Sustainable land managements in Vietnam: adoption determinants and income effects at farm household level

Land degradation is taking place in all regions of Vietnam and is one of the most serious environmental and natural resource problems facing the country. To address the problem, various government agencies have promoted the adoption of sustainable land management practices. For the mountainous region, these practices include agro-forestry systems. In the coastal and delta regions, they include annual crop rotation, intercropping, and nutrient management. To date, adoption of these practices remains limited. This paper uses primary data collected from a farm survey of 826 households in three typical ecological regions and a propensity score matching approach to identify determinants and income effects of the adoption of sustainable land management practices. Farmers' likelihood of adoption differs across ecological regions and is associated with characteristics of the household head, attributes of farm households, and institutional context. The adopters at study sites in mountainous, coastal and delta regions attained income that is 20-30% greater than matched non-adopters.

Automated summary

Land degradation is a serious environmental issue in all regions of Vietnam. Government agencies are promoting sustainable land management practices, but adoption remains limited. Farmers' likelihood of adoption varies across ecological regions and is associated with household head characteristics, farm household attributes, and institutional context. Adopters in mountainous, coastal, and delta regions have achieved 20-30% higher income compared to non-adopters.