a dramatic

increase in agricultural output, particularly in rice production, and higher

diversification in agricultural production. The agricultural sector slowly

shifted from monocrop, self-sufficient production to a more commercializedorientation.

Dramatic land use changes in the upland areas have occurred during the

transition period towards a market-oriented economy, particularly with the

promotion of upland cash crop production. The influx of migrants was repeated

after the advent of Doi Moi(Renovation) in the late 1980s, when a flow of

Ma. Victoria O. Espaldon, Dang Thanh Ha, Pham Hong Duc Phuoc,

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, Le Van Du, Pham Trinh Hung, Le Quang Thong

and Annielyn O. Magsino


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Challenges for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management in Vietnam Uplands10

spontaneous migrants arrived, seeking new economic opportunities in various

natural resource-based businesses. Motivated by the high market price of coffeeat the start of the 1990s, not only landless farmers but also better-off people

flocked to Dak Lak, Lam Dong and other provinces in the Central Highland

seeking lands to develop into commercial farming. Commercial cash crop

production, especially of coffee, expanded rapidly in the Central Highlands.

The rapid expansion in coffee production has made coffee one of the countrys

major export crops.

The rapid changes in the landscape and lifescape1 including the

degradation of the natural resources, has raised serious concerns among

different sectors in Vietnamese societythe farmers organizations, local

governments, resource managers and policy makers. In many areas,

agricultural growth is commonly associated with deforestation, soil depletion,

degraded watershed function and floods. The rapid and uncontrolledexpansion of coffee in Dak Lak province, for example, makes water a scare

resource (Ha, 2001).

In recent years, natural resource management has become a central theme

in planning for agricultural sustainability. This is due to a history of

agricultural decisions that: (1) were based on short-term market feasibility

which dominated the economic landscape; (2) failed to consider long-term

consequences on the natural resource base; and (3) failed to consider

flirtatious market conditions. These have been foreseen to generate negative

impacts on the small farmers livelihood. Achieving economic growth without

excessive environmental degradation remains a major challenge for upland

communities in Vietnam.

This report aims to provide empirical evidence on the complex interplay

of changes in policy, specifically land tenure and market conditions, in areas

still in agricultural transition based on a case study of a commune in Lam

Dong province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Specifically, it traces

institutional reforms such as change in policies and market conditions and

examines how these institutional changes influence the way farmers use and

manage their resources. It also analyzes the impacts of these changes on the

livelihood systems among members of the local community.

The study is guided by a conceptual framework on the driving forces of

land use and management decisions and their respective outcomes, both on

the state of the environment and the welfare of the farming communities

(Figure 1).

1Lifescape refers to the way people live on different agroecological zones.


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SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) 11

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Process of LandManagement.

Driving Forces

Outcomes

Land Management Decision

Policies New economic zone/

state farm

Reallocation policy

Agricultural program

Regreening/

reforestation

program

Market Prices

Market

access

Facil ities

Biophysical Rainfall

Soil types and

characteristics

Biological

Characteristics

Forest Resources

Population Migrat ion

Natural

population

growth

Farmers

Community groups

State farm

People committee

Environmental quality Forest cover

Soil quality

Water resource

Resource degradation

Socio-economic aspects Employment and income

Type of cropping systems

Agricultural production

Inst itut ions Reversal of

role of

institution

Social

organization


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Research Methodology

THE RESEARCH TEAM used the Participatory Landscape-Lifescape

Appraisal (PLLA) as method for the studies. PLLA is a rapid, iterative and

system-or iented approach to understand agroecological and

socioeconomic conditions prevailing in the area (Espaldon and Magsino,

2001). In this research, PLLA was utilized as a research method to examine

the factors and forces that influence and drive land management decisions

and land use changes in selected study area.

The study area is Dai Lao Village in the District of Bao Loc located in the

Central Highlands of Vietnam. It was selected because it represents a

community in transition both in terms of the biophysical aspects as well asin terms of its socioeconomic context. Dai Lai Village is an example of a

community that is undergoing rapid changes as a result of a multitude of

factors. It is traditionally, a tea-growing area that has gradually been

cultivating more and more coffee as a response to the changing market

characteristics. Recently, as coffee declines

its profitability, Dai Lao portrays a

village that is adapting to the new

condition.

Location of the Study Area

The PLLA team employed a

combination of techniques to generate the

needed information. Instead of a structured survey, a

checklist of information is drawn and collected from the

study area based on the conceptual framework and the hypotheses, a

combination of oral history that reconstructs historical events, use of

secondary data, key informants interviews, farmers profiling, maps and map

analysis, and focus group discussions. To conduct data collection in the field,

the interdisciplinary PLLA team was divided into two smaller groups, each

one retaining the interdisciplinary nature of the PLLA team.


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RECONSTRUCTION OF HISTORICAL EVENTS. The history of the area

was traced by reviewing related reports from the district office andUniversity of Agriculture and Forestry (UAF) research reports. Interviews

with Peoples Committee officials and group discussions with older farmers

who vividly remember the development of the village were also done.

SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS.

Statistics on agricultural production

and land use allocation over time

were collected from the district

(1.) The research team discusses with a farmer; (2.) Coffee farming on forest land.

Pictures, clockwise from top:(1) The team confers with the staff of theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentDistrict Officer; (2) The team discusses with asupervisor of the State Enterprise; (3) Discussionwith the Peoples Committee Official.

office. The district office provided records on major crops such as coffee,

tea and mulberry and also the agricultural plan for the area, including

irrigation development.

KEY INFORMANTS INTERVIEWS AND FARM PROFILING. Selected

farmers based on tenure, land holding and crops grown were interviewed

by the PLLA team. A total of 12 farmers were interviewed for farm profiles.

MAPS AND MAP ANALYSIS. Maps available at the District Office and

at the Mulberry State Farm were collected. Based on these, the current

1. 2.

3.

1. 2.


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land use allocation was estimated during the field visits.

FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS. Meetings with farmers were organized

to be able to generate an overview of farming systems among upland

Vietnamese farmers, get a brief history of the area, and discuss majorissues and constraints that they have experienced. During the focus

group discussions, the information given by farmers during household

interviews were also validated.


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Driving Forces of Change

at the National Level

CHANGES IN POLICIES and market conditions are the major factors

explaining the rapid changes in the upland areas of Vietnam.

Since 1975, massive transformations have occurred in the countrys

Central Highlands. After reunification, Vietnams upland region was seen

as a frontier for economic development. Government interventions

included the establishment of New Economic Zones, state farms and forestenterprises, and a program for long-term population redistribution through

a mass organized migration to the Central Highlands. Together with the

establishment of state farm and forest enterprises, a collectivization

process was also implemented. Large areas of forest and barren lands

were allocated for state farms and forest enterprises. In the 70s and 80s,

people were sent there from densely populated provinces in the northern

and central coastal provinces.

As a result, the upland areas underwent remarkable socioeconomic and

environmental transformations. The population increased and the social

structure changed rapidly. Large forest areas were replaced by the expansion

of agricultural areas for food subsistence then cash crop production. The

traditional management systems for forest, land and water resources werereplaced by subsidiary state-run agricultural farms and forest enterprises.

Agencies that were not well motivated to enforce formal regulations were

tapped to prevent an open access situation. Land use change and forest

depletion in Vietnams upland ecosystems occurred at an alarming rate (Trinh

Truong Giang et al., 2001).

Since the early 80s, when the country shifted from a centrally planned to

a state regulated market-oriented economy, a series of institutional and policy

reforms have been adopted. Key elements of the reform program include

sound macroeconomic management combined with dramatic reforms in the

agricultural sector. They also include the first steps towards integration into

the international economy, towards making the state enterprise sector more

viable, and towards having a sustainable banking and financial system.

Agricultural production shifted from cooperatives and state farms to

individual farmers. Major institutional changes in the agricultural sector

included first, the contract system (Directive No. 100) in 1981. Under this

system, lands initially allocated by the state to cooperatives were re-allocated


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to individual households for family farming. Households were supplied with

most of the farm inputs from cooperatives and were obligated to submit outputquotas. The shift away from a cooperative-managed land system to a household-

managed system was continued with the implementation of Resolution 10 in

1988 and through decollectivization of agriculture after 1988 and a shift to the

market pricing system.

The key features of the decollectivization policies are:

Recognition of the farm household as the main unit of agricultural

production. From this point of view, government implemented land

use policies, credit policies and agricultural extension policies that

encouraged farming households to intensify and expand agricultural

production for increased food production;

Liberalization of farm decision making with respect to purchase of

inputs and sale of outputs. This was done by lifting barriers to foodtransport and distribution and by promoting multi-sectoral institutions

to take part in the free trade of food products;

Privatization of land use rights. With the policy reform in 1988, the

tenure right of each household to an allotted land plot was secured for

a long term of 15 years. Farm management was decided by the

household subject to land use tax.

The process was similar in many state farms but occurred some time later.

The agricultural sector experienced a rapid institutional transformation

from 1989 to 1993 leading to higher economic efficiency.

A decisive finale in the process of policy reform was the 1993 Land Lawallowing five rights in agricultural land: the right to be leased, transferred,

exchanged, inherited and used as collateral. Households were secured with

long-term land use-right certificates for a period of 20 years for annual crop

land and 50 years for perennial crop land. A large area of forest land was

allocated to individual households for production, reforestation, and forest

protection.

With the policy reform, the household has become the basic unit of

agricultural production. Households, not leaders of collectives or state farms,

are now the principal units for deciding what and how much crop to grow

based on market signals. Markets have become the primary means for

determining prices for farming inputs and outputs. With policy reforms, the

country has achieved a dramatic increase in agricultural output, particularly

in rice production and higher diversification in agricultural production. A

market integration process has occurred in both the countrys lowland and

upland areas. The agricultural sector slowly shifted from being monocrop,

self-sufficient production oriented to more commercialized production. The

institutional and policy changes have brought the country to the third then


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Case Study: Bao LocLarge Farm

Name : Tran Hoai OnAge : (53 years Old),

1977 1.5 has, 3 children, lived in the farm since Oct. 1977,former army soldier

Location : Dai Lao State FarmFamily size : 5

History of the farm:

A farmer army soldier from Hoi Duc, Hanoi, Mr. Hoai On started farming in1977. His family has a small land there. But after the war, he decided to go toDai Lao. He knew the place because during the war, Dai Lao was where theVietnamese army went in 1974. This area was their food bowl. He found thatthe land was fertile. Lands for farming in Dai Lao were acquired either throughstate farms or by opening up new lands for permanent cultivation.

He started farming in 1977 with a farm area of 1.66 ha, 0.4 ha of which wasplanted with mulberry. The land was allocated by the state farm and contractedfor growing mulberry. But in 1995, the price of mulberry dropped so he stoppedgrowing it and returned this land to the state farm. He then opened another landfor cultivation, which was originally a fallow area with some minorities inhabitingthe place from time to time. He was allowed by the government in 1984 tocultivate 0.4 ha to coffee, tea and vegetables. The new land which was lying onthe foot of the hill, was relatively flat and had low risk of soil erosion.

In 1986, he bought another 0.4 ha on a steep slope and planted it with tea.In 1987, he opened another piece of land under a secondary forest coveredmostly with grasses planted with coffee. Between 1988 and 1989, he boughtabout 0.4 ha of mulberry and then replaced it with fruit trees. This piece ofproperty lies on a relatively flat area and was near water sources. In 1990, heacquired another 0.26 ha, developed a fishpond and planted mulberry in otherparts. The topography of this piece of land is flat so he does not practice soilerosion prevention measures.

Characteristics of the Farm and Farm Household

The household is composed of five members, three of whom are effectivelaborers. Some plots have the red book while others are still being processed. Ared book is a record of legitimate ownership of the property.The main sources ofincome are from tea, coffee, fish, pig, mulberry, poultry and pension from beinga retired army officer.

Total gross income per year:

Tea: 6 mill

Mulberry: 0Coffee: 2 millPig: 35.2 mill (2 rotation, each 1600 kg, price: 11 000D/kg)Poultry: 4.4 mill (4 times, each 50 kg/time; 22000D/kg)Salary (retired) : 6.24 mill (260000D/person/month* 2 persons)Conversion rate: 1 USD14000 VND


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second place among rice

exporting countries. Togetherwith rice, the production of

perennial crops (industrial crops)

such as rubber, coffee, tea,

mulberries and other crops as

important sources of export

earning has expanded rapidly.

However, the path tosustainable uplanddevelopment has beenchallenging. The inf lux ofmigrants was repeated after

the advent of Doi Moi(Renovation) in the late 1980s,when a flow of spontaneousmigrants arrived seeking neweconomic opportunit ies invar ious natural resource-based businesses. Motivatedby the high market price ofcoffee at the start of the 1990s,not only landless farmers butalso better-off people came toDak Lak, Lam Dong, and otherprovinces in the Central

Highlands seeking land for

Total income: 54.84 millTea: 11 percent Pig: 64 percentCoffee: 4 percent Poultry: 8 percentFish: 1 percent (also for home consumption)Salary: 11 percent

Access to Agricultural Services

Most of his cultivation techniques werelearned while he was working at the state farm.He did not receive any training from extensionworkers. Access to credit is difficult and hismoney is not enough to further invest on thefarm. He could not get enough loans for furtherinvestment. He does not have a red book andone could not get loans from banks without it.He used his house as collateral for borrowingmoney to invest on his farm.

He does not practice any soil erosionprevention measures because his farms arelocated on flat areas. However, he practiceddiversity in farming and is engaged in otherlivelihood activities. He uses less fertilizers oncoffee and tea due to lack of cash. He plans togrow good varieties of mulberry but lacksinvestment. He does not borrow from banksbecause he is afraid of not being able to payback the loan.

commercial farming. Thus, commercial cash crop production,especially coffee, expanded rapidly.

The population pressure created by both planned and spontaneous

immigration has played a major role in transforming the physical and socio-

economic landscape of the uplands. Land use change dramatically started. The

policy of transition towards a market-oriented economy was promoted and cash

crop production was encouraged.

The rapid expansion in coffee production has made coffee one of the

countrys major export crops. In 1999, coffee green bean production rose

to 439,000 tons, the highest since 1990. The increase in the price of coffee,

particularly in 1994, has encouraged small farmers to plant more coffee

in larger areas (Figure 2).

This trend was well reflected in the Central Highlands, especially in Dak

Lak province where basaltic soil and favorable climate provided an ideal

site for coffee. Ten years ago, this area was still covered by tropical forests.


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Economic reforms in 1986 and the opening of new markets for cash crops

since 1993 provided incentives for investments in coffee plantations.

Monoculture coffee planting has been the most widespread (Thanh Ha, 2000).

Spontaneous migrations of farmers from the northern and central coast

provinces in the 1990s have increased the pressures on forest lands. The

rapid expansion of areas planted to coffee due to high coffee prices in the

last few years has undoubtedly created ecological and socio-economic

impacts. (Cai and Ha, 2001-Tam dao). In Lam Dong province, a large forest

area has been converted for mulberries, tea and coffee. The shift from

mulberries and tea to coffee has also been observed.

Concerns have been raised as to the economic as well as environmentalrisks associated with this behavior. In many areas, growth is accompanied

by excessive deforestation, soil quality depletion and degraded watershed

function. The rapid and uncontrolled expansion of coffee over a large area

in Dak Lak province, for example makes water resources scarce. There is a

real concern regarding the sustainability of natural resources in the Central

Highlands of Vietnam (Ha, 2001) because of a history of agricultural decisions

based on short-term market feasibility that dominated the economic

landscape, the failure to consider long-term consequences on the natural

resource base and flirtatious market conditions. These have been foreseen

to generate negative impacts on the livelihood of the small farmers.

The rapid changes in the landscape, lifescape and the associated

degradation of the natural resource and the environment in the upland areas

created a concern for people and policy makers regarding sustainable

development. Natural resource management has become a central theme in

planning for agricultural sustainability in the recent years. The official goals

of Vietnamese agricultural policy as stated in the Agricultural and Food

Production Sector Review (1998) include:

Production (ton)

Area (ha)

1985 1989 1993 19971987 1992 1996

50000

40000

30000

20000

10000

0

Figure 2. Coffee Production in Vietnam,1985-1997


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Case Study: Medium Farm

Name of the farmer : Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tinh

Age : 43

Education status : class 12/12

Location : Dai Lao village, Bao Loc district.

Family size : 6

History of the Farm

MRS. TINH COMES from Northern Vietnam. After her service in the army, she

and her husband decided to stay in Bao Loc because the area is large and they

could get land for cultivation easier than in the crowded places of North Vietnam.

In 1983, they were working at the state farm as plantation workers. The

state farm allocated 0.8 ha in 1983. They were to grow mulberry and raise

silkworm. The area they got had mulberry planted on it. Her family also opened

one hectare and planted it with mulberry until 1996. In 1996, the state farm

stopped operating and sold the land to the workers. Her family decided to give

up the allocated land because they did not have enough labor. Instead, they

concentrated on the one hectare they owned.

Her land is located on a relatively flat area on a hillside. This area was

previously forested and it was her family who cleared and opened up that portion.

In 1985, her family grew 0.3 ha of tea and another 0.2 ha of coffee. In

1987, the price of coffee fell very low. Her family decided to cut down the

coffee trees and then replaced it with tea. The other 0.4 ha was still planted

with mulberry. But in 1993, due to a drop in mulberry price and increase in

coffee price, she cut down the mulberry trees to plant 0.4 ha of coffee. However,

in the close of 1999, the price of coffee once again declined. From that timeon, her family decreased its investments on coffee. They observed that the

price of mulberry was increasing but they couldnt decide to shift back to mulberry

from coffee because of high investment requirements of the crop.


They are six in the family. Two of them worked in the farm, her husband and

herself. Her familys land use certification is still being processed. The main source

of income is the farm where they grow crops as well as raise livestock. They grow

tea, mulberry, fruit trees like durian, and coffee. They also raise pigs and cattle.

From tea, they regularly earn 780,000 VND, and 19 million VND from coffee.

From raising pigs, they earn up to 6.4 million VND per year. They raise fish for

home consumption only.

Farm income

Pig: 3 rotation/year* 2-4 pigsCattle: 4 cow, gives birth of 5 cattle/yearAnimal production for income; manure used for coffee, fruit trees.Other crop: tea that mostly uses chemical fertilizer


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a.achieving food self-sufficiency;

b.generating foreign exchangeearnings from exports of

agricultural products;

c.providing a leading role for

cooperatives and state farms;

d.providing an acceptable level of

rural income while maintaining

urban consumption levels; and,

e. protecting the environment.

Driving Force at the

Local Level

At the local level as in the case of

Dai Lao of Lam Dong province, a

similar process occurred. After the

countrys reunification in 1975, this

area was mainly covered with forest

and very sparsely populated.

Following a government program for

economic development in the Central

Highlands, a state farm named Dai Lao

State Farm was established in this

area in 1977 with the objective of

producing food, mainly rice, maize,

cassava and other food crops for foodself-sufficiency. The state farm was

under the management of the

provincial people committee and was

allotted 263 hectares of land, mostly

secondary forests for agricultural

development. Agricultural production

was mainly concentrated on the

flatland with water availability for rice

cultivation. At the beginning, the

personnel of this state farm included

300 persons of the youth volunteers

brigade.

Income:Tea: 50kg/sao* 3 times /month*4 sao *1300 D/kgCoffee: 1 ton* 19000D/kg ( 1999)Pig: 16 con * 11000D/kg* 80kh/conBo: 6.4 mill/yearFish: for home consumption and for pigPoultry for family consumptionFruit trees: 9 trees (14 years old) with aharvest of 2 tones per year * 7000VND/kg (Durian)

Her current problems related toagricultural activities are the following:

- Certification of land use right (redbook) is not yet complete- Lack of technical knowledge- Lack of credit- Low price of coffee.

Although she is a member of theVietnamese Womens Association, shereceives no training from extension workersbecause they lived in a remote area, farfrom the village centers. Her technicalknowledge on mulberry cultivation wasprovided by the state farm where they firstgot employed. Knowledge on cultivationof other crops is drawn from her own

experience and learning from otherfarmers. She does not employ soilconservation measures since her area isrelatively flat.

As to credit, she has reservationsregarding application to on applying tocredit facilities because of the high interestrates. She fears that she might not be ableto pay interest.

She does not have a problem on soilerosion and degradation of soil fertility. Hermain concern is water scarcity.

Policy for Mulberry DevelopmentThe biophysical and climate conditions in Lam Dong province, especially

in areas around Bao Loc, were considered by decision makers to be favorable

for the cultivation of mulberries. A program for the sericulture industry in


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Lam Dong province was developed with the establishment of a sericulture

station in Bao Loc in the year 1980.

The Dai Lao State Farm was renamed Brau Sri State Farm in 1980 and

was allotted a total area of 700 hectares of forest land for mulberry cultivation.At the same time, another state farm specializing in mulberries was also

established in this commune. Both belonged to the sericulture station of Bao

Loc.

Together with the establishment of state farms specializing in sericulture

production, people were encouraged to move to this area for the development

of a new economic zone. In response to this, a large number of youth

volunteers and families from the crowded northern provinces came to this

area to clear the forest and establish new villages.

As in the case of the Brau Sri State Farm, 70 families from northern

provinces such as Thai Binh, Ha Tay, and Nghe Tinh were organized to migrate

to this state farm in 1980. The number of farm workers reached 650 personsin 1981. The second planned immigration of households from the northern

provinces occurred in 1984 with 300 additional laborers. From 1985 to 1987,

another 300 new workers arrived at the state farm.

Shift from State Farm to Individual

Management System

The operation of the state farm was mainly based on plans set up by

its higher management agents in the government. During the period from

1980 to 1985, this state farm operated as a unit of the General Mulberry

and Silk Company. It was later transferred to the National Sericulture

Company based in Bao Loc. The financial management of the state farm

is mainly based on a bookkeeping system. Laborers of the state farm

worked according to the plan of the state farm and received a monthly

salary.

Due to the inefficiency of its operation based on the monthly salary


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payment to workers, the state farm started implementing a payment

system based on actual output of farm operations for some of its workersin 1985. This payment system was fully applied to all workers in 1987.

The state farm received subsidies from the government but operated

inefficiently. It was reorganized several times through merging with other

state farms but after operating for some years without improvement, it was

split again. The state farms main task was to specialize in mulberry cultivation

and raise silkworm for providing silk cocoon to the silk industry located in

Bao Loc. According to the plan, all land areas to this state farm should be

cultivated with mulberries. However not all land in the state farm was suitable

for the purpose.

Besides working on land opened by the state farm for mulberry cultivation,

farm workers were also allowed to use forest land for agricultural production.They were not required to grow mulberries and allowed to grow other crops

such as tea or coffee. This land was only subject to a land use tax.

Until 2000, the total area under the management of this state farm officially

covered over 2000 hectares. However actual land area managed by the state

farm was only about 102 hectares. The remaining land areas were under

cultivation of individual households, mainly of the farm workers family and

later by other incoming people.

Due to poor management and inefficient operation, the state farm had to

implement a policy of selling the mulberry plantation to its workers in 1993.

However, none of the workers were willing to buy the plantation because

the income from cultivating mulberries was low. The mulberry plantationswere not well managed and have died gradually.

The contract system was applied relatively late in this state farm as

compared with cooperatives and state farms in other areas of the country.

In 1994 and 1995, the state farm shifted to the contract system wherein the

state farm provided substantial credit to its workers in the form of fertilizer

and credit for constructing houses for raising silkworms. Farm workers were

obligated to cultivate mulberries and raise silkworms on the land allotted to

them by the state farm. They also had to pay credit, land tax, administrative

costs at fixed level and output quotas based on average yield level. However,

most of the workers did not grow mulberries as contracted because of the

low price of silk cocoon. Instead, these shifted to other profitable crops such

as tea or coffee.

The shift of land tenure from the state farm to individual land use right

occurred later. The contract system later changed to a form by which workers

themselves decided on the crops to grow and the inputs to be used. In

exchange, they were obligated to pay land taxes to the state farm. Farm


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workers have also been provided land use right certifications as long as they

fulfill all obligations to the state farm such as repay loans or credits inputsthat were provided by the state farm before.

The years 1994 and 1995 were periods of poor performance for the

sericulture industry. Prices for silk cocoon were extremely low and failed to

attract farmers to cultivate mulberries. While the price of coffee or tea was

very attractive, this encouraged farmers to shift from growing mulberries to

coffee or tea. With a low price of cocoon in the period from 1993 to 1995, the

state farm was operating inefficiently and could not buy products from

workers even at a very low price. A large number of workers have left the

state farm to work on their own land plot.

In 2001, there were 1400 households with 5000 individuals living in the

area previously allocated to the state farm. With the shift to the individualmanagement system, 100 percent of the land previously belonging to the

state farm was allocated to individual farmers. Currently, the operation of

the state farm is concentrated mainly on providing technical services to

support sericulture production of individual households and to collect land

tax. The number of personnel of this state farm was reduced to only 17 in

2001. These people who mainly perform administrative functions.

Forest Resource as Open Access ResourceThe large areas of forest and barren land were allocated for the state

farm and for the forest enterprise of Bao Loc. However, due to their limited

management capability, these areas have become an open access resource

for spontaneous migrants. The unplanned or illegal expansion of agricultureinto forest land accelerated with better market access at the start of the

open door economy. Starting in 1987, a large number of spontaneous migrants

came to this area seeking land to develop for the commercial farming of

coffee or tea. At the beginning, people came to this area for harvesting rattan

for export. When there was no more rattan to harvest from the forests, they

opened up the forest land for agriculture cultivation. The highest number of

spontaneous migrants arrived in this area from 1987 to 1993. Many people

came to this area to illegally mine precious stones, or stayed and opened up

land for agriculture. After 1995, spontaneous migrants still arrived but the

number has been reduced because not much new land was available or open

for agriculture.

It was reported that about 10 percent of the population lived here before,

20 percent arrived after 1975 as planned migration for providing workers to

the state farm and about 70 percent of the population arrived in this area as

spontaneous migrants after 1987.


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Changes in Market Conditions

Free markets coexisted with the central planning system in this area

before 1989, their role in resource allocation was, however, not only

discouraged but also limited. Since 1989 market forces have determined the

prices of commodities. Based on these prices, farmers make decisions on

the level of inputs used and outputs to be produced. With better access to

the market, commercial crop production accelerated. The market has clearly

opened new opportunities for farmers to turn to more profitable crops.

Case Study: Large Farm

Name of the farmer : Mr. Nguyen Van HoaAge : 42

Education status : class 12/12Location : Dai Lao village, Bao Loc district.Family size : 7

History of the Farm

MR. HOAS FAMILY comes from the district of Bao Loc. He went to Ho ChiMinh City for his college education. After graduation, he ran a small privatebrewery plant making local beer but found that he could not compete in thisbusiness. He then decided to return to Bao Loc district to invest in agriculturalproduction.

In 1997, he bought two hectares in the district of Bao Loc. One hectarewas planted with tea whileone hectare was sti l luncultivated. In 1998, he

developed an agro-forestryproject and applied for the re-greening program allocatedfor Bao Loc. He was able toget 23 hectares of bare landwith land use rights for 50years. Of the 23 hectaresunder the program, onehectare was already plantedwith tea while the rest wereuncultivated.

The land allotted to himwas sloping. Slopes rangedfrom 5-40 degrees with high risk of soil erosion. To date, he has a total of 25

hectares of land under cultivation.Mr. Hoa believes that one should have enough capital and labor to develop

the land. That was one condition for one to get land for cultivation under theprogram. Another condition was that the land should be grown with 40 percentagricultural crops and 60 percent forest trees. As an incentive, the holders ofthe land under the re-greening program need not pay taxes for 5-7 years.

Coffee dominates Mr. Hoas farm.


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Characteristics of the Farm and Farm HouseholdThe household has seven members mostly of schooling age. To develop

and maintain the farm, Mr. Hoa hires permanent workers. He also hires

additional labor especially during the harvest season and during the peak

seasons. The family has no other source of income but farming. He planted

his area with tea, coffee and cinnamon.

The gross income from tea per month per hectare amounts to about 2

million VND/month with a net income of 8 million VND per hectare per year.

During his first harvest in year 2000, he earned about 15 million VND from his

3-ha coffee farm. Other areas are still under cultivation.

Tea is harvested every ten days with an average yield of 1 ton/month of

fresh tea leaves with a price of 2000VND/kg. This yields a gross revenue of 2

million VND/month from tea or 24 million VND/year. The average cost of

production is 6 million VND per hectare gaining a net income of 8 millionVND/ha/year.

Coffee yield on the first harvest was 1.5 tons/ha. The prevailing price during

that time was 13000VND/kg (motica species) dry coffee beans. His gross

revenue was 19.5 million VND/ha. The average cost per hectare was 14 million

VND gaining, therefore, a net income of five million VND/ha of coffee. This

earned a total net income of 23 million VND/year. He expects that his income

will increase in the future when other coffee trees bear beans.

The cinnamon is not yet harvested. His expects to harvest in ten years. He

also planted 0.3 ha of blackpepper. He kept the area cultivated with tea. He

has no plans to expand it. Although tea requires low input, it requires a lot of

labor. While the price of tea is low, he recognizes the fact that tea provides

stable income. His preference for coffee is high because when he first planted

coffee, its price was still high. Coffee brings higher income than tea but requireshigher investments. Cinnamon was selected as a forest crop to comply with

the requirement that 60 percent of the land should be planted with forest

trees. Planting trees like cinammon which brings economic returns to the

household is an apparent preference of farmers as against planting just ordinary

forest trees.

Black pepper was planted in 1999 because of the high price of dried black

pepper. The price of black pepper is 70000 VND/kg while coffee is sold only at

12000VND/kg of dry beans. He did not grow mulberry because during the

time when he started operating his farm, mulberry production was not profitable.

Price was very low and there was no market for mulberry and silk products.

Even the state farms that cultivated mulberry faced losses and stopped growing

mulberry altogether. Other farmers also shifted from mulberry to either tea or

coffee.The current problem that he faces in the development of his farm is the

lack of credit facilities that could help him invest further. He did not have the

Certification of Land Use Right or the red book. Without the red book, he

could not get loans from banks for investment. To access loans, he had to use

his house as collateral for borrowing. Another problem he had to face was the

high risk of soil erosion of his lands. Because his lands were located in hilly to


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The improved infrastructure and market condition through lifting ofmarket barriers have made the supply of cheap rice from the Mekong Delta

available to the local farmer, encouraging them to specialize in perennial

industrial crops like tea, coffee, and mulberries that have comparative

advantage in this upland area.

The fluctuation of market prices is also a driving force for changes in

cropping patterns. A rise in coffee prices and a fall in mulberries lead to a

shift from mulberries to coffee. In the case of coffee price fluctuation in the

recent year, the government has not had the necessary economic instrument

to secure the benefit of coffee producers when coffee prices fall. This situation

has a negative impact on coffee growers. Poor farmers reduce or even stop

investing in coffee. Many tend to shift to other crops if the price of coffee is

still at this low level.

The policy for encouraging investments in agriculture and the processing

industry also contributed to the growth in this area. Tea is another example

aside from mulberries as shown in the past years.

steep slopes, he had to be very careful in his cultivation. Poor farm-to-marketroads were another difficulty to make his farm activities profitable. The last

problem and most serious is the low price of coffee.


Generally, Mr Hao had no training from extension workers. He learnedcultivation techniques from reading books and technical materials.

Farmers Perception

The most critical environmental problem related to agricultural activitiesthat Mr. Hao perceives is soil erosion. Other problems included water scarcity,pest and pesticide use. He mentioned that the water that he used for coffeewas mostly from rainfall although he was able to tap water from a spring in theupper part of his landholding. Water from the spring is brought to the land bygravity using plastic pipes and hose.

Planting cinnamon with mungbean and other nitrogen fixing crops isconsidered a measure taken against soil erosion. He also showed that coffeeand other trees planted on contour lines reduce soil erosion. In the future heintends to raise animals to improve soil fertility.

Conclusions From the Case Study:

Mr. Hoa who is educated and has a good grasp of technical knowledgechooses his crops according to its profitability. His awareness in soil erosionrisks drives him to take measures in controlling it. He invests money onemploying soil conservation measures like hedgerow and planting nitrogenfixing trees.


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Tea is a crop developed in this area even before coffee and mulberry. Tea

was introduced to Lam Dong province about 70 years ago. In 1927, it wasbrought to Dalat and then has been spread widely in the area around Bao

Loc and Di Linh.

Tea was already cultivated on wide areas of the province prior to the

period of policy reform. The tea production and processing industry has also

been affected by the policy of encouraging cash crop production and the

export policy.

With the governments renovation policy from 1995 to 1999, the tea

industry in Bao Loc developed rapidly with the establishment of numerous

private tea processing plants or tea companies and large tea farms. There

were also some changes in the market of tea from Lam Dong province. Some

traditional markets such as those in the counties belonging to the formerEastern Block and the former Soviet Union have shrunk while new markets

were established in Central East Asia, Northern European countries, the US,

France and Japan. The policies that encourage multi-sector economic

development, the law for foreign investment, and the law for encouraging

domestic investment have created an encouraging environment for new

investors to open their businesses in tea production and processing industry

in Lam Dong province.

Currently, the tea processing industry in Bao Loc can absorb all fresh tea

leaves harvested in this area, making tea prices relatively stable. Aside from

five factories and two processing plants of the Tea Company of Lam Dong

province, there are 98 private enterprises involved in tea processing in and

around Bao Loc town.

Until now, there is usually no contract between farmers (tea producers)

and the tea processing plants for the direct supply of materials (tea leaves).

The fresh tea leaves supplied to the processing plants come mostly from

private traders who buy tea from local farmers. The quality is not only varied

from farmer to farmer but has also been reduced due to the long duration

from harvesting to processing. The price received by farmers has also been

under control of private traders. Farmers, especially those in the remote

areas, usually get low prices.


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Nature of Land Use Change

Changes in Forest Resources

BEFORE 1975, THE area of the Dai Lao commune was sparsely populated

due to distance and poor transportation caused by the war. The areas main

vegetation cover was rainforest, including secondary forest, bamboo forest

and bushes. Forest land covered about 85 percent of the communes total

land area. Agricultural activities were limited in the valley that was suitable

for the cultivation of rice and other food crops such as maize and cassava.

Although tea was a traditional crop in the province, tea plantations were

mainly concentrated in the areas around Bao Loc. However, few tea

plantations were developed in this commune.

The landscape started to transform largely when the state farm fordeveloping sericulture and a program to redistribute population were

established. The population redistribution is a long-term program done

through a mass organized migration from the crowded northern provinces.

Many youth volunteers came to clear the forest and establish their newhome in this upland commune.

At first, forests were cleared for growing mulberry and raising silk cocoon to

supply raw materials to the silk industry. The state farm allowed farmers and

their families to open forest lands for them to cultivate. However, the state farm

could not control all land areas allotted to it. The opening of forest lands for

agricultural production of the state farm and the allocation of land to households

was also done without clear land use planning and control. Even the planting of

mulberries was done without considering soil conditions and suitable varieties.At the beginning, mulberry varieties were brought from the northern provinces

without considering the areas soil and climatic conditions. Due to problems of

high diseases, attached pests and low yield, the state farm was forced to look for

other mulberry varieties more suitable to the conditions in this area.

With the increasing agricultural activities of the state farm from 1980 to1984, the forest area was reduced rapidly from 85 percent of the total landarea to just above 45 percent. The state farm continued to expand itsagricultural land within its allotted land area until 1987, with a deforestationrate of about 5 percent per annum. Hills covered by forests that were farfrom water sources were opened for growing mulberries. Both the state farmand families of its workers participated in the process. From 1988 to 1990,the state farm opened a limited forest area near water sources for mulberrycultivation.

The poor resource management of the state farms and forest enterprises in

the area have made the forest into an open access resource. Under this condition,

the expansion of domestic and international markets, particularly the price boom


30/90


of coffee, has led to large spontaneous migration and unplanned land clearing for

agriculture, often in fragile upland areas of this commune. The number ofspontaneous migrants increased rapidly with the shift to a market economy.

Spontaneous migrants started arriving in 1987, first for harvesting forest products

like rattan, wood, and fire wood and then later for opening land for commercial

farming, mainly of coffee and tea. The highest rate of deforestation by spontaneous

migrants occurred from 1989 to 1992. Until 1995, most of the forest land suitable

for agriculture were cleared and cultivated. In 2000, the forests dwindled to less

than 15 percent of the total land area in this commune, mainly as poor quality

forests located on the top of the mountain or on very sloping and rocky hills not

suitable for agricultural cultivation.

The situation in this commune showed that small land holders are not

the only stakeholders causing rapid changes in land use and vegetation cover,

and creating an environmental impact. Large-scale agribusiness operationssuch as state farms, forest enterprises and cooperatives have also rapidly

transformed large area of forests into monoculture mulberry, tea, or coffee

plantations in this commune as well as in other areas in Lam Dong Province.

The process, however, differs from large-scale state farms to small farms.

While the operations of large-scale state farms are subsidized and planned,

operating according to government programs, small farms are spontaneous

and market driven.

Changes in the Production Area of Major

Agricultural CropsThe institutional and market driving forces have not only led to rapid

deforestation due to the expansion of agriculture, but have also affected the

areas cropping pattern. The changes in agricultural policies and market

conditions characterized by gradual decentralization and integration into the

global economy have influenced the way local farmers use and manage their

farms. The expansion of tea, coffee and mulberry plantations illustrate this

transformation well.

The rapid changes in the areas cropping pattern and a response to the

external global market are both internally driven. Factors like bio-physical

characteristics of the cultivated land, socio-economic characteristics of the

farm, access to credit, experiences in crop cultivation, infrastructure and

market conditions have significantly influenced the farmers crop choices.

From 1980 to 2000, the total area for major crops increased by 7.6 times (i.e.,

from 733 hectares in 1980 to 5584 hectares in 2000). Both coffee and tea

have the highest area expansion. The area planted to mulberry increased

much lower than the other two crops, with the total area peak of 240 ha in

1995 before it decreased due to the low price of mulberry. Mulberry cultivation


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was mainly a result of the mulberry development program implemented in

this area.

The Dai Lao state farm, for example, was assigned to grow mulberry on

all lands belonging to it, a target it could never achieve. Even when mulberry

production was receiving strong support from the government in the form

of subsidies and financial support, the area planted to mulberry increased

slowly. At its highest growth, the area planted to mulberry occupied only a

small proportion of the total cultivated land area in this commune mainly

due to bio-physical constraints.

With the high price of mulberry from 1989 to 1991, the state farm tried to

expand the area for mulberries to cover the communes hilly area.

Unfortunately, hills are bio-physically inappropriate for the cultivation of

mulberry, resulting in high soil erosion and a rapid decrease of soil fertility.The high level of soil degradation forced the state farm to stop cultivating

mulberries on these lands. Later, when individual households managed the

lands, they shifted to tea or coffee, as these crops caused much lower soil

erosion than mulberries.

The largest area planted to mulberries in this state farm was achieved

from 1990-1992, measuring around 160 hectares. Reports say that currently,

there are only about 102 hectares of land located within the boundary of this

state farm suitable for mulberry. The actual area of mulberry monoculture

was only 20 hectares in the year 2000 while 10 hectares were allotted for

intercropping with other crops. As estimated by the state farms board of

directors, the area planted with mulberry can increase to 50 hectares if the

price of silk cocoon remains at a favorable level as the current price.

Tea and coffee are the two major crops in this area occupying the largest

cultivated land but receiving much less support from local authorities as

compared to mulberries. Also, tea has been a traditional crop in this area since

the French period. On the other hand, coffee was also present in the area before

the 1990s. But the area planted to both crops did not change much prior to 1994

due to unfavorable market conditions and the low price of coffee and tea.

Together with the central planning system in the agricultural sector, mainly

through the system of cooperatives and state farm and farm processing industries,

free markets were also present in this area prior to reform. However their role

in resource allocation was not only discouraged but also limited as the state

attempted to gain control of certain markets such as markets for farm inputs

and produce.

Since 1989, market forces have determined prices of commodities. Based

on these prices, farmers decide on the level of input to use and farm

commodities to produce. The changes in land use practices occurred more

rapidly with the decollectivization process and better access to the market.


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As in 1994, the state farm fully applied the allocation of land for individual

worker families for their cultivation. Households, not leaders of collectives

or state farms, are now the principal units for deciding what crop and how

much to grow based on market signals. In addition, the improved

transportation infrastructure and marketing systems have facilitated the

export of cash crops like tea and coffee, and other commodities. With better

market access, the land use change process has been accelerated. With the

low price of mulberry, farmers have incentives to shift from mulberries to

tea or coffee. The rapid expansion of coffee and tea cultivation in this area

began in 1994. Compared to other crops, the price of tea remained much

more stable through the years. Besides its relatively stable price, fresh tealeaves can be harvested by local farmers every month throughout the year.

Tea, therefore, is considered by local farmers as a crop that can secure a

stable family income.

Since there is only one statistical data recorded for both Loc Chau

and Dai Lao as they were one commune before being split in 1998, this

date was used to trace the changes in area planted with major crop over

time (Figure 3).

In 1994, when coffee prices increased in the domestic market (a price

boom), the area planted with coffee increased rapidly. The area planted with

coffee was limited to only 300 hectares before 1994. Due to the high coffee

price, the area expanded rapidly, reaching 1,291 hectares in 1999. The area

planted with tea also expanded rapidly since 1994 reaching up to 4,212 hectares

in 1999 (about 4 times higher than the area planted in 1994). The large expansion

of tea and coffee areas was achieved not only from the transformation of forest

land cleared earlier by illegal logging, but also from the shift from mulberry to

tea and coffee.

Figure 3. Changes in Cultivated Area of Major Crops in Dai Lao andLoc Chau Commune.

Year

Area (ha.)

80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0

TeaCoffee

Mulberry


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The improvement in rice production in the Mekong Delta and the better

performance of the rice market also facilitated the trend of rapid expansion ofcommercial farming in the area. Given a relatively good transportation system

and a fairly good marketing system, the supply of cheap rice from the Mekong

Delta encouraged farmers to specialize in producing perennial industrial crops

that have comparative advantage over other food crops.

The expansion of areas planted with coffee and tea came from both the

unused forest land cleared before through illegal logging and also from former

mulberry areas.

With the high price of coffee, many local farmers have an incentive to

invest in coffee. A bandwagon effect in coffee planting was observed in this

area. Many farmers have planted coffee even when they do not have

experience in cultivating this crop or do not know about the variety and soilcondition suitable for coffee. Many of them even planted coffee on very

sloping hill sides or on hill tops where the soil and water conditions were

not suitable for coffee. As a result, the yield was very low and the practice

caused high soil erosion.

In the past, farmers in the area had already experienced changing

cropping patterns. Due to the low price of coffee in 1987 and 1988, many

farmers destroyed their coffee gardens to plant mulberry as the price was

very high. As the price of mulberry went down in 1994 and 1995, farmers

again cut down on mulberry and planted tea or coffee. The expansion of

coffee areas has slowed down since 1999, as the price of coffee in the

world market decreased. Currently, this low coffee price still has a long-

term impact on the driving forces of land use change. The expansion ofcoffee areas stopped with the fall in coffee prices. Due to the low price

and therefore low profitability of coffee, many local farmers apply only

minimal amounts of fertilizer, or have stopped investing in inputs for

coffee. The objective is to keep the coffee garden alive to wait for a higher

price of coffee and then invest more in fertilizer. Some also tend to cut

their coffee plants and shift to other crops such as tea or mulberry if the

coffee price remains at a low level.

Current Trend in Commune Farming SystemThe changes in policy and market conditions have led farmers to depend

greatly on the market forces. However, since crop choice is usually based on

current market value, and since there is no information on the long-term value,

farmers become more vulnerable to market changes.

Many farmers now find tea as a more secure crop. With the decrease

in coffee price, the cultivation of coffee is no longer profitable. Many

farmers have stopped investing in coffee, or want to shift to tea if the


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price continues to decrease or remains at a low level. As the prices of

mulberries go up, many farmers again have the incentive to expand theirmulberry mainly in areas suitable for this crop.

The changes from coffee to other crops are expected to occur not only

because of the degradation of the soil , as many coffee fields were established

on poor soil with very steep slopes and high rates of soil erosion, but also

from price fluctuations (i.e. , low price of coffee). With the low price of coffee,

the area for coffee also decreases. Farmers may shift from coffee to tea,

most probably starting with areas whose bio-physical traits are unfavorable

for coffee cultivation (e.g. poor soil, sloping land with difficult water access).

To cope with the fluctuation in market price, local farmers tend to diversify

their farming activities by planting more than one crop and investing in other

livelihood activities such as animal production.

In general, the changes in cropping pattern in this commune show that:

The conversion from mulberries to coffee and tea and, for some farmers

from tea to coffee, as a major crop among small farmers and land owners

has been gradual but insidious. This trend has been a result of attractive

profits that coffee generates for farmers who traditionally growmulberries or tea. Consequently, this action has slowly transformed

some forest lands into coffee plantations. However, the farmers have

become susceptible to losses due to the abrupt drop in the price of

coffee beans in the world market, especially between 1998-2001.

The PLLA conducted also described how the changing access to land

influences farm management decisions. A shift from state farmownership to individual land management makes the farmers more

flexible in the choice of crops to cultivate like the coffee bandwagon

observed since 1994. However, this transformation is also indicated by

some changes in environmental quality, particular soil quality and

available water for irrigation.

Both planned and spontaneous agricultural expansions by varying

combinations of small landholders and large-scale plantation developers

were observed. In the first stage, forest lands were converted to

agricultural areas on a large scale. In the later stage, changes in land

use were observed, including intensification of agricultural production

where bio-physical, infrastructure, and market conditions were

favorable. Some areas were then abandoned where crop choice andcultivation methods were inappropriate.

New migrants coming mainly from the lowland area brought with them

their traditional cultivation techniques that were often not suitable

under the conditions in this upland commune. The newcomers also

brought some new crop varieties.


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Case Study: New Migrants to the Area

Name of the farmer : Nguyen Van ChuAge : 45Origin : Thai BinhFamily size : 4

History of the farm

MR. VAN CHU is from Tai Binh province, north of Vietnam. He has a largefamily in his province but land is limited for cultivation there. In the capital, eachfamily has only 500 sq m for cultivation. The land is very small and living conditionsare too difficult. He heard from his friend and brothers who live in Dai Lao thatthere were still opportunities to get land for cultivation and living conditions weremuch easier. He decided to sell his house and moved to Dai Lao.

With support from his brother and friend, he bought a house with a gardenwith a total land area of 500 sq m He opened a plot on the hillside that wasabandoned due to very poor soil. Later, this land was allotted to him but he hadto pay for some protection fees.

He was allowed to cultivate and practice agroforestry on this land. When hefirst opened his farm, it was covered with grass. The soil was very poor and rocky.He had to clear the land in order for him to cultivate coffee and tea. Due to poorsoil and water shortage, his coffee could not grow and soon died. The 0.3 ha of teais still growing. The land is on the hillside with a slope of over 15 degrees. At thebeginning, he grew coffee because of the expectation that coffee could bring highearnings for his family. However, he found out that the soil was too poor for thiscrop. Tea is grown because this is a steady source of income.


The family has four members, two members do labor for the farm. The land,although allocated by the government, has no certification of land use right or redbook yet. The main source of income is from working as laborers for other farmersin the area and from working as laborer for local brick making plants.

The problems related to their agricultural activities include poor soil fertility,sloppy and rocky land, high erosion risk, and strong winds. His future plansinclude continuing to work as laborer to get money for his family and his farm.


Similar to other farmers, he did not have any training from the extensionservices. Credit is also difficult to get because he does not have a red book yet.He is a new comer in the area. He learned techniques of cultivating tea andcoffee from other farmers.

Farmers Perception

He is aware that he has a problem with soil erosion and low soil fertility. Asa measure to control soil erosion and to conform to the contract under theforest allocation program, he planted some forest trees. He plans to developthis into agroforestry. He also plants on contour lines.


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The conversion of forest land to agricultural land happened on a large

scale. The resulting problems of open access resources and the

expansion of agricultural activities in fragile, slopping marginal landwere considered to be causing serious soil erosion and degradation of

land and water resources.

Impacts and Implications of Land Use Changes

THE CHANGES IN land use and vegetation cover described above have

significant impacts on the socio-economic conditions and ecosystem in

the study area.

Impacts on the Environment

The survey in the area revealed that the increase in agricultural production

and economic growth in the study area was achieved at the expense of thenatural ecosystem. The rapid population increase, mainly due to migration,

the increasing intensification of agricultural production and the rapid

expansion of agricultural areas have placed high pressure on the natural

resources.

Forest to expand mulberries,

tea and coffee plantations,

especially in sloping land, usually

meet the short-term development

goals. But other aspects of

economic and social valuation are

often overlooked within this

development strategy, in

particular the loss of biodiversity

and off-site impacts along with

converting natural landscapes to

commercial crop production

system on a large scale.

Soil erosion evident along contours of coffee.

A sloping agricultural land technology model.


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The topographical condition in the study area is subject to the high risk

of soil erosion. It was reported that about 36 percent of the communes totalland area had a slope of more than 30 degrees and 64 percent with a slope of

less than 30 degrees. Land on the top of the hills and hillsides are usually

very steep. Farmers usually planted coffee on the hill-tops. On hillsides that

have a steeper slope and are subject to high risk of soil erosion, farmers

usually planted tea. Thus, in both tea and coffee plantations, soil erosion is

usually high. Some farmers reported that the rate of soil erosion is visible as

indicated on the trunks/roots of tea or coffee plants. In many tea plantations,

soil erosion is so high that farmers have to replant each year.

Currently, many land plots on the side of the hills and mountains around

the commune have a slope of over 30 degrees and should not be allowed for

agricultural cultivation. However, due to poor management, many farmers

still occupy the land and illegally cultivate tea or coffee. Their agriculturalproduction activities on these land plots yield only poor harvest but result in

high soil erosion and loss of forest cover.

The commune has also experienced high resource degradation in the past.

From 1987 to 1990, the state farm developed mulberry plantations on the

hilltops of the commune. However, due to high erosion and loss of soil

nutrients, the yield of mulberries decreased rapidly after being cultivated

for about three years. The average yield of mulberries planted on the hilltops

was less than 2.5 tons of fresh mulberry leaves per hectare while the yield on

Table 1 . Area Planted with Major Crops in Dai Lao and Loc ChauCommune. (Ha.)

Year Tea Coffee Mulberry

80-85 600 116 17

86 714 116 17

87 726 188 17

88 721 299 43

89 721 299 47

90 726 299 52

91 728 299 57

92 733 299 66

93 749 301 73

94 1062 309 13195 1675 691 240

96 1826 701 116

97 2385 876 106

98 3296 906 121

99 4212 1291 81


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flat land was from seven to ten tons per hectare. Plots with high soil loss

yield even less than one ton per hectare.

The rapid reduction in mulberry yield due to high soil and nutrient loss

forced the state farm to stop cultivating mulberries on hilltops and to

concentrate cultivation on flat land. Farmers also reported that tea and coffee

planted on steep areas could only achieve 50 percent of the yield of plants

cultivated at the foothills or on flat land. The average

challenges for sustainable agri & nat res mgt in vietnam uplands

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